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Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles Records,
1945-1980
MSS 026
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Title: Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles Records,
Date (inclusive): 1945-1980
Collection number: MSS 026
Creator:
Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles
Extent:
4 letter boxes, ½ legal box, 1 map box
2 linear feet
2 linear feet
Repository:
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Los Angeles, CA 90044
Abstract: This is a collection of the records of the Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles. This organization of secular
Jewish women, most active in the 1950's through the 1970's, was dedicated to: promoting secular Jewish culture, advocating
for civil rights at the local and national level (in particular Black civil rights campaigns of the 1950's in Los Angeles),
peace actions, developing international understanding and peace through education and cultural exchange.
Language:
English.
There is no accession documentation for the collection. The staff of the library believe the collection was donated by Emma
Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles around 1981.
The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research
query prior to making a visit.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single
copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written
permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles Records, Southern California Library for Social
Studies and Research, Los Angeles, California.
The Emma Lazarus Jewish Women's Clubs of Los Angeles (ELJWCLA) were founded in 1951, simultaneously with the national Emma
Lazarus Federation of Jewish Women's Clubs. Inspired by the life of the American Jewish poet Emma Lazarus, the national Federation
advanced a progressive Jewish culture to enrich the lives of its members. Activities were focused on a general program of
Jewish culture, rights for women, and civic and consumer affairs. More specifically the organization worked on projects in
the five areas of: Jewish education and child welfare, Israel, civil rights and peace, rights for women, and consumer affairs.
The Federation was committed to working cooperatively with other organizations concerned with the welfare of community, family
and the promotion of brotherhood of all through democracy and peace.
The national Federation grew out of the Emma Lazarus Division of the Jewish People's Fraternal Order, itself an outgrowth
of the United Council of Working Class Housewives (which later became the Progressive Women's Council). In addition to the
national organization, local clubs were formed across the United States in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles, among
others.
The Los Angeles Clubs coordinated many of their projects with those of the national Federation. However, the major focus of
the ELJWCLA were local activities, often in conjunction with other Los Angeles organizations. The interests of the ELJWCLA
were wide ranging, covering: anti-Semitism, desegregation, civil rights and voting rights, deportation of the foreign born
(Walter-McCarran Act), peace and nuclear disarmament, Jewish culture and children's education, international brotherhood (particularly
with the Soviet Union), the arts in general, and the status of women, especially working women. In the mid-fifties the ELJWCLA
were particularly concerned with supporting the activities of African-American organizations in Los Angeles with an emphasis
on civil rights actions. The ELJWCLA sponsored: plays on the history of Jewish people in the United States; concerts by Jewish
and African American performers; election and legislative initiatives on the local, state and national level; senior citizen
centers, and International Women's Day commemorations.
The records of the ELJWCLA end in 1980. The activities of the organization ceased during that decade. The national Federation
dissolved in 1989.
The collection consists of records of the ELJWCLA during its operations from 1951 to 1980, with the majority of the material
dating from the 1950's and early 1960's. The major portion of produced materials are: correspondence, minutes of meetings
(1964-1967), and records of programs. The ELJWCLA assembled a large number of newspaper clippings and some pamphlets relating
to the interests and activities of the organization.
The general correspondence gives evidence of the wide range of Jewish and cultural organizations in Los Angeles with which
the ELJWCLA maintained relations. The Black-Jewish Cooperation files are a rich source of cooperative activities undertaken
by African-American and Jewish women's organizations in the 1950's. The clippings and pamphlets are an indication of the many
social justice causes of interest to the ELJWCLA. These materials date from as early as 1942.
Other records of the ELJWCLA are in the Emma Lazarus Federation of Jewish Women's Clubs Records at The Jacob Rader Marcus
Center of the American Jewish Archives, housed at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio campus. A finding aid for this collection
is on the World Wide web at: (http://www.huc.edu/aja/Lazarus.htm#box). The materials include: Correspondence, 1967-1983; Minutes,
1973-1983; Activities 1953-1980; and Photographs 1952-1955.
One half box of legal-sized materials and one map box of clippings are found at the end of the collection (boxes 5 and 6).
Each folder is listed within the appropriate series in the container list.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into 4 series:
1. Administration and Publications, 1945-1951,
2. Activities, Programs, Projects, 1950-1980,
3. Black-Jewish Cooperation, 1951-1965,
4. Subject files, 1946-1964.
Pamphlets relating to the Walter-McCarran Act and the status of working women in Latin America, from the U.S. Departments
of Labor and State, were removed to the pamphlet collection.
Related Material at the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Jewish Secular Material Collections