Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
As ARB wraps up the project to process the records of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP regarding the 1974 lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati, we look at the 1984 settlement agreement that brought to an end the decade-long legal struggle to end racial isolation in Cincinnati’s public schools.
Image from Cincinnati Enquirer, February 17, 1984
On April 6, 1984, the ten-year lawsuit ended when a final settlement was approved by all parties and fairness hearings were conducted. Although the case did not go to trial, it is clear through the thousands of exhibits, dozens of deposed individuals and numerous lawyers that the case had a lasting impact on the city of Cincinnati. The settlement called for Cincinnati Public Schools to lessen racial isolation in the school system by 1991. The four major sections of the settlement stated:
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
History of alternative programs and schools
Alternative programs and schools in Cincinnati Public Schools existed prior to the Bronson v. Board of Education lawsuit and continued to grow in numbers as the case proceeded. These programs were designed to give students more opportunities in the classroom compared to the standard taught subjects. These were voluntary programs and open to students of all ages.
Field research is an exciting time, filled with travel, discoveries, and hope of breaking new ground. I recently traveled southwest Michigan, visiting four repositories in four days to research an event known as the Kentucky Raid, an attempt in 1847 by slavecatchers to kidnap African Americans residing in Cass County, Michigan thwarted by nonviolent resistance. This was a successful effort thanks to strong preparation and planning that allowed for thorough research of many resources.
First off, what was the Kentucky Raid? It remains little known or documented outside of Cass County. Kentucky plantation owners and bounty hunters sought to kidnap escaped slaves residing in a county that was also a hotbed of the Underground Railroad. However, the alarm was raised, free African Americans and whites confronted the slavecatchers and forced them through a hurried court trial to release the victims.
To start, I determined what I was going to research: not what happened but how memories and histories have shaped perspectives of the raid. This may appear simple, but it determined what repositories to visit, what collections to research, and what information to look for. This made for a more efficient effort on limited time.
This was especially important as records relating to the raid are scattered across southwest Michigan. Establishing the research goal allowed me to narrow the search to four repositories: the Cass District Library Local History Branch, the James E. Bonine House, the Lemmen Library & Archives at Grand Valley State University, and the Regional History Collections at Western Michigan University.
Before visiting any repositories came several steps. The first was presenting the goal and receiving supervisor permission. These helped secure funding for travel, meals, and living arrangements. Once they were approved and funded, I developed a schedule to ensure I used my limited time efficiently. As I was traveling every day between sites, I selected a hotel with a location central to them and a rental car for travel. One last step prior to visiting was contacting each repository a month in advance to give staff sufficient time to search collections for the necessary records.
The volumes of records yielded in these searches varied among the repositories. Which was why I had to decide on whether I had time to research them or make copies to research later. Two repositories had fewer records than the other two, giving me time to research them. The volume of records at the other two forced me to focus less on research and more on looking for records that could be worth researching and marking them for reproduction.
All these efforts served to make this a successful research trip in hope of showing how perspectives have changed of the Kentucky Raid over time. Yet all this would not have been possible without setting that goal, doing proper preparation, and determining where to visit and what to research.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
Image from Cincinnati Enquirer, November 14, 1978
The struggle of busing
During the legal proceedings of the Bronson case, one of the examples of discrimination within Cincinnati schools cited by the NAACP was the policy of busing students to school further away rather than allowing them to attend a much closer school in order to prevent integration at particular schools.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
Archival records from organizations may contain an array of documents and an incredible amount of those documents, such as correspondence, meeting minutes and case files. When this occurs, archivists may arrange the material into series and subseries in order to assist researchers in accessing the collection. The NAACP Bronson v. Board records is an example of this practice. Due to the extensive material within the collection, it is vital to note the different types of documents and what they mean in the context of the case. This includes files created and kept by the school districts and documents that originated in the court. For both document types, ARB has consulted with the Office of General Counsel to determine if any records need to be restricted or redacted.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
Map of Hamilton County School Districts provided by Metropolitan Association Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, undated
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
Before and during Bronson v. Board, there were several local organizations working towards education desegregation. These groups included committees, religious groups and nonprofits. The Cincinnati NAACP’s records related to the lawsuit include many examples of the different ways in which these organizations worked towards desegregation as seen in Community Notices, Exhibits, Research Materials and Attorney’s Work Files series housed within the Bronson v. Board records. Listed below are some of the different organizations and their impact.
The Archives & Rare Books Library is pleased to serve the University of Cincinnati with instruction in records management. With a student population of 53,000 and 12,000 employees, lots of records are created, received, managed, and destroyed or transferred at UC every day. The instruction gives employees the skills and knowledge to confidently manage records under their oversight. But what can they expect from instruction?
It starts with defining what a record is: any document, device, or item – physical or digital – that’s created by or received by UC to perform an action. That’s a broad definition but necessary with the many kinds of records on campus. At the same time, it’s just as important to know what is not a record: rough notes or drafts of official documents.
With these definitions, employees can better understand their responsibilities, starting with the four reasons for records management at UC: 1. Minimizing legal risk; 2. Reducing physical and digital storage costs; 3. Increasing administrative efficiency; 4. Preserving UC history. These help employees learn to create or receive records only as necessary to do their jobs and help others. But what about keeping or discarding records?
That involves the records retention schedules. They are a huge part of records management, determining how long records are kept. Most records at UC fall under the General Records Schedule. The GRS governs common business, administrative, and education records. Most areas of UC use the GRS. Yet some units have highly specialized records and therefore use unique retention schedules. Training helps employees understand and navigate both.
With staff understanding what records are, their responsibilities, and the retention schedules, they are ready to learn about destruction and transfer of records. Some records lose their usefulness with time and require destruction. But any destruction is documented on a form. Other records retain their usefulness and are transferred to University Archives.
To learn more about records management at UC, please contact the Records Manager to schedule a training for your unit (kirkwojp@ucmail.uc.edu or 513-556-1958. Training typically lasts one hour with a presentation and Q&A after. Specialized topics require more notice and preparation.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
“I use letterpress printing, but I use it to disrupt the segregated realms of fine printing and artists’ books.” –excerpt from “My Manifesto” in the new book Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer
To read Amos Kennedy’s manifesto is to glimpse into the passion and love that Kennedy holds for letterpress printing and his sincere believe in the power of the printing press. Kennedy is one of the leading practitioners of letterpress printing today, known mainly for his bold stylistic technique that foregrounds powerful messages against a colorful backdrop. He prides himself on being a “disturber of the peace” and a member of the “School of Bad Printing,” both of which point to the strong social activism presented in his work as well as the humor.
Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Kennedy grew to study mathematics and began a career as a computer programmer, but his love of calligraphy and books led him to eventually leave the corporate world for the life of a printer and designer. He studied book arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but before that a visit to a printing demonstration at Colonial Williamsburg led Kennedy to purchase a Vandercook printing press and four cabinets of type, which he installed in his basement. Thus, a printer was born and, today, Kennedy operates a letterpress shop called Kennedy Prints! in Detroit, Michigan.
Selections from the “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks” series by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Kennedy’s work is preserved in numerous libraries, archives, and museums, and the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library is pleased to join that community. ARB recently acquired two sets of Kennedy’s work. The first is the poster series “Quotations from Rosa Louise Parks,” which includes twelve posters that feature quotations from the civil rights activist over various typographic layers. In a 2023 interview, Kennedy described his technique this way:
“When you look at something like the Rosa Parks portfolio, you’ll see that there’s one layer that has dates that are significant to her life. Then there’s another layer that has places that are significant to her life. This continues for about four layers, because one of the things I like to do is envision people having that aha moment—when that poster has been on the wall for a considerable amount of time, and they see it every day, but suddenly, they turn their head a certain way, and they say, “Oh, the word Montgomery’s behind there. I never noticed that before.” And that will draw them in to look and study it more.” (– as printed in Citizen Printer, p. 69)
The second set of Kennedy’s works is comprised of 134 church fans bearing the names of individuals killed will working for civil rights in the United States from 1946 to 1968. The fans are accompanied by a series of standard road maps on which Kennedy has printed the number of individuals murdered in various states. The portfolio takes a simple object with strong ties to the Black church and creates a haunting, repetitive visual narrative. As Kelly Walters has written in Citizen Printer, Kennedy’s “use of the fan asks us to contemplate how the rites of funeral memorialization can serve as a tool for historical remembrance as well.”
Examples of Kennedy’s church fans and road maps.
As part of his manifesto, Kenney states: “Throughout history, the printer has had to choose to either resist or assist in the marginalization of knowledge. I made the choice: I resist.” There is no better summary of the work that Amos Kennedy has produced over the years, and ARB is proud to now help preserve his work as we look to diversify examples of printing and the book arts in our collections. We are working to create an online finding aid for the Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Collection at ARB and hope to add to the collection in the future. Those who are interested in viewing materials from this collection can email ARB at archives@ucmail.uc.edu to schedule a research appointment. To learn more about Kennedy’s life and career, we recommend the excellent documentary Proceed and Be Bold!
