Information: The first column shows data points from Robinson, John Cleveland, 1817-1897 in red. The third column shows data points from Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995 in blue. Any data they share in common is displayed as purple boxes in the middle "Shared" column.
Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was an American labor organizer, and civil rights activist. He was a key figure in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for which he acted as the Chairman of the Administrative Committee.[2]
Contents
1 Life
2 Family
3 References
4 External links
Life
Cleveland Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, in Manchester, Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1944. When he arrived he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65. In 1947 he owned his own shop; he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and later in 1952 became secretary-treasurer. He held that position until he retired in 1992. When District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union, Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After disagreements with the retail, wholesale and department store workers union District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America and Robinson was elected president of the new body. In 1981, District 65 was affiliated with the United Auto Workers. At that time the union had 33,000 members in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. In 1957, he participated in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. He was the chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In September 1972, he helped to found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), successor organization to the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), and served as its first vice-president.[3]
Robinson suffered from glaucoma for many years, and was legally blind in 1970. His level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations.
Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995. His papers are held by the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.[4]
Family
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, they had two sons and a daughter. When she died in 1976, he married Doreen Mcpherson Robinson.
1
American army officer.
From the description of Autograph letter signed : Binghamton, New York, to William W. Belknap, 1869 Dec. 31. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270655527
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BiogHist
BiogHist
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Cleveland Robinson was born in 1914 in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the United States in 1944. On arrival he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65, Distributive Workers. After organizing his own shop in 1947, he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. During the period when District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union (RWDSU), Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After longstanding disagreements with the RWDSU about the pace of organizing in the South and efforts to reach minority workers, District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America; Cleveland Robinson was elected president of the new body. District 65 finally affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1981. At that time the union was comprised of 33,000 members, one half of whom were women, and one third minority workers; it had locals in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
A close associate of A. Philip Randolph, Robinson was founding member and vice-president of the Negro American Labor Council; he assumed the presidency of the 40,000-member NALC when Randolph retired in 1966. In 1971 he helped to found the Council of Black Trade Unionists, successor organization to the NALC, and served as its first vice president.
In addition to his union activity, Cleveland Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. He was administrative chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A friend and advisor on labor matters to Martin Luther King, Jr., he was an active member of the National Urban League and the NAACP, a director of the Southern Christian leadership Council, and a trustee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, GA. He was also a leader in the struggle to mobilize American opposition to apartheid in South Africa and supported movements for labor and human rights in many African nations. He sat on the steering committee of the American Committee for Africa, and served as Commissioner of the New York City Commission for Human Rights during the administrations of Mayors Wagner and Lindsay. As co-chair of the committee that organized Nelson Mandela's visit to New York City in 1990, he spearheaded a massive fund-raising campaign among the city's trade unions to defray the expenses of the event. At the time of his death he was chair of the New York State Martin Luther King, Jr., Commission, which worked toward having King's birthday declared a legal holiday and sponsors observances of the day and educational programs focusing on civil rights throughout the state each year. He was the recipient of New York State's Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal of Freedom in 1987 and the Eugene V. Debs/Norman Thomas Award of the New York Democratic Socialists of America in 1984.
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, a department store worker and member of District 65; and they had two sons and a daughter. After her death in 1976 he married again, Doreen McPherson Robinson. He suffered severely from glaucoma for many years, and was considered legally blind by 1970; but his level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations. Cleveland Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995.
eng
Latn
Citation
BiogHist
BiogHist
Source Citation
Cleveland Robinson was born in 1914 in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the United States in 1944. On arrival he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65, Distributive Workers. After organizing his own shop in 1947, he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. During the period when District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union (RWDSU), Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After longstanding disagreements with the RWDSU about the pace of organizing in the South and efforts to reach minority workers, District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America; Cleveland Robinson was elected president of the new body. District 65 finally affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1981. At that time the union was comprised of 33,000 members, one half of whom were women, and one third minority workers; it had locals in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
A close associate of A. Philip Randolph, Robinson was founding member and vice-president of the Negro American Labor Council; he assumed the presidency of the 40,000-member NALC when Randolph retired in 1966. In 1971 he helped to found the Council of Black Trade Unionists, successor organization to the NALC, and served as its first vice president.
In addition to his union activity, Cleveland Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. He was administrative chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A friend and advisor on labor matters to Martin Luther King, Jr., he was an active member of the National Urban League and the NAACP, a director of the Southern Christian leadership Council, and a trustee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, GA. He was also a leader in the struggle to mobilize American opposition to apartheid in South Africa and supported movements for labor and human rights in many African nations. He sat on the steering committee of the American Committee for Africa, and served as Commissioner of the New York City Commission for Human Rights during the administrations of Mayors Wagner and Lindsay. As co-chair of the committee that organized Nelson Mandela's visit to New York City in 1990, he spearheaded a massive fund-raising campaign among the city's trade unions to defray the expenses of the event. At the time of his death he was chair of the New York State Martin Luther King, Jr., Commission, which worked toward having King's birthday declared a legal holiday and sponsors observances of the day and educational programs focusing on civil rights throughout the state each year. He was the recipient of New York State's Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal of Freedom in 1987 and the Eugene V. Debs/Norman Thomas Award of the New York Democratic Socialists of America in 1984.
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, a department store worker and member of District 65; and they had two sons and a daughter. After her death in 1976 he married again, Doreen McPherson Robinson. He suffered severely from glaucoma for many years, and was considered legally blind by 1970; but his level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations. Cleveland Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995.
New York Times obituary for Robinson, viewed September 8, 2020
Cleveland Robinson, a veteran labor official and civil-rights advocate, died on Wednesday at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's hospital in the Bronx. A resident of the Bronx, he was 80.
The cause was kidney failure, his family said.
A former adviser on labor to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Mr. Robinson was chairman of the New York State Martin Luther King Jr. Commission at his death.
The commission plans observances for Dr. King's birthday, an official holiday marked on the third Monday in January, and it promotes educational programs on civil rights and nonviolent social change. It was formed by the Legislature in 1985 with Harry Belafonte as its chairman; Mr. Robinson, the founding vice chairman, succeeded him two years ago.
Mr. Robinson was the administrative chairman of the March on Washington in August 1963. At the time, he was also a member of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Mr. Robinson was associated with the commission during the administrations of Robert F. Wagner and John V. Lindsay.
In the labor movement, he was associated with the Negro American Labor Council, first as vice president and later as president. That body took up the struggle to get minority representation in the leadership of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and its constituent unions. Working within the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the council sought to bring the economic strength of black union workers to bear.
From 1952 until his retirement in 1992, Mr. Robinson led District 65 and its some 30,000 members in small shops and department stores in New York City. The organization was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Employees Union until 1969.
District 65 later affiliated with the United Auto Workers. It dissolved in 1992 when Mr. Robinson retired as secretary-treasurer and the district's workers reorganized into 10 locals of the U.A.W.
Cleveland Lowellyn Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Manchester, Jamaica, and immigrated to the United States in 1944.
Two years later, he unionized a Manhattan dry goods store where he worked. In 1947, he joined the staff of District 65 as an organizer. He was elected vice president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952.
Through the years, Mr. Robinson became a vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa. In 1990, he was co-chairman for the official visit of Nelson Mandela to New York.
He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Doreen McPherson Robinson; two sons, Winston of West Hempstead, L.I., and Noel of the Bronx; a daughter, Barbara Stuart of Boston; a sister, Myra Sinclair of the Bronx, and six grandchildren. His first wife, Susan Jenkins Robinson, died in 1976.
Wikipedia article on Robinson, viewed September 8, 2020
Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was an American labor organizer, and civil rights activist. He was a key figure in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for which he acted as the Chairman of the Administrative Committee.[2]
Contents
1 Life
2 Family
3 References
4 External links
Life
Cleveland Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, in Manchester, Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1944. When he arrived he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65. In 1947 he owned his own shop; he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and later in 1952 became secretary-treasurer. He held that position until he retired in 1992. When District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union, Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After disagreements with the retail, wholesale and department store workers union District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America and Robinson was elected president of the new body. In 1981, District 65 was affiliated with the United Auto Workers. At that time the union had 33,000 members in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. In 1957, he participated in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. He was the chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In September 1972, he helped to found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), successor organization to the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), and served as its first vice-president.[3]
Robinson suffered from glaucoma for many years, and was legally blind in 1970. His level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations.
Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995. His papers are held by the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.[4]
Family
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, they had two sons and a daughter. When she died in 1976, he married Doreen Mcpherson Robinson.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Robinson
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Robinson
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Biographical note from Cleveland Robinson Papers held at Tamiment Library, viewed September 8, 2020
Cleveland Robinson was born in 1914 in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the United States in 1944. On arrival he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65, Distributive Workers. After organizing his own shop in 1947, he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. During the period when District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union (RWDSU), Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After longstanding disagreements with the RWDSU about the pace of organizing in the South and efforts to reach minority workers, District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America; Cleveland Robinson was elected president of the new body. District 65 finally affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 1981. At that time the union was comprised of 33,000 members, one half of whom were women, and one third minority workers; it had locals in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
A close associate of A. Philip Randolph, Robinson was founding member and vice-president of the Negro American Labor Council; he assumed the presidency of the 40,000-member NALC when Randolph retired in 1966. In 1971 he helped to found the Council of Black Trade Unionists, successor organization to the NALC, and served as its first vice president.
In addition to his union activity, Cleveland Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. He was administrative chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A friend and advisor on labor matters to Martin Luther King, Jr., he was an active member of the National Urban League and the NAACP, a director of the Southern Christian leadership Council, and a trustee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, GA. He was also a leader in the struggle to mobilize American opposition to apartheid in South Africa and supported movements for labor and human rights in many African nations. He sat on the steering committee of the American Committee for Africa, and served as Commissioner of the New York City Commission for Human Rights during the administrations of Mayors Wagner and Lindsay. As co-chair of the committee that organized Nelson Mandela's visit to New York City in 1990, he spearheaded a massive fund-raising campaign among the city's trade unions to defray the expenses of the event. At the time of his death he was chair of the New York State Martin Luther King, Jr., Commission, which worked toward having King's birthday declared a legal holiday and sponsors observances of the day and educational programs focusing on civil rights throughout the state each year. He was the recipient of New York State's Martin Luther King, Jr. Medal of Freedom in 1987 and the Eugene V. Debs/Norman Thomas Award of the New York Democratic Socialists of America in 1984.
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, a department store worker and member of District 65; and they had two sons and a daughter. After her death in 1976 he married again, Doreen McPherson Robinson. He suffered severely from glaucoma for many years, and was considered legally blind by 1970; but his level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations. Cleveland Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995.
Robinson, John Cleveland, 1817-1897. Autograph letter signed : Binghamton, New York, to William W. Belknap, 1869 Dec. 31.
0
Robinson, John Cleveland, 1817-1897
creatorOf
Papers of William Silliman Hillyer, 1822 (1861-1874) 1931, [manuscript].
Hillyer, William Silliman, 1831-1874. Papers of William Silliman Hillyer, 1822 (1861-1874) 1931, [manuscript].
Title:
Papers of William Silliman Hillyer, 1822 (1861-1874) 1931, [manuscript].
Correspondence, military papers, speeches, photographs, printed material and memorabilia. Military papers of Hillyer include district provost marshall reports; special and general orders of Grant, Sherman, Hillyer and others, especially one of congratulations on Port Gibson; passes; accounts; oaths of allegiance; and a receipt for Ulric Dahlgren's ring. Correspondence of Hillyer, his parents, children, and Grant chiefly pertains to the Civil War. There are discussions of the secession riots in St. Louis, and Grant's "Jew Order" of Dec. 17, 1862; a denial of Grant's drunkeness at Ft. Donelson; references to various services by blacks; and descriptions of the battles of Iuka, Holly Springs, Campbell's Station and Chickamauga, and of the Chattanooga campaign. Of unusual interest are a signed copy of Grant's letter to Simon B. Buckner demanding unconditional surrender at Ft. Donelson; a draft of a letter from Grant to Henry Halleck asking either relief from Command or full restoration to it; a letter of Grant's discussing his plans for the Vicksburg campaign; and a photocopy of Robert E. Lee's April 9, 1865, letter asking for a suspension of hostilities with a forwarding note by E.O.C. Ord mentioning Sheridan. Other Civil War papers concern a Union Army scout; a claim from a spy near Richmond who supplied information for Hugh Kilpatrick's Rappahannock raid; the military service of John H.H. Ward; the Senate investigation of George K. Leet; Hillyer's connection with Mann's Accoutrement Manufacturing Company; and a reunion of the Army of the Tennessee. Hillyer family letters include considerable correspondence between Anna Rankin Hillyer and Julia Dent Grant; and correspondence of Hillyer's father from Henderson, Ky., 1825-1833. There are impressions of a Mississippi voyage to New Orleans, 1834; Lafayette College, 1842; a temperance speech by Richard Johnson, 1842; Washington, D.C., 1868-1869, including Grant's inauguration, and visits to Johnson, Grant, and Hancock; and Sewanee and the University of the South, 1873. Additional items of interest include an 1870 letter from Horace Greeley mentioning Hillyer's Congressional nomination; a lampoon of Lew Wallace; and an account of how New York Daily News reporter Benjamin Wood scooped the news of Andrew Johnson's acquittal.
Papers, 1861-1865, pertaining to the Civil War [manuscript].
Hench, Atcheson Laughlin, 1891-1974. Papers, 1861-1865, pertaining to the Civil War [manuscript].
Title:
Papers, 1861-1865, pertaining to the Civil War [manuscript].
The collection consists of letters to family and friends by Union and Confederate soldiers. They discuss camp life, marching and battles including Prarie Grove, 1st Bull Run, Munfordsville, the "Mud March" following Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Other topics include requisition of supplies; runaway slaves; military hospitals; religious sentiments; opinions of officers and of the enemy; and the election of 1864. Of interest are a letter from B.F. Goodrich to a widow re her husband's death, a letter from chaplain Henry S. DeForest to a professor Nason re fossils discovered near Williamsburg, and a diary of a Captain Thompson, imprisoned Union officer, describing life in prison, fellow officers, and war rumors including C.S.A. triumphs and black union troops at Monroe, La.
Hench, Atcheson Laughlin, 1891-1974. Papers, 1861-1865, pertaining to the Civil War [manuscript].
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970.
Gollin, Albert E. Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970.
Title:
Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970.
The Bureau of Social Science Research Files collection are comprised of materials from the two sociological studies for which Albert Gollin was the principal investigator; the March on Washington (l963) and the Poor People's Campaign (l968). In addition to material generated by the BSSR in their study and analysis of these events, the collection contains documents from both the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign that Gollin and his team gathered for their studies. The March on Washington series has been divided into three sub-series: Study, Reference and Survey. Included are planning documents on Gollin's organization of the study of the March; reference material used to analyze it and previous marches; survey instruments and questionnaires; interview guidelines and transcripts; media-related materials such as newspaper clippings and television program transcripts; and reference material for the final report. Of interest are transcripts of interviews with James Farmer, Dr. Anna Arnold Hedgeman, John Lewis, Cleveland Robinson, Bayard Rustin and Whitney Young. The Poor People's Campaign (PPC) series documents the active planning for the PPC beginning in early l968 and intensifying in May of that year. The series is arranged into four sub-series: Study, Survey, Reference and Media. The Study sub-series encompasses the BSSR's study of the campaign, reports and other writings, and studies of civil disobedience. Gollin's involvement with SCLC's administration of the PPC is evident in the files and documents included here. The Survey sub-series includes codebooks, survey instruments, and interview guidelines. There are transcripts of interviews conducted by BSSR staff and volunteers with participants as well as caravan reports from participant-observers who travelled with the caravans. The Reference sub-series contains documents related to the lobbying efforts of the organizers of the PPC and shows the role of the national and local organizations that collaborated with the PPC. The Media sub-series includes articles and reports on the civil rights movement, as well as newspaper clippings and periodicals, 1963-1970, containing articles about both the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign in black and mainline publications.
ArchivalResource:
12.4 lin. ft. (29 archival boxes)
Gollin, Albert E. Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970.
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Records 1933-1995
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Records, 1933-1995
Title:
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Records 1933-1995
The labor union now known as District 65, UAW, was organized in 1933, by Arthur Osman and in 1938 became Local 65 of the United Retail and Wholesale Employees of America, CIO. In 1948, Local 65's leadership refused to sign the Taft-Hartley Act's non-communist affidavits, and Local 65, seceded from its parent union and the CIO but rejoined in 1954 as District 65 of the RWDSU (Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union). In 1969, differences, including the union's opposition to the Vietnam War, led to District 65's disaffiliation from the RWDSU and the formation of the National Council of Distributive Workers of America. In 1979, District 65 joined the United Automobile Workers. Though at first primarily composed of Jewish workers, the union expanded to include persons of various geographical and ethnic backgrounds from the retail and manufacturing sectors, clerical personnel, salesclerks, writers, editors, technicians, and lawyers. The collection contains minutes, shop files, arbitrations, grievances, counsel files, membership information and reports, financial material, and the records of some of the unions that were affiliated with District 65 throughout its history. NOTE: This collection is housed offsite and advance notice is required for use, with the exception of the first two series, which are available on microfilm only (R-7450).
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Records, 1933-1995
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
creatorOf
Cleveland Robinson Papers 1956-1992
Cleveland Robinson Papers, 1956-1992
Title:
Cleveland Robinson Papers 1956-1992
Cleveland Robinson (1914-1995) was an African American trade union leader and civil rights activist who served as Secretary-Treasurer of the United Auto Workers of America, District 65, from 1952-1992. The collection contains correspondence, miscellaneous documents, ephemera and clippings. NOTE: This collection is stored offsite and advance notice is required for use.
Robinson, Cleveland. Reminiscences of Cleveland Robinson : oral history, [198-?].
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
Richard Parrish papers, 1950-1975.
Parrish, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1914-1983. Richard Parrish papers, 1950-1975.
Title:
Richard Parrish papers, 1950-1975.
Correspondence, speeches, minutes, convention proceedings, articles, printed material, and newspapers clippings describing activities of the labor and civil rights organizations to which Parrish belonged, together with information on his teaching career in public schools. The predominant organization represented in these papers is the National Afro-American Labor Council at the chapter and national levels; there are some papers for the American Federation of Teachers. Correspondents include Cleveland Robinson, president of the NALC. Also, records of the National Afro-American Labor Council's National Executive Board including minutes, correspondence, reports, membership records, financial records, subject files, press releases, and convention materials, 1960-1975. Some material of A. Philip Randolph and L. Joseph Overton, National Secretary of the NALC, is also included.
ArchivalResource:
Originals: 1.4 lin ft.Copies: 3 microfilm reels.
Parrish, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1914-1983. Richard Parrish papers, 1950-1975.
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
Guide to the Sam Reiss Photographs, circa 1930-1975
Guide to the Sam Reiss Photographs, circa 1930-1975
Title:
Guide to the Sam Reiss Photographs, circa 1930-1975
Samuel Reiss was among the most prominent and prolific photographers of the labor movement in New York City from the late 1940s until his death in 1975. During the three decades that Reiss earned a living with his camera, he documented a changing work force in a changing city, building a reputation as "Labor's photographer." Week by week, throughout his career, Reiss made photographs that document New York's labor movement during its most active, influential, and progressive years. The Sam Reiss Photographs Collection - Part II: Photographic Prints is comprised of approximately 8,400 overwhelmingly black and white 8"x 10" photographic prints from ca. the 1930s to 1975, although the bulk were shot between the 1950s and 1970s. Most of these images document the activities and leadership of many of the major labor unions in New York City and the metropolitan area during this period, including those representing workers in the garment, retail, communications, transportation and entertainment industries, and teachers. Many of these images are portraits and group photographs. A small but rich selection of images shows people engaged in various kinds of work, and the collection also includes small numbers of images of sports and recreation, school children, building construction, apartment housing, voter registration drives, and picnics.
ArchivalResource:
6.25 Linear Feet Black and white silver gelatin prints and Color C-Prints
Sam Reiss Photographs - Part II: Photographic Prints, Bulk, 1950-1975, Circa 1930-1975
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969
Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969
Title:
Guide to the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives Moving Images Collection, 1920-1969
The Tamiment/Wagner Moving Images Collection represents the core motion picture film collection of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. It includes the film archives of the Transport Workers Union of America, a labor union founded in 1934 to organize subway workers and bus drivers in the New York City area that later included taxi drivers, railway employees, airline workers and utility workers in locals across the country; films and film footage from District 65/UAW , another labor union formed in New York City (in 1933) that organized warehouse workers, later expanding to include workers from the retail and manufacturing sectors, clerical personnel, salesclerks, writers, editors, technicians, and lawyers, include large numbers of women; a complete film, Nos Maisons d'Enfants, from the Jewish Labor Committee, a New York-based umbrella group of Jewish or Jewish-led trade unions and fraternal organizations, founded in 1934 to organize anti-Nazi and anti-fascist activity and to provide assistance to European Jews and others persecuted by these movements; footage shot by still photographer John Albok (1894-1982), known for his images of children and New York City street life during the Depression, who also documented organized labor and left-radical political life in New York City; and early footage of Camp Tamiment, a summer resort for socialists, in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, that opened in 1921. The remainder of the materials in the Collection come from various other labor and radical organizations. Together, they comprise approximately 40 hours of black and white and color 16mm motion picture film (and one 35mm film) which have been transferred to video for research use. They document activities and history of the labor movement and radical left or progressive organizations, mostly in New York City (although Philadelphia, Barcelona, Geneva, and a few locations in France are also represented. Most were produced by or for labor, left or progressive organizations and associated individuals in the United States. The Collection includes a dozen documentary films and a similar number each of television programs and filmed press conferences, but the largest proportion of materials by far consists of outtakes and edited sequences from these productions; a small amount of stock footage shot, acquired for, or associated with, these productions and unedited footage not associated with them.
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs
Title:
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs
District Council 65, United Automobile Workers (UAW) was organized in 1933 by a group of Jewish workers employed in dry goods warehouses on New York's Lower East Side. In 1935 it became a local of the Wholesale Dry Goods Employees Union; subsequently, it affiliated with the Distributive Trades Council of New York and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU); it joined with the UAW in 1979. The union went out of existence in 1994, when bankruptcy forced it to close. This Collection consists of photographs spanning the late 1930s through the early 1990s, with the bulk from the 1940s, 1950s and 1980s. Besides documenting the life and times of the union itself, these images provide especially strong documentation for left and liberal causes of the 1940s-1960s, including civil rights, rank and file participation in union activities, and working class leisure and recreational activities. This images in this collection were shot by District 65's own Camera Club, which functioned as staff photographers for the union's biweekly newspaper, the Distributive Worker.
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
Guide to the New Yorkers at Work Oral History Collection, 1979-2000
Guide to the New Yorkers at Work Oral History Collection, 1979-2000
Title:
Guide to the New Yorkers at Work Oral History Collection, 1979-2000
New Yorkers at Work is an ongoing oral history project of New York University's Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives that seeks to document the history of labor and the working experiences of New Yorkers.
ArchivalResource:
15 Linear Feet (approximately 300 cassette tapes)
New Yorkers at Work Oral History Collection, 1979-2000
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
referencedIn
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs- Part I: Negatives and Interpositives Bulk, 1940-1959 1938-1969
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs- Part I: Negatives and Interpositives, Bulk, 1940-1959, 1938-1969
Title:
United Automobile Workers of America, District 65 Photographs- Part I: Negatives and Interpositives Bulk, 1940-1959 1938-1969
District Council 65, United Automobile Workers (UAW) was organized in 1933 by a group of Jewish workers employed in dry goods warehouses on New York's Lower East Side. In 1935 it became a local of the Wholesale Dry Goods Employees Union; subsequently, it affiliated with the Distributive Trades Council of New York and the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU); it affiliated with the UAW in 1979. The union went out of existence in 1994, when bankruptcy forced it to close. Between 1937 and 1942, District 65 was at the center of a group of New York City left-wing locals organizing large numbers of warehouse and retail workers; it later expanded its organizing to include white-collar workers in publishing and universities. Politically active in areas beyond its own immediate concerns, District 65 was an early participant in the civil rights movement, as well as one of the first labor unions to publicly oppose the Vietnam War. It also took a progressive stance within its own organization, with rank and file members playing an active role in their union. The collection consists of nearly 30,000 black and white negatives spanning the late 1930s through the early 1960s, with the bulk from the 1940s and 1950s, shot by members of District 65's own Camera Club, which functioned as staff photographers for the union's newspaper. The images document the everyday organizational life of District 65, its leaders and its diverse membership (including men and women of Jewish, African-American, Irish and Hispanic descent), while at the same time providing especially strong documentation generally for left and liberal causes of the 1940s-1960s, including civil rights, rank and file participation in union activities, working class leisure and recreational activities. Also included are images of prominent left-wing and liberal politicians, entertainers, and celebrities.
Hillyer, William Silliman, 1831-1874. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gf1mrb
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Hillyer, William Silliman, 1831-1874.
0
Robinson, John Cleveland, 1817-1897
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Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897
Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67h4t9n
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Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
associatedWith
American Committee for Africa.
American Committee for Africa. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s629k4
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American Committee for Africa.
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
founderOf
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (U.S.).
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (U.S.). http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6tb6nhk
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Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (U.S.).
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
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Gollin, Albert E.
Gollin, Albert E. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64q93fs
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Gollin, Albert E.
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
memberOf
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. District 65.
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. District 65. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m68bd1
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International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. District 65.
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
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King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968 http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6x63m0v
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King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
participantIn
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.)
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.) http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s24pw3
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March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (1963 : Washington, D.C.)
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
leaderOf
Negro American Labor Council
Negro American Labor Council http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b621vc
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Negro American Labor Council
Source Citation
Cleveland Robinson, a veteran labor official and civil-rights advocate, died on Wednesday at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's hospital in the Bronx. A resident of the Bronx, he was 80.
The cause was kidney failure, his family said.
A former adviser on labor to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Mr. Robinson was chairman of the New York State Martin Luther King Jr. Commission at his death.
The commission plans observances for Dr. King's birthday, an official holiday marked on the third Monday in January, and it promotes educational programs on civil rights and nonviolent social change. It was formed by the Legislature in 1985 with Harry Belafonte as its chairman; Mr. Robinson, the founding vice chairman, succeeded him two years ago.
Mr. Robinson was the administrative chairman of the March on Washington in August 1963. At the time, he was also a member of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Mr. Robinson was associated with the commission during the administrations of Robert F. Wagner and John V. Lindsay.
In the labor movement, he was associated with the Negro American Labor Council, first as vice president and later as president. That body took up the struggle to get minority representation in the leadership of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and its constituent unions. Working within the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the council sought to bring the economic strength of black union workers to bear.
From 1952 until his retirement in 1992, Mr. Robinson led District 65 and its some 30,000 members in small shops and department stores in New York City. The organization was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Employees Union until 1969.
District 65 later affiliated with the United Auto Workers. It dissolved in 1992 when Mr. Robinson retired as secretary-treasurer and the district's workers reorganized into 10 locals of the U.A.W.
Cleveland Lowellyn Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Manchester, Jamaica, and immigrated to the United States in 1944.
Two years later, he unionized a Manhattan dry goods store where he worked. In 1947, he joined the staff of District 65 as an organizer. He was elected vice president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952.
Through the years, Mr. Robinson became a vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa. In 1990, he was co-chairman for the official visit of Nelson Mandela to New York.
He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Doreen McPherson Robinson; two sons, Winston of West Hempstead, L.I., and Noel of the Bronx; a daughter, Barbara Stuart of Boston; a sister, Myra Sinclair of the Bronx, and six grandchildren. His first wife, Susan Jenkins Robinson, died in 1976.
1
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
associatedWith
New York (N.Y.). City Commission on Human Rights.
New York (N.Y.). City Commission on Human Rights. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6rg0f4n
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New York (N.Y.). City Commission on Human Rights.
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
associatedWith
New York State Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.
New York State Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6g228kj
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New York State Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.
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Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
associatedWith
Parrish, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1914-1983.
Parrish, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1914-1983. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ns2rn1
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Parrish, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1914-1983.
0
Robinson, Cleveland L. (Cleveland Lowellyn), 1914-1995
Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was an American labor organizer, and civil rights activist. He was a key figure in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for which he acted as the Chairman of the Administrative Committee.[2]
Contents
1 Life
2 Family
3 References
4 External links
Life
Cleveland Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, in Manchester, Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1944. When he arrived he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65. In 1947 he owned his own shop; he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and later in 1952 became secretary-treasurer. He held that position until he retired in 1992. When District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union, Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After disagreements with the retail, wholesale and department store workers union District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America and Robinson was elected president of the new body. In 1981, District 65 was affiliated with the United Auto Workers. At that time the union had 33,000 members in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. In 1957, he participated in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. He was the chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In September 1972, he helped to found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), successor organization to the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), and served as its first vice-president.[3]
Robinson suffered from glaucoma for many years, and was legally blind in 1970. His level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations.
Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995. His papers are held by the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.[4]
Family
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, they had two sons and a daughter. When she died in 1976, he married Doreen Mcpherson Robinson.
Cleveland Lowellyn "Cleve" Robinson (December 12, 1914 – August 23, 1995) was an American labor organizer, and civil rights activist. He was a key figure in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for which he acted as the Chairman of the Administrative Committee.[2]
Contents
1 Life
2 Family
3 References
4 External links
Life
Cleveland Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, in Manchester, Jamaica. After serving as a local constable and an elementary school teacher, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1944. When he arrived he took a job in a Manhattan dry goods store and very soon became active in District 65. In 1947 he owned his own shop; he went on to become a steward, and then a full-time organizer for the union. He was elected vice-president in 1950 and later in 1952 became secretary-treasurer. He held that position until he retired in 1992. When District 65 was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers Union, Robinson held the positions of international vice-president and executive board member of that union. After disagreements with the retail, wholesale and department store workers union District 65 pulled out and organized the National Council of Distributive Workers of America and Robinson was elected president of the new body. In 1981, District 65 was affiliated with the United Auto Workers. At that time the union had 33,000 members in 37 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. In 1957, he participated in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. He was the chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In September 1972, he helped to found the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), successor organization to the Negro American Labor Council (NALC), and served as its first vice-president.[3]
Robinson suffered from glaucoma for many years, and was legally blind in 1970. His level of commitment and activity was in no way impaired by this disability. He never lost touch with his Jamaican origins and traveled to the island often, keeping up a keen interest in a number of Jamaican-American political, cultural and fraternal organizations.
Robinson died of kidney failure in New York City in August 1995. His papers are held by the Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.[4]
Family
His first wife was Sue Eliza Robinson, they had two sons and a daughter. When she died in 1976, he married Doreen Mcpherson Robinson.
Cleveland Robinson, a veteran labor official and civil-rights advocate, died on Wednesday at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's hospital in the Bronx. A resident of the Bronx, he was 80.
The cause was kidney failure, his family said.
A former adviser on labor to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Mr. Robinson was chairman of the New York State Martin Luther King Jr. Commission at his death.
The commission plans observances for Dr. King's birthday, an official holiday marked on the third Monday in January, and it promotes educational programs on civil rights and nonviolent social change. It was formed by the Legislature in 1985 with Harry Belafonte as its chairman; Mr. Robinson, the founding vice chairman, succeeded him two years ago.
Mr. Robinson was the administrative chairman of the March on Washington in August 1963. At the time, he was also a member of the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Mr. Robinson was associated with the commission during the administrations of Robert F. Wagner and John V. Lindsay.
In the labor movement, he was associated with the Negro American Labor Council, first as vice president and later as president. That body took up the struggle to get minority representation in the leadership of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and its constituent unions. Working within the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the council sought to bring the economic strength of black union workers to bear.
From 1952 until his retirement in 1992, Mr. Robinson led District 65 and its some 30,000 members in small shops and department stores in New York City. The organization was affiliated with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Employees Union until 1969.
District 65 later affiliated with the United Auto Workers. It dissolved in 1992 when Mr. Robinson retired as secretary-treasurer and the district's workers reorganized into 10 locals of the U.A.W.
Cleveland Lowellyn Robinson was born in Swabys Hope, a rural parish of Manchester, Jamaica, and immigrated to the United States in 1944.
Two years later, he unionized a Manhattan dry goods store where he worked. In 1947, he joined the staff of District 65 as an organizer. He was elected vice president in 1950 and secretary-treasurer in 1952.
Through the years, Mr. Robinson became a vocal opponent of apartheid in South Africa. In 1990, he was co-chairman for the official visit of Nelson Mandela to New York.
He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Doreen McPherson Robinson; two sons, Winston of West Hempstead, L.I., and Noel of the Bronx; a daughter, Barbara Stuart of Boston; a sister, Myra Sinclair of the Bronx, and six grandchildren. His first wife, Susan Jenkins Robinson, died in 1976.
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