Ida Guggenheimer papers

1944-1953

A social, political, and civil rights activist, Ida Guggenheimer was involved in a wide variety of causes and projects during her adult life. She was a member of the American Labor Party, and she was involved in the women's suffrage and trade union movements. She also participated in civil rights activities and lent her support to such causes as the trials of the Scottsboro Boys and Angelo Herndon. Her protege was Ralph Ellison, the author of Invisible Man, which is dedicated to Guggenheimer. The Ida Guggenheimer papers consist of correspondence and printed matter on Richard Wright and E. Franklin Frazier. The material regarding Wright concerns his writings and his withdrawal from the Communist Party of the U.S. Frazier was a prominent educator and sociologist. His correspondence with Guggenheimer relates mainly to an incident reported in the Black Dispatch and The People's Voice alleging that he had violated a labor organized boycott against a restaurant in Harlem that did not employ African Americans (1945). Other material peripherally relates to his career and the fight against racial segregation in Washington, D.C., during World War II. Five articles written by Frazier are included in this collection. Additionally, there is printed matter concerning the Lafargue Clinic, a mental hygiene clinic in Harlem. There is a limited amount of material on Guggenheimer herself, but there are some letters and biographical information.