Kenneth Burt Collection, 1980-2004

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Summary

Creators:
Burt, Kenneth
Abstract:
Kenneth C. Burt served as Political Director of the California Federation of Teachers from 1997 to 2018. Burt was a self-published author and historian, writing The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics and contributing to numerous academic journals and anthologies related to Latinos, labor, coalition politics and the Cold War. This is a collection of interviews and recordings Kenneth Burt conducted between 1980 and 2004 with community leaders, labor organizers, religious leaders and politicians involved in California politics and the labor movement, with a focus on the California Chicano community. Burt conducted the interviews and recordings for research purposes for his published works.
Extent:
.63 linear feet and 115 Gigabytes
Language:
English , Spanish; Castilian .
Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Background

Scope and content:

This is a collection of interviews and recordings Kenneth Burt conducted between 1980 and 2004 with community leaders, labor organizers, religious leaders and politicians involved in California politics and the labor movement, with a focus on the California Chicano community. Burt conducted the interviews and recordings for research purposes for his published works including journal articles, textbooks, and historical books. The collection includes 22 annotated physical transcripts. Digital transcripts for each recording will be added to the collection as they become available.

Notable interviewees include labor union leaders such as Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez; local, state, and national-level California politicians such as Alan Cranston and Edward Roybal; and East Los Angeles community leaders such as Anthony Rios from the Community Services Organization (CSO). Topics discussed in the recordings include California politics; labor organizing; multiple labor unions including the AFL-CIO, the UAW, the United Steelworkers, and more; Chicano political figures; the Community Service Organization (CSO); and the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA).

The recordings are arranged alphabetically by the interviewee's last name and then by date when there are multiple interviews with the same interviewee. Occasionally the recording takes place at an event and includes multiple interviewees or a recording of a speech, in which case it is arranged alphabetically by the event or organization name.

The collection also includes Burt's Honors Thesis for the University of California, Berkeley.

Biographical / historical:

Kenneth C. Burt was born in 1959 to two teachers in Sacramento, California. Burt graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in political science and then from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He returned to the University of California, Berkeley as the Carey McWilliams Fellow at the Institute of Governmental Studies. Burt published academic journal articles, contributed to historical anthology publications, and authored multiple books focusing on California politics, United States government, labor unions, and Latino political and union leaders. Burt also served as the first Political Director of the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) from 1997 to 2018. Burt was married to Soia Sotelo Burt. They lived in Sacramento and had two children. Kenneth C. Burt passed away in 2021.

Acquisition information:
Kenneth Burt, 2021
Processing information:

Carri Frola, 2024

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Location of this collection:
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330, US
Contact:
(818) 677-4594
Website