Sophie M. Gerson Papers
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Creator
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Abstract
Sophie Melvin Gerson (1910-1996) was a Communist labor activist who participated in the Gastonia, North Carolina Textile Strike of 1929, and in other labor organizing activities throughout the Mid-Atlantic states in the early 1930s.The collection contains letters from Sophie Gerson dated 1929-1931 to her husband Simon W. (Si) Gerson, who for many years ran the election campaigns of the Communist Party USA. The letters are written from various cities where Sophie Gerson was involved in labor organizing, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states, but also including a few letters from Gastonia. In addition to discussing her organizing activities, affection for Si Gerson and Communist Party politics, there is also discussion of the problems of taking care of her son William, while being an organizer away from home. There is also one file from 1953 on the unsuccessful effort of the U.S. government to revoke her naturalization papers, and two photographs of Sophie Gerson.
Biographical Note
Sophie Melvin Gerson (1910-2006) was a Communist labor activist who participated in the Gastonia, North Carolina Textile Strike of 1929, and in other labor organizing activities throughout the Mid-Atlantic states in the early 1930s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains letters from Sophie Gerson dated 1929-1931 to her husband Simon W. (Si) Gerson, who for many years ran the election campaigns of the Communist Party USA. The letters are written from various cities where Sophie Gerson was involved in labor organizing, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states, but also including a few letters from Gastonia. In addition to discussing her organizing activities, affection for Si Gerson and Communist Party politics, there is also discussion of the problems of taking care of her son William, while being an organizer away from home. There is also one file from 1953 on the unsuccessful effort of the U.S. government to revoke her naturalization papers, and two photographs of Sophie Gerson. The collection also includes a copy of Gerson's obituary.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1929-1931 and 1953, are expected to enter the public domain in 2073.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Sophie M. Gerson Papers; TAM 401; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Laura Hapke, date unknown. The accession number associated with this gift is 1950.033.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 are unknown. In 2019 the collection was prepared for offsite storage and the collection description was updated for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description.
