Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Anne and Michael Kaufman Papers,
1950-1990
MSS 050
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Anne and Michael Kaufman Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1959-1990
Collection number: MSS 050
Creator: Kaufman, Anne Levine and
Kaufman, Michael
Extent:
3 boxes, 1 ½ legal-size boxes, and 4 oversize folders
2 2/3 linear feet
2 2/3 linear feet
Repository:
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Los Angeles, CA 90044
Abstract: These papers document the Los Angeles based political activities of former husband and wife (Michael and Anne Kaufman), including
their joint involvement with W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America (1961-1966) and American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees [AFSCME, AFL-CIO] (1969 to 1980). Anne Kaufman was later active in the National Rainbow Coalition and 24th Congressional
District (1987-1990). Only a small amount of personal information is found in the collection.
Language:
English.
The collection was donated to the Library by Anne and Michael Kaufman.
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], Anne and Michael Kaufman Papers, Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, Los
Angeles, California.
Biography & Organizational Histories
Anne Levine Kaufman is a teacher and long-time Los Angeles resident. Michael Kaufman is a former Los Angeles area resident,
a computer programmer who currently (2001) lives in Northern California. They were both active in the Los Angeles chapters
of W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America when they met and married in the mid 1960s. Anne Kaufman attended the 1964 founding convention
for the clubs in Chicago, and served as Executive Secretary for the Los Angeles DuBois Clubs. Michael Kaufman served on the
organization's Education Committee.
They were also both active in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME) from the late
1960s through the 1970s. Michael Kaufman was a member of the Los Angeles County Data Processing Union, Local 1560 and later
of the United Workers Union, Local 2070, part of the Conference of University of California Employees (CUCE). Anne Kaufman
was a member of the California Rehabilitation Workers Union, Local 7620, and served as secretary in the late 1970s. They both
served on the AFSCME Steering Committee in 1970-1971.
Later, Anne Kaufman was an active member of the Rainbow Coalition of the 24th Congressional District. She served as co-chair
in 1988, and in 1989, she was on the sub-executive committee. She participated in many of the coalition's activities, saving
material on farm workers, reproductive rights, housing, and voters' rights. The Kaufman's marriage ended in the 1990's.
W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America
The W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America (DBC) was a nationwide Socialist oriented youth organization founded in San Francisco in
June 1964. The preamble to their constitution states: "It is our belief that this nation can best solve its problems in an
atmosphere of peaceful coexistence, complete disarmament, and true freedom for all peoples of the world, and that these solutions
will be reached mainly through the united efforts of the working people allied in the unity of Negroes and other minorities
with whites. We further fully recognize that the greatest threat to the American democracy comes from the racist and right-wing
forces in coalition with the most reactionary elements of the economic power structure, using the tool of anti-communism to
divide and destroy the unified strength of the working people." The DBC actively supported various political and social causes
including protesting the Vietnam War, the draft, police brutality, poverty and championing the United Farm Workers strikes,
community and campus organizing, and promoting the teaching of black history.
Local chapters were founded in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, and around the country. Los Angeles started
out with several separate groups that were unified in 1966. 1966 also saw the bombing of the DBC's National Headquarters in
San Francisco, just 48 hours after Attorney General Nicholas D. Katzenbach declared that the DBC must register as a Communist
Front Organization under the Internal Security Act of 1950 (McCarran Act). The DBC had protested this order, stating that
the McCarran Act had already been found unconstitutional. Terrence and Patrick Hallinan, sons of former Los Angeles area Progressive
Party presidential candidate Vincent Hallinan were both active in the organization.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) represents employees of any state and local governmental
agency, quasi-public agency, or non-profit agencies of public, charitable, educational or civic nature. AFSCME was founded
in 1934 as an affiliate of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) under the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
AFSCME quickly became a separate entity but grew slowly until the 1950s. In the 1960s, new leadership focused the union's
efforts on winning collective bargaining rights. In 1975, AFSCME had become the 6th largest affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
Rainbow Coalition, 24th Congressional District
Founded in 1984 by Jesse Jackson and born out of the historic "Jesse Jackson for President" campaigns in 1984 and 1988, the
National Rainbow Coalition is a grassroots organization dedicated to building a future for people of all colors and origins
("rainbow") to have a decent place to live, enough to eat, good medical care, quality education, satisfying work, sufficient
income, and where peace and justice will be secure throughout the world.
The 24th Congressional District (the Los Angeles Chapter of the Rainbow Coalition) became actively involved in the 1984 and
1988 U. S. Presidential Campaign. Voter registration, outreach, and fundraising were major objectives of the group.
This collection contains minutes, correspondence, flyers, pamphlets, newsletters, and periodicals. The papers of Anne and
Michael Kaufman document their involvement with social and labor issues and organizations. The majority of the collection
is divided among three major organizations: the W.E.B. DeBois Clubs where they met, the AFSCME union in which they were both
active, and the National Rainbow Coalition and 24th Congressional District in which Anne Kaufman was involved. Other materials
include Communist Party materials and information on the Los Angeles City Board of Education, and scattered other organizations.
The only personal material in the collection is Michael Kaufman's high school yearbook. Also included in this collection is
an extensive run of publications ranging from AFSCME and union publications to
EXTRA "Hollywood Star Gazette" (final edition), to the Monthly Communist Party Bulletin (
Red Letter).
Arrangement
The collection is divided into four series: 1. W.E.B. DEBOIS CLUBS, 2. AFSCME, 3. RAINBOW COALITION, and 4. MISCELLANEOUS.
Arrangement
Within each series folders are arranged alphabetically.
Several periodicals were removed from this collection and added to the runs already in the Library's Periodical Collection.
These include:
AFSCME/California (1975-1978),
Coalition for Economic Survival (1975),
Pacific Coast Youth Recorder (1955),
The Southern Patriot (1975),
Red Letter - Monthly Communist Party Bulletin (1975-1976), and
World Youth (1959).
The Madrid Pact: A Danger! produced by the Committee for a Democratic Spain Southern California Chapter, Long Beach, c.1973 has been added to the Library's
Poster Collection.
Related Material at the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Physical Location: Chronological Files:
See following
Title: "Communist Party"
Physical Location: Pamphlet Collection:
See following
Title: "Communist Party"