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George H. Dunne, S.J., Collection of Articles and Pamphlets
043
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Title: George H. Dunne, S.J., Collection of Articles and Pamphlets
Dates: 1945-1994
Collection Number: 043
Creator/Collector:
Dunne, George H. (George Harold), S.J., 1905-1998
Extent: 4 archival document boxes (1.8 linear feet)
Repository:
Loyola Marymount University, Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library
Los Angeles, California 90045-2659
Abstract: The George H. Dunne, S.J., Collection of Articles and Pamphlets consists of works by and about this well-known Jesuit advocate
for civil rights.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount
University.
Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.
George H. Dunne, S.J., Collection of Articles and Pamphlets . Loyola Marymount University, Department of Archives and Special
Collections, William H. Hannon Library
Gift of Loyola Marymount University Jesuit Collection. Accession number: 1998.31
Biography/Administrative History
Father George H. Dunne, S.J., (1906-1998) was a pioneer Catholic voice for civil rights in the United States, a voice ably
expressed in numerous essays on the topic. Dunne earned his masters from Gonzaga University in 1932 and spent several years
in the mid-1930s in China as a Jesuit missionary. He returned to the United States and earned a doctorate in international
relations in 1944 from the University of Chicago. His first academic position was at the University of St. Louis, but his
criticism of the policies of racial segregation at the university resulted in his dismissal. He was transferred to Loyola
University (Los Angeles), where he was dismissed again, in this case because of his support of a strike of the stage employees
union.
Father Dunne eventually served at Georgetown University and became the director of the university’s program at Fribourg, Switzerland,
until he retired in 1985, after which he lived at the Jesuit community at Loyola Marymount University.
Dunne’s article “The Sin of Segregation” was published in the journal Commonweal in 1945 and represented his opening salvo
against racial prejudice. The essay made him among the first Catholic clerics to label prejudice a sin and was only the first
of many essays condemning racism. Dunne also wrote a play (“Trial by Fire”) on the bombing of an African-American family who
had just moved to an all-white neighborhood. His best scholarly work was his study of Jesuits in China, “Generation of Giants”
(1962). Dunne’s autobiography “King's Pawn: The Memoirs of George H. Dunne, S.J.” was published in 1990.
Scope and Content of Collection
The George H. Dunne, S.J., Collection of Articles and Pamphlets consists of works by and about this well-known Jesuit. The
collection contains the most important works of Dunne, eg, his seminal article on racism, “The Sin of Segregation” (1945).
Chronologically his works in this collection run from 1945 through 1989, including a manuscript of his biography “King’s Pawn,”
thus giving this collection in-depth witness to Dunne’s thought. Some materials are only photocopies. There are also two
letters and a smattering of photographs. The collection came to the library of Loyola Marymount University in 1998, the year
of Dunne’s death at the Jesuit retirement community at Los Gatos, making it probable that Dunne collected the materials before
his death, after which the Jesuit Community turned them over to the library.
Civil Rights -- Religious Aspects -- Catholic Church -- America
Dunne, George H. (George Harold), S.J., 1905-1998 -- Political and social views
Democracy -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church