This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Marjorie and Paul Colvin, members of the Socialist Workers Party and political activists who protested against the Vietnam war and other U.S. interventions during the 1960's and 1970's. It includes meeting notes, flyers, correspondence, and newspaper clippings related to the various organizations and movements they were involved with.

Paul Colvin was born in Flint, MI. His mother was a member of the Proletarian party, and took him to meetings as early as age 7. In 1943 at age 18, he met a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Burbank, CA, and in 1946 he became a SWP sympathizer while attending the University of California at Los Angeles. Having served in the Navy during World War II, Paul worked as a merchant seaman between semesters. He began attending SWP meetings in 1949, but the House UnAmerican Activities Committee closely watched the maritime industry and the radical sympathizers within it. An informant in the Party turned him in, and he lost his seaman's papers in 1954, the same year he became an official member of SWP.

3.34 Linear Feet

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Open for use by qualified researchers.