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Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations

Call Number

V1989.022

Date

circa 1962, inclusive

Creator

Adelman, Bob (Role: Photographer)

Extent

0.03 Linear Feet 17 items housed in one box.

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations is comprised of 17 black-and-white slides made in the late 1980s from original photographic prints dating from circa 1962. The photographs pertain to several civil rights demonstrations organized by the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) including "Operation Clean Sweep," a demonstration addressing discriminatory sanitation policies in New York City; a demonstration in front of Ebinger's Bakery in Brooklyn in regards to its discriminatory hiring practices; a sit-in at the Board of Education calling for the end of de facto segregated schools and equal access to quality education; and a sleep-in at a "model home" for newly constructed housing located in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn in regards to discriminatory rental and buying practices.

Historical note

Founded in Chicago in 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) was centered on the principles of interracial, nonviolent direct action. Local chapters that affiliated with national CORE had a great deal of autonomy of action. Within this structure, Brooklyn CORE emerged in the early 1960s as one of the most radical CORE chapters, focusing on the living conditions of poor African-Americans in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and employing increasingly aggressive confrontational tactics.

Oliver H. Leeds (d. 1989) served for a time as chairman of the Brooklyn chapter of CORE, where he worked to fight against discriminatory hiring practices in the work place in New York City, helped organize "Operation Clean Sweep" which focused on addressing discriminatory sanitation policies in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and organized a student boycott of New York City public schools, among other activities. Oliver and his wife Marjorie, who was also a member of Brooklyn CORE, had two daughters, Maxine and Beverly.

Arnold (Arnie) Stanley Goldwag (1938-2008) attended Brooklyn College beginning in 1955 where he became involved in the activities of Brooklyn CORE. His role in the chapter expanded quickly, and in the years of Goldwag's active participation in CORE (1960-1965), he held leadership positions, principally as the Community Relations Director. Goldwag participated in a number of actions including the 1963 Board of Education sit-in. Goldwag's activism led to several arrests and a 13 month prison sentence in 1964; he served one month of the sentence in Rikers Island penitentiary.

Bob Adelman (b. 1930) is a photojournalist, book producer, editor, author, and teacher. His photographs have appeared in both national and international magazines, have been shown in numerous exhibitions, and have been collected into photographic books. Many of his photographs documenting the civil rights movement in the United States have been published in the book, Mine Eyes Have Seen: Bearing Witness to the Struggle for Civil Rights. Adelman was born in Brooklyn in 1930. He studied photography under Alexey Brodovitch, earned a BA from Rutgers University, studied Law at Harvard University, and earned a MA in Philosophy from Columbia University. As of 2011, he lives in Miami, FL.

Sources:

  1. Brooklyn Historical Society. Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) collection (ARC.002). Accessed September 1, 2011. http://brooklynhistory.org/library/wp/arnie-goldwag-brooklyn-core/
  2. "Obituaries: Oliver Leeds, 68, Ex-Head of CORE Chapter." New York Times, February 23, 1989. Accessed September 1, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/23/obituaries/oliver-leeds-68-ex-head-of-core-chapter.html
  3. Bob Adelman (website). "Bio." Accessed September 1, 2011. http://www.bobadelman.net/pages/bob_adelman_bio.html
  4. Benedictus, Leo. "Bob Adelman's best shot." The Guardian, January 3, 2008. Accessed September 1, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jan/03/photography

Scope and Contents

The Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations is comprised of 17 black-and-white slides made in the late 1980s from original photographic prints dating from circa 1962. The photographs pertain to several civil rights demonstrations organized by the Brooklyn chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) including "Operation Clean Sweep," a demonstration addressing discriminatory sanitation policies in New York City; a demonstration in front of Ebinger's Bakery in Brooklyn in regards to its discriminatory hiring practices; a sit-in at the Board of Education calling for the end of de facto segregated schools and equal access to quality education; and a sleep-in at a "model home" for newly constructed housing located in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn in regards to discriminatory rental and buying practices. The collection includes photographs of street protests of the aforementioned civil rights actions; a photograph of Arnold Goldwag being arrested during a demonstration; several photographs in which Oliver Leeds, Marjorie Leeds, and some of the Leeds children are involved in demonstrations; and group portraits of other unidentified local civil rights activists. Although unnamed, the collection includes a photograph of the first African-American person hired by Ebinger's Bakery. All photographs are attributed to Bob Adelman.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by Bob Adelman. All uses beyond fair use requires a licensing agreement as per Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Patrons should contact the photographer to receive licensing permissions.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Bob Adelman photographs of Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) demonstrations, V1989.022, Folder number, Object ID number; Center for Brooklyn History, Brooklyn Public Library.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Oliver Leeds, 1989.

Related Materials

Arnie Goldwag Brooklyn Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) collection (ARC.002), including an extensive list of related materials outside of CBH in the Related Materials note. Please consult library staff for more information.

Rioghan Kirchner Civil Rights in Brooklyn Collection (BCMS.0011)

Other Finding Aids

Item level description and digital versions of images from the collection are available for searching via the image database in the library. Please consult library staff for more information.

Collection processed by

Patricia Glowinski

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-09-21 17:21:26 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English.

Processing Information note

Fully processed to the item level.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: Slides by Accession 1, Box: 6, item: V1989.22.2, 5-17 (Material Type: Graphic Materials)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201