Bill Greene Papers, 1961-1992

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Summary

Creators:
Bill Greene, California Legislator
Abstract:
The Bill Greene papers consist of 56 cubic feet of textual records, photographs, ephemera, audiovisual materials, 6 ¼-inch audiotape reels, and 21 artifacts related to Greene’s legislative activities during his time as a legislative aid to Assembly Member Mervyn Dymally and his term as a member of the California State Legislature. The collection is organized into 25 record series that span the years of 1961-1992.
Extent:
56 cubic feet
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English

Background

Scope and content:

The Bill Greene papers consist of 56 cubic feet of textual records, photographs, ephemera, audiovisual materials, 6 ¼-inch audiotape reels, and 21 artifacts related to Greene’s legislative activities during his time as a legislative aid to Assembly Member Mervyn Dymally and his term as a member of the California State Legislature. The collection is organized into 25 record series that span the years of 1961-1992.

The collection will be particularly useful for researchers interested in topics relating to racial, education, and employment issues in Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1980s. Greene was devoted to improving economic and social opportunities for the people of California, especially those within his Assembly and Senate districts. This activism is reflected in his bill files, with many of his bills concerning improving working conditions, bringing employment to the South-Central part of Los Angeles, and improving the educational opportunities for students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Also useful for this type of research will be the Correspondence series, where people throughout his district and California contacted him regarding their concerns. The Correspondence series reflects issues and events happening in Greene’s district, Los Angeles, and California and provides an excellent source for contemporary African American matters.

Bill Green was also a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, and this collection contains three series that reflect his time on the caucus. The Legislative Black Caucus Correspondence Files (1974-1986), Legislative Black Caucus Meeting Files (1976-1982, 1985), and Legislative Black Caucus Subject Files (1970-1982) discuss issues that the caucus was concerned about and attempted to deal with primarily during the 1970s. The meeting files, in particular, show the workings of the caucus and its focus at this time.

Biographical / historical:

Bill Greene, Democrat, served in the State Assembly from 1967 to 1975, and the State Senate from 1975 to 1992. Greene represented the 53rd Assembly District in Los Angeles; and 29th Senate District (1975-1984) and 27th Senate District (1984-1992) in Los Angeles. His districts generally represented the South-Central Los Angeles area, including Watts, Bell, Compton, Cudahy, Huntington Park, and South Gate.

Greene was born on November 15, 1931, in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the University of Michigan, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Prior to his work as a member of the Legislature, Greene was a Freedom Rider and field representative for the National Congress of Racial Equality, as well as participating in demonstrations in Georgia led by Dr. Martin Luther King. In 1963, he became the first African American to serve as a desk clerk in the State Assembly. He went on to work as a consultant to Assembly Speaker Jess Unruh, Legislative Assistant to Assemblymember Mervyn Dymally, and legislative advocate prior to being elected to the State Assembly.

Bill Greene was elected to the State Assembly in 1967. Greene’s legislative interests focused predominately on district-related issues, state aid for education, child-care centers, recreational facilities for youths, job training and retention, advancing the causes of disadvantaged citizens, civil rights and equity in education, jobs, and housing, vocational education, worker’s compensation insurance, and labor law.

In April 1975, he won a special election to serve in the State Senate, succeeding his friend and mentor Mervyn Dymally. Dymally’s seat had become vacant when he won election as Lt. Governor. Greene continued to serve in the Senate until his retirement in 1992, due to health issues.

Greene died December 2, 2002, in Sacramento.

Acquisition information:
The State Archives received these records in a series of transfers according to state law.
Accruals:

No further accruals are expected.

Physical location:
California State Archives
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 653-2246
reference@sos.ca.gov
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