Scope and arrangement
This collection documents the systematic oppression suffered by Black Americans, as well as other minority groups, the labor movement, and leftists, with particular emphasis on events that happened in the 1970s through the 1980s. The collection highlights cases of police brutality, inhumane prison conditions, unfair labor practices, efforts to circumvent segregation and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, resistance to the Vietnam War and its draft, affirmative action, hate group activity, and repressive legislation. Of particular note is the fact that the collection contains many first-hand accounts from prisoners corresponding about their cases and the conditions they were living and working in, as well as detailed accounts of police brutality and misconduct throughout the United States.
The collection also contains many small-press newsletters that were published by and for prisoners, including Join Hands, which was published by and for gay prisoners, as well as anarchist and pacifist publications. While the collection is mostly focused on Black Americans, other minority groups, such as Native American activists, Puerto Rican nationalists, Chicanos, and the LGBTQ community do have a presence. The collection is mostly focused on the United States, with the expectation of a few international cases, mostly concerning South African anti-apartheid efforts. International publications, in particular publications from the Soviet Union, are included, usually in reference to cases from the United States.
After Angela Davis was acquitted, she served on the executive board of the NAARPR and a significant amount of material is dedicated to her and the work she did with the Alliance. This includes materials related to speaking engagements, teaching and writing offers, correspondence, and extensive materials from the time of her arrest and trial, which predates the Alliance's founding.
Most of the materials were collected by the New York City office, though there are materials from various branches across the country and in Canada.
It should be noted that this collection does contain instances of hate speech and death threats, either in the form of materials sent to the Alliance, case accounts, or far-right publications collected by the Alliance for research and monitoring.
The The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression records are arranged in five series:
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1969-1995
The Administration series covers all materials related to the general operations of the Alliance, its executive board, meetings and conferences, financials, and press. This also includes material that predates the Alliance, showcasing the various grassroots movements that the Alliance was born out of, as well as material specifically related to the Alliance's extensive efforts to end repression in North Carolina. The various subseries are listed alphabetically.
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1967-1995
The Case Files series covers individual criminal justice and political cases that were advocated by the Alliance, most of which date from the 1970s. The Alliance dedicated itself to highlighting cases of victims of police brutality, political prisoners, the falsely convicted, prisoner's rights, a racist criminal justice system, efforts to silence Black elected officials, denials of tenure, and other cases of oppression. While not a legal organization, the Alliance used rallies, letter writing campaigns, petitions, protests, and other forms of social action to bring these cases to the public's attention. On occasion it was helpful in finding legal representation for incarcerated persons.
The majority of these cases concern the systematic and widespread oppression of Black Americans. However, the Alliance sought to highlight all forms of oppression and political prisoners, and the case files reflect that. The Alliance allied itself with the American Indian Movement (AIM) and a number of cases concern members of that organization. Additional cases concern Puerto Rican nationalists, Chicanos, and labor struggles. The vast majority of cases are American, but there are a small number of international cases, most notably that of Nelson and Winnie Mandela and other members of the African National Congress (ANC) and the broader anti-apartheid movement.
Cases in which the Alliance took a particularly active role are highlighted, with background on that case. Some individuals that were the subject of cases also served on the executive board, such as David Truong and Reverand Ben Chavis. This series consists of cases that the Alliance took active part in, as well as cases that were sent to the Alliance for consideration.
Cases are listed alphabetically. In the case of instances where two persons are the subject of one case, the names are in the order the Alliance had them.
The case files series contains: correspondence, including correspondence with inmates; flyers; legal documents; petitions; case histories; press, including newsletters published by prisoners; pamphlets; and research materials.
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1968-1994
Materials produced and collected by the various task forces that were part of the Alliance, as well as their legal support committee. Many of these task forces hosted workshops at the annual conventions, usually resulting in published resolutions.
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1958-1995
The Subject Files series is dedicated to materials mostly collected by the Alliance's New York City office on various topics that were of interest to the Alliance and its membership. Some of these folders contain correspondence directed to Alliance staff on the topics at hand. The subjects are broad, usually concerning racial discrimination and repressive legislation, as well as other topics that had nationwide interest. This includes abortion rights, the AIDS epidemic, anti-war movements, materials related to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA), repressive legislation and over-policing, inadequacies within the legal system, hate groups, institutionalized racism and sexism, and restrictions to the right to vote.
Some folders in this series include hate group publications with racist and anti-semitic hate speech.
Materials include: clippings; pamphlets; newsletters; proposals; flyers; reports; statistics; correspondence; and hate group publications for research purposes.
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1968-1993
The Alliance collected extensive material on the subject of police brutality in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as producing informational materials on the topic. This includes reports of the use of excessive and deadly force, discrimination, other abusive behavior, and efforts to establish citizen control boards at the local level. Some of these materials are grouped by their city of origin and most of the material concerns the over-policing of and use of violence against the Black community. The two cities most represented are New York City and Los Angeles. This does not include materials specifically related to the Task Force on Police Crimes.
Materials include: brochures; statistics; correspondence; testimony; press; background on cases; flyers; proposals for civilian control boards; booklets published by the Alliance; legal documents; reports; and materials for roundtable discussions.