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Register of the Civil Rights Congress, Los Angeles, Late 1940's -1950's
MSS 016
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Table of contents
Title: Civil Rights Congress, Los Angeles,
Date (inclusive): Late 1940's -1950's
Collection number: MSS 016
Creator:
Civil Rights Congress, Los Angeles
Extent: 23 boxes
Repository:
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research.
Los Angeles, California
Language:
English.
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 item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
[Identification of item], Civil Rights Congress, Los Angeles, Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research,
Los Angeles.
The Civil Rights Congress, Los Angeles Chapter (CRCLA) was organized in 1946 as an outgrowth of the merging of the local National
Negro Congress and the Los Angeles Mobilization for Democracy. Its program was the defense of the rights of labor, Left political
activists, and Black, Mexican-American and other racial minorities. There were eight functioning sub-chapters and committees
in the Los Angeles area. CRCLA also had the only Lawyers' Panel of its kind in the entire country, headed by Fred Steinmetz.
Marguerite Robinson was the group's Executive Director, and Emil Freed (later founder of the Southern California Library for
Social Studies and Research) was organizational secretary. The administrative staff consisted of Shifra Myers, Celia Rodriguez,
Irma Zakon and Rose Chernin. CRCLA operated successfully for ten years until its demise in 1956. The Los Angeles CRC and the
national Civil Rights Congress are examined in Gerald Horne's book,
Communist Front? The Civil Rights Congress, 1946-1956 (Associated University Presses, Rutherford, New Jersey, 1988).