Anne Burlak Timpson Papers, 1886-2003 (bulk 1912-2003)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Jennifer Smar. 2005-10-27
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Anne Burlak Timpson Papers
Creation of Anne Burlak Timpson Papers
Time of Creation of Anne Burlak Timpson Papers
Timpson, Anne Burlak
Biographical History for: Anne Burlak Timpson Papers
Biographical Note Anne Burlak, 1931 Anne Burlak Timpson was born on 24 May 1911 in Slatington, Pennsylvania. She was the eldest of six children of Ukrainian immigrants, Harry and Anastasia (Nellie) Smigel Burlak. Only four children lived to adulthood. Although she wanted to be a teacher, Anne Burlak dropped out of school at the age of 14 to help support her family by working at the mill. Like many young women seeking employment in the mills, she lied about her age, sixteen being the legal age for workers. From 1925 to 1929 she worked in the silk mills in Bethlehem and Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 1927 Ella Reeve Bloor came to Bethlehem to fundraise for the labor newspaper, The Daily Worker. After the meeting, she and Anne Burlak talked about the working conditions in the mill where Burlak worked. Bloor urged Burlak to join the Young Communist League (YCL), opening up "a whole new vision and purpose in life" for Anne Burlak, who was elected that year to the District Committee of the YCL of Eastern Pennsylvania. In 1928 Anne Burlak was a delegate to the founding convention of the National Textile Workers Union (NTWU). When she tried to organize the mill in her hometown, she was fired. Although it was easy to find work nearby, every time she tried to organize her fellow mill workers, she lost her job. In May 1929 Anne Burlak and many others, including her father, were arrested and charged for spreading Communist propaganda under the state sedition laws. Burlak decided that if she was going to be charged "for Communist ideas under the Sedition law, I might as well join the Communist Party and learn more about it." Although the sedition case was eventually dropped, Burlak found herself blacklisted and unable to find a new job. So, when the Executive Board of the NTWU asked her to organize full time, she accepted and was paid ten dollars a week to work first in Pennsylvania, then in North and South Carolina. In 1930 she was sent to Georgia. On 21 May 1930, she and five others were arrested for insurrection against the state of Georgia because they addressed an interracial audience of unemployed workers. A conviction could have carried the death penalty. Burlak and the other five members of the "Atlanta Six" were held incommunicado for six weeks before their lawyers won them the right to bail. Burlak was the first one freed, and she traveled around the country raising money for the others' bail and for their defense under auspices of International Labor Defense. Although the Supreme Court declared the Georgia insurrection law unconstitutional in the Angelo Herndon case in 1937, the charges against the Atlanta Six were not dropped until 1939. Anne Burlak returned to the north and organized workers in the mills of Rhode Island and New Bedford, Fall River and Lawrence, Massachusetts. It was during the 1931-32 Lawrence textile strike that she acquired the nickname, "The Red Flame." When Edith Berkman and the other two organizers were arrested in 1931, Burlak was asked to go to Lawrence to take charge of the strike. A local minister had already labeled Berkman the "Red Flame from hell" and when Burlak came into town to replace Berkman, the headline in a Lawrence newspaper said, "One Red Flame goes to jail and another one rises in her place!" In spite of the fact that the media often claimed that Burlak had red hair and/or wore outrageous red clothing, the origin of her nickname had nothing to do with her physical appearance. At the age of 21 Anne Burlak was elected the National Secretary of the National Textile Workers' Union, the first American women to hold such a high post in a labor union. Immigration authorities tried to deport her, but they were forced to release her when a baptismal certificate proved her citizenship. Anne Burlak's father was eventually fired for his union activities. In the midst of the Great Depression, there were few jobs in the U.S., but the Soviet Union was seeking skilled workers. In 1932 her parents and brothers returned to the Ukraine. When she went to Moscow to attend the Lenin Institute in 1936, it was the last time she would see her entire family. Her father died of starvation during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine in 1943 and she did not see her mother or brothers again until 1961. In 1932, Anne Burlak unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island on the Communist Party ticket. Her platform included unemployment and social insurance at the government's expense, cash relief instead of scrip from the local department of public aid, immediate payment of soldiers' bonuses, and the right of workers to strike. That same year, she led the Rhode Island contingent of 3000 (25% African American and 33% women) to the national Hunger March in Washington, D.C. to petition the federal government for unemployment insurance. While there, she met her future husband, Arthur E. Timpson, who was representing the Wisconsin farm delegation in D.C., but Burlak does not remember meeting him until 1935. Although he wanted to get married before he left to fight in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade as a volunteer soldier in the Spanish Civil War, they waited until he returned home and they were married on 10 November 1939. In 1938 Anne Burlak ran for Secretary of State of Rhode Island on the Communist Party ticket, advocating jobs, security, democracy, and peace. In January 1939, while working as the Administrative Secretary of the Communist Party of Massachusetts, she was subpoenaed to testify before the House Committee for the Investigation of Un-American Activities (Dies Committee). In 1940 she was elected the Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of Massachusetts. Through World War II she appeared at legislative hearings at the statehouse regarding pro-labor and civil rights legislation. Arthur Timpson volunteered for and entered the United States Army in March 1942. Anne Burlak Timpson gave birth to her first child, Kathryn Anne Timpson, in May 1943 while Arthur was training in Pennsylvania. Arthur Timpson served overseas with General Patton's forces from June 1943 until the end of the war. With the war over, and soldiers returning home to reclaim the jobs that many working mothers had filled while the men were overseas, the federal government decided to close federally funded day care centers. Anne Burlak Timpson successfully fought against the closing of the Boston area facilities in 1945-46. When son William Michael Timpson was born in July 1946, Anne Burlak Timpson stayed at home with her two children and edited the Roxbury Voice, a newsletter issued by the local Communist Party. Many Communist Party leaders were arrested under the Smith Act during the summer of 1951. With her movements being followed by the FBI, Anne Burlak Timpson stayed away from her home for eight months hoping to avoid arrest, leaving her daughter with good friends, first in Kansas City, Missouri and then Roxbury, Massachusetts; once school started again, she left her son with friends in Boston. Although she managed to avoid arrest during the early part of the decade, Anne Burlak Timpson was indicted under the Massachusetts Anti-Anarchy Law and in March 1956 she was arrested with six others for violating the Smith Act. After the Supreme Court ruled in the Steve Nelson case that only the United States government could prosecute such cases, the charges stemming from the state anarchy law were dropped. The Smith Act trial was delayed until the Supreme Court made a decision in the California Smith Act case. When the California defendants were acquitted, the case against the seven in Massachusetts was dropped as well. This was not the end of Anne Timpson's arrests, however; on 1 October 1964 Timpson was indicted again, this time under the Internal Security Act of 1950, commonly known as the McCarran Act, which required Communists to register and prohibited them from holding federal or union jobs. As one of 44 arrested, Timpson and many others refused to cooperate, citing their right not to incriminate themselves. In 1965 the Supreme Court held that the registration provision was unconstitutional, and the charges against Timpson were dropped. Throughout this period, Anne Burlak Timpson worked as a bookkeeper. In the 1960s she was asked to serve on the board of the Marian Davis (later Davis-Putter) Scholarship Fund, an organization dedicated to providing monetary support to students working for peace and justice. In 1981 Timpson retired and she spent the last few decades of her life involved in local politics, fighting for better schools, housing, jobs, and health care. She championed the rights of low income workers and senior citizens; continued her fights against racism, classism, and sexism; and was heavily involved in the peace movement, advocating nuclear disarmament as the Cold War came to a close. Timpson dedicated herself energetically to fundraising for the Communist Party and the party newspapers, and organized a picnic fundraiser every summer in the 1980s and early to mid 1990s. In 1982 she won a Wonder Woman Award for Women Creating New Realities, which provided her a stipend so she could write her memoirs. In 1997 she was awarded the Sacco-Vanzetti Memorial Award for Contributions to Social Justice. Anne Burlak Timpson remained a member of the Communist Party to the day she died, 9 July 2002, at the age of 91 in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Anne Burlak Timpson Papers consist of 22.25 linear feet dating from 1912 to 2003 and are primarily related to her personal and political life. Types of materials include correspondence, diaries, manuscripts, speeches, legal documents, photographs, press releases, reports, minutes, newsletters, notes, subject files, journal and newspaper articles, scrapbooks, interviews, pamphlets, audiovisual materials, and memorabilia. The bulk of the papers date from 1929 to the mid 1990s and focus on Timpson's social and political activism, her involvement in the Communist Party of the United States, her unfinished autobiography, and her family in the former Soviet Union. The collection documents seventy years of social, political, and family life through local, state, national and international lenses. Much of the arrangement, especially for the subject files, is in its original order, except for materials that were misfiled or not filed at all. Different series provide insight into different periods of Timpson's life. While the collection is especially strong in subjects and organizations relating to the 1980s and 1990s, there are only a few primary documents related to her activism in the late 1920s. Her early years are best documented through her autobiography and oral histories/interviews. While her family correspondence is notably sparse in the 1950s and 1960s, her scrapbooks provide a sense of home and family life. The subject files form the largest series and are a boon to anyone interested in the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA). The CPUSA is well represented from the 1960s to the mid 1990s. Especially well documented is the crisis that reverberated through CPUSA in 1991-92. In addition, the correspondence between Timpson and her brothers in the Soviet Union, as well as subject and organization files, offer a wealth of material that illuminates U.S.-Soviet relations. There is less information, however, regarding Timpson's early involvement in the Communist Party from the 1930s through the 1950s, and there is little documentation from her failed political campaigns in Rhode Island except for a few flyers. Although she talks about her work as Communist Party Secretary of Massachusetts in the 1940s in interviews, there are only a few documents that relate to this era. Materials related to her role in the Communist Party during the 1930s through 1950s are located in the writings and speeches series. Other areas of Timpson's life are under documented. There is very little information on the period in the early 1950s when she left her children with friends while she was trying to avoid arrest. Although there is some material about her paid employment as a textile worker and union organizer in her oral histories and interviews, there are only a few items that reveal her work as a bookkeeper in the 1950s to the 1970s. On the other hand, Timpson's Smith and McCarran Act indictments are well documented through legal materials, pamphlets, correspondence, and the F.B.I. files on Timpson. In addition to her trials, there is considerable material regarding others indicted under these or similar acts. Even though they have no specific subject files, the collection is filled with material related to race relations, the environment, anti-fascism, poverty, and the needs of the working class. Notable correspondents include Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Gus Hall, Joe Moakley, Eulalia Figueiredo Papaandreu Matusiak, Fred Whitehead, Henry Winston, and Helen and Carl Winter. In addition to the CPUSA, Timpson was involved in the U.S. Council for International Friendship, as well as other peace and justice organizations.
Anti-communist movements--United States--History--Sources
lcsh
Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Communist Party of the United States of America.
Communism--United States--History--Sources
Communist trials--United States--History--Sources
Insurance, Unemployment--Law and legislation--United States--History--Sources
Labor leaders--United States--Biography--Sources
Labor movement--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Nuclear disarmament--History--Sources
Textile workers--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Women and communism--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Women and peace--History--20th century--Sources
Women and socialism--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Women--Employment--United States--History--20th century--Sources
Working class women--United States--Biography--Sources
Women in the labor movement--United States--History--20th century--Sources
United States. Internal Security Act of 1950--History--Sources
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities--History--Sources
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship (U.S.)--History--Sources
National Textile Workers Union--History--Sources
Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley
lcnaf
Hall, Gus
Matusiak, Eulalia Figueiredo Papaandreu
Timpson, Arthur Edward, 1905-1976
Boston (Mass.)--History--20th century--Sources
Soviet Union--History--20th century--Sources
Massachusetts--Politics and government--History--Sources
Spain--History--Civil War, 1936-1939--Personal narratives, American
series
SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1932-2004),
This series provides an overview of Anne Burlak Timpson's personal and political life. The subseries Biographical information documents Timpson's life through short biographical statements, plays and poetry written about her, oral histories and interviews, as well as newspaper clippings and articles that document many of Timpson's arrests and indictments. The F.B.I. files on Timpson document both the close surveillance the government had on her as well as indicate people that Timpson met with, meetings she attended, as well as the government's case against her under the Smith Act. Additional newspaper clippings about Timpson and the Smith Act is located in SERIES VII. SCRAPBOOKS. There are transcripts for some of the taped oral histories and interviews. The Family subseries includes information about Timpson's husband, siblings, and son. The subseries, Daily calendars, contains newspaper clippings and other notes that were found with the calendars. This series also contains information about awards given to Timpson, tributes made before and after her death, and buttons and other memorabilia documenting the organizations to which she was dedicated. There are also some files on Timpson's vacations. Additional information about trips that Timpson took is in SERIES VI. PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES and SERIES VII. SCRAPBOOKS.
[see also OVERSIZE MATERIALS]
SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE (1937-2002),
This series is organized into two subseries: Family and Friends and associates. There is extensive correspondence between Timpson and her husband in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as letters written to Timpson by her brothers from Russia and the Ukraine from the 1960s through the 1990s. Correspondence with her brothers includes not only family news but also reactions to political and social events in the United States and the Soviet Union. The subseries Friends and associates reveals Timpson's commitment to her causes, the affection she held for aging comrades, and her willingness to share the story of her life with others. It is arranged in alphabetical order by first letter of the last name; more prolific correspondents have their own folder. The bulk of the subseries is from the 1980s and 1990s. Although most of the correspondence is to Anne Burlak Timpson, she began keeping typed copies of many of her letters in the 1990s, and they are interfiled with the correspondence she received from others.
SERIES III. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES (1928-95),
This series contains notes, drafts, and completed and uncompleted manuscripts by Anne Burlak Timpson. There are four subseries, the first of which, Published writings, includes articles, letters to the editor, and newsletters that Timpson edited. The subseries Unpublished writings includes a few diaries, but the majority of the subseries consists of materials related to her incomplete autobiography. Correspondence relating to the autobiography is located in this subseries, arranged chronologically. Primary documents relating to subjects covered in her autobiography are in this series as well as in SERIES IV. ORGANIZATION FILES and SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES. Some of the microfilmed copies of newspaper clippings are in poor shape and are probably too faded for photocopying. Most of the Speeches subseries contains notes for speeches rather than complete works. The subseries Tributes includes notes, programs, and occasionally texts of testimonials and eulogies Timpson gave for friends and colleagues.
SERIES IV. ORGANIZATION FILES (1928-98),
Files in this series are arranged alphabetically and include organizations in which Timpson was heavily involved, like the Communist Party of the USA, and groups to which she gave money, like the United Seniors Association. The series includes notes, minutes, reports, newspaper clippings, newsletters, correspondence, brochures, and other printed materials. The largest groups of files relate to the U.S. Council for International Friendship and the Communist Party of the USA. Documents in both files reveal the operations of the organization at the local, state, and national levels. Files on the Communist Party newspapers are not the newspapers themselves but materials related to the running of the newspaper, such as fundraising. Articles or letters to the editor of Communist newspapers are located in SERIES III. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES. Information on Communist Party candidates is in SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES. Organizations with very limited amounts of materials have been moved to the appropriate locations in SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES.
SERIES V. SUBJECT FILES (1886-98),
The subject files are arranged alphabetically and contain information on individuals, legislation, categories of people (such as women or youth), and geographic regions. Additional subject files relevant to Timpson's autobiography are located in SERIES III. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES. The bulk of the subject files are from a U.S. perspective, although there are some international materials in the subject files (such as labor and communism). There are also files on specific countries, most of them listed under their names, with the exception of some materials located under the heading Latin America and the Caribbean. Most of the state-level political candidates are from Massachusetts, but there are a few from outside of the state. Topics that are well-covered include elections, labor, legislation, nuclear weapons, peace, politics, and the Soviet Union. Documents relating to Timpson's indictments under the Smith and McCarran Acts are located in this series under the name of the legislation. There are also songs and poetry related to a wide variety of topics in this series.
SERIES VI. PHOTOGRAPHS AND SLIDES (1912-98),
The bulk of this series documents Timpson's personal life, beginning in her infancy and ending a few years before her death. There are, however, political images as well, including several photographs of Timpson with raised fists during protests and with friends and associates. The Photographs subseries includes her trips to Cuba, Yugoslavia, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Other photographs, especially of Timpson and her family, are located in SERIES VII. SCRAPBOOKS. The subseries Slides mostly contains family images, but it also includes commercially generated images of Leningrad.
SERIES VII. SCRAPBOOKS (1933-97),
This series includes sketches, photographs, commentary, maps, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Most of the material in this series documents family life and the relationships among the family members of the Burlak and Timpson families. Two albums document the 1933 Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company strike. Two albums document her trials under Smith Act indictment, and seven albums provide vivid details of husband Arthur's World War II battles. The World War II scrapbooks appear to have been based upon notes written during the summer of 1945 while Arthur was waiting to come home and cover the period between 1943 and 1945. The scrapbooks themselves were created much later, probably in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Due to the fragile nature of the scrapbooks, many of the albums have been reformatted to preserve their content. Although the original text of most of the scrapbooks was not preserved, those texts that included initials indicating which family member wrote which piece of the narrative have been kept.
SERIES VIII. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS (1961-2003),
This bulk of this series relates to Anne Burlak Timpson's family and her oral histories and interviews. The subseries Audiocassettes, VHS cassettes, and Mini DV cassettes all have preservation masters and use copies. They are arranged by type of the original material. If the use copy is in a different format, the format will be indicated in brackets after the title. The reels in the subseries Super 8 need to be reformatted before they can be viewed. Please check with the Sophia Smith Collection several weeks in advance if you are interested in viewing the films in this subseries.
Contents
Short biographies, 1932-95, n.d.
Articles and newspaper clippings, 1931-97
Plays and poetry, 1981-83, n.d.
Interviews and oral histories, 1981-97
Family
General, 1959-89, n.d.
John and Anna Burlak, 1982-90, n.d.
Nicholas Burlak (Michael Nichols), 1966-91
Arthur Timpson, 1937-45, 1975-85, n.d.
William (Bill) Timpson, 1979-96, n.d.
Awards, 1982-97, n.d.
Tributes, 1983-2004, n.d.
F.B.I. file on Anne Burlak Timpson, 1940-88
Education: Books from the Lenin School, 1933-36
Passports, 1935-85
Trips
Russia, 1981, n.d.
Yugoslavia, 1983-84
Veterans of Abraham Lincoln Brigade 50th Anniversary Trip to Spain, 1984-86
Other trips, 1979-91, n.d.
Financial information, 1964-66, 1982-85
Daily calendars
Address book, n.d.
Memorabilia: buttons and mini-banners, 1975-94, n.d.
Burlak
Anna and John, 1944-98, n.d.
Mike, 1961-95, n.d.
Nicholas
Valerie (Lera), 1964-96
Chrusniak, Evelyn (Evie) Timpson, 1991-96
Timpson
Arthur, circa 1937-43
Kellee, 1994-98
William (Bill) and Marlene, 1968-98, n.d.
Wright, David and Kathryn (Kat) Timpson, 1964-96, n.d.
Other family, 1955-98
Birthday cards to Kathryn Timpson, 1944
Third party family correspondence, 1943-95, n.d.
Friends and associates
Amery, Al and Priscilla, 1982-92
Buhle, Paul, 1978-90, n.d.
Figuereido, Eula
Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley, 1964, n.d.
Folsom, Franklin and Mary, 1988-90
Herzog, Anne, 1993-95
Johnson, Andy and Hannah, 1987-93
Kerry, John, 1985-96, n.d.
Matusiak, Eulalia (Eula) Figueiredo Papaandreu, 1956-2002, n.d.
Moakley, Joseph, 1982-96, n.d.
Molloy, Scott
Obler, Charlie, 1987-97, n.d.
Papaandreu, Eulalia (Eula)
Payne, Roz, 1984-92, n.d.
Vlasikin, Tanya and Vasiliy (Vasya), 1978-90, n.d.
Voichick, Jennifer
Whitehead, Fred, 1982-93
Winston, Henry (Winnie), 1971-83
Winter, Carl and Helen, 1988-98
Unidentified, 1978-94, n.d.
Messages from groups, 1976-91, n.d.
Students from Asian American Civic Association, Inc., 1992
Death of Arthur Timpson, 1976-82, n.d.
Get-well cards, 1990-98, n.d.
Third party correspondence, 1969-95, n.d.
Published writings
Articles, 1971-95, n.d.
Letters to the editor, 1982-89, n.d.
Newsletters edited
Spotlight on New England, 1944-45
Roxbury Voice, 1947
Unpublished writings
Diaries, 1981-87
Autobiography
Contacts, n.d.
Correspondence, 1977-87, n.d.
Expenses, 1982-86
Research notes
General, n.d.
1929 arrests, 1929
Communist Party, 1932-55, n.d.
Family history, 1982-85, n.d.
J.P. Stevens, 1975-83, n.d.
Reagan era, 1982-85, n.d.
Strikes, 1929-88, n.d.
Textile unions, 1928-32, 1955-86, n.d.
Unemployed councils, 1932, 1980, n.d.
Unemployment insurance, 1934-35, n.d.
Rough draft (incomplete), n.d.
Responses to others' writings, 1982-88
Notes, 1976-94, n.d.
Speeches, 1937, 1975-94, n.d.
Tributes
General, 1978-93, n.d.
Otis Hood, 1984
Don Batchelder, 1988
Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 1938, 1972-97
Alan Thomson Defense Fund, 1989-92, n.d.
AFL-CIO, 1945-97, n.d.
Boston/Kiev Sister City Association, Inc., 1982-88, n.d.
Boston Peace Council, 1981-86, n.d.
Center for Marxist Education, 1979-92, n.d.
Citizens for Participation in Political Action (CPPAX), 1975-97, n.d.
Committee of Correspondence, 1991-96, n.d.
General
Communist Party of New England, 1940-85, n.d.
Massachusetts State Committee/District, 1937-96, n.d.
Other districts, 1988-94, n.d.
Club, 1966-95, n.d.
Articles and notes, 1954, 1981-97, n.d.
Contact information, n.d.
Newspapers
Daily World, 1973-85, n.d.
People's Daily World, 1985-90, n.d.
People's Weekly World, 1990-97, n.d.
People, 1961-96, n.d.
Publications
A-C
D-Z
Recruitment, 1985-97, n.d.
Seventy-fifth anniversary, 1994-95
Young Communist League, 1937-38, 1983-97, n.d.
Community Church of Boston, 1960-97
Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund, 1974-97, n.d.
Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women, 1995-96, n.d.
Frederick Douglass Bookstore, 1966
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
General, 1947-65
Investigation of Communist Activities in the New England Area, 1958
International Peace Walk, 1987-88, n.d.
International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War, 1985-92
Jobs with Peace, 1980-89, n.d.
Little Flags Theatre, 1976-91
Massachusetts Committee for the Bill of Rights, 1954-55, n.d.
Massachusetts Special Commission on Communism, 1938-59
Memorial Committee for Klarfield and Zeidman, 1975-76
Mobilization for Survival, 1983-94, n.d.
National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, 1975-96, n.d.
National Council of American Soviet Friendship
National Textile Workers Union, 1928-34, 1990
Peace Child, 1985-87, n.d.
Peace Fleece, 1985-86, n.d.
Promoting Enduring Peace, 1984-95, n.d.
Rainbow Coalition, 1987-97
Rhode Island Labor History Society, 1977-97, n.d.
Samantha Smith Foundation, 1983-88, n.d.
Seeds of Change, 1994
Soviet Peace Committee, 1981-86
Ukrainian American League, 1980-89, n.d.
United Senior Association, 1995, n.d.
U.S. Council for International Friendship
General, 1942-46
Boston Committee, 1971-91, n.d.
Other branches, 1981-91, n.d.
Bylaws and resolutions, 1979, n.d.
Exchange trips and goodwill missions, 1988-93
Executive Committee, 1983-97, n.d.
Fact sheets, 1982-85
Newsletters, 1982-91
U.S. Peace Council, 1979-93, n.d.
Wonder Woman Foundation, 1981-84
Young Workers Liberation League, 1979-86, n.d.
Afghanistan, 1980-94
Anti-Semitism, 1943, 1981-95
Atlanta 6, 1930, 1983
Appalachia, 1972-91, n.d.
Berkman, Edith, 1931-32
Black liberation, 1932-85, n.d.
Bonner-Lyons, Pat, 1971-73, n.d.
Boston, 1954, 1980-94, n.d.
Caldicott, Helen, 1977-83, n.d.
Chernobyl, 1986-91, n.d.
Civil liberties, 1942-94, n.d.
Civil rights, 1963-97, n.d.
Clinton, Bill, 1992-94, n.d.
Communism: International, 1957-96, n.d.
Cuba, 1963-97, n.d.
Curtis, Mark, 1989-92, n.d.
Davis, Angela, 1972-84, n.d.
Death penalty, 1989-94, n.d.
Dotterman, Gary, 1987-95, n.d.
Du Bois, W. E. B., 1987-94
Education, 1937, 1975-95, n.d.
El Salvador, 1982-90
Elections
President, 1972-96, n.d.
Congress, 1933-98, n.d.
State elections/issues, 1970-97, n.d.
Massachusetts-General, 1938-97, n.d.
Boston, 1965-95, n.d.
Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley, 1969-95, n.d.
Gays in the military, 1993
Guinier, Ewart, 1969-90, n.d.
Guns and violence, 1984-94, n.d.
Haiti, 1993-94, n.d.
Hall, Gus, 1970-93
Harrison, William H., 1968-89, n.d.
Health care, 1975-97, n.d.
Hood, Frances and Otis, 1954-94, n.d.
Housing, 1972-94, n.d.
Hughes, H. Stewart, 1962-64, n.d.
Hunger, 1982-94
Jamaica Plain, 1982-95, n.d.
Jackson, Jesse
King, Mel, 1979-94, n.d.
Ku Klux Klan, 1978-95, n.d.
Labor, 1934-97, n.d.
Latin America and the Caribbean, 1965-97, n.d.
Le Sueur, Meridel, 1978-96
Legislation
General, 1975-95, n.d.
Labor, 1954, 1982-95, n.d.
Repressive, 1955-95, n.d.
Unemployment, 1975-86, n.d.
Lewis, Elma, 1971-86, n.d.
Lightfoot, Claude, 1955, 1978-91, n.d.
Luscomb, Florence, 1952-93, n.d.
McCarran Act, 1950-66, n.d.
McCarthyism, 1953-95, n.d.
Middle East, 1970-91, n.d.
Military, 1971-93, n.d.
Morgan, Anna, 1980-96, n.d.
North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 1993-94, n.d.
Nuclear weapons
Arms race, 1976-86, n.d.
Disarmament, 1976-92, n.d.
First strike, 1983-85, n.d.
Fort Collins protest, 1983
Nuclear freeze/test ban, 1981-97, n.d.
Nuclear war, 1980-86, n.d.
Nursery campaign, 1945-46, n.d.
O'Connor, Jessie Lloyd, 1981-89
Patterson, Louise and William, 1976-89
Peace
General, 1961-95, n.d.
Peace walks, tours, etc., 1981-93, n.d.
Persecution, 1930-90, n.d.
Philippines, 1975-96, n.d.
Poland, 1981-93, n.d.
Politics
National, 1961-94, n.d.
Massachusetts, 1989-95, n.d.
Local, 1984-94, n.d.
Privacy, 1993-94
Racism, 1930, 1951-98, n.d.
Ravden, Sidney, 1986
Reagan, Ronald, 1980-89, n.d.
Red-baiting, 1930-94, n.d.
Rent control, 1947, 1988-95
Reynolds, Bertha, 1978-84, n.d.
Robeson, Paul, 1971-96, n.d.
Sacco & Vanzetti, 1930, 1971-88
Seeger, Pete, 1966-96, n.d.
Senior citizens, 1981-97, n.d.
Shields, Art, 1976-89, n.d.
Smith Act, 1949-97, n.d.
Socialism, 1932-55, 1979-94, n.d.
Songs and poetry, 1951-94, n.d.
South Africa, 1975-94, n.d.
Southern United States, 1967-94, n.d.
Soviet Union
General, 1977-97, n.d.
Anti-Soviet campaign, 1971-93, n.d.
Dissolution: How Did It Happen? by Ernie Trory
Soviet-U.S. relations
Cooperation, 1977-94
Exchange, 1981-94, n.d.
Soviet hockey team, 1985-86
Trade, 1973-90, n.d.
Spanish Civil War, 1937-49, 1978-82, n.d.
Strikes, 1886-97, n.d.
Struik, Dirk, 1974-94, n.d.
Taxes, 1959-94, n.d.
Teixeira, Ed, 1972-84, n.d.
Trade, 1983-96, n.d.
Unemployment, 1930-97, n.d.
Unions, 1930-97, n.d.
Union women, 1976-94, n.d.
Vietnam War, 1965-94, n.d.
West, Don, 1976-90, n.d.
Winston, Henry (Winnie), 1971-94, n.d.
Women, 1934-97, n.d.
World War II, 1944-45, 1981-94, n.d.
Youth, 1978-94
Photographs
Anne Burlak Timpson
Alone, 1931-98
with family, 1912-98
with others, 1930-90, n.d.
Family, 1925-93
Friends and associates, 1930-86, n.d.
Goodbye meeting for Eula Figuereido, Portuguese Club, New Bedford, MA, 1950
Trip to Cuba, 1979
Trip to Yugoslavia, 1984
Veterans of Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 50th Anniversary Tour, 1986
Miscellaneous photographs, n.d.
Slides
Anne Burlak Timpson and family, 1956-86, n.d.
Trip to USSR, 1975
Bill Timpson: football, 1965-68
Commercial images of Leningrad, n.d.
Miscellaneous, 1963-67, n.d.
Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co. strike, 1933 (2 vols)
Arthur Timpson, World War II, 1943-45 (7 vols)
Kat Timpson, 1943-66
Smith Act, 1954-58 (2 vols)
Boston history, 1956-57
Family trips, 1957-67 (4 vols)
Bill Timpson, 1957-64
ABT's trip to the Soviet Union, 1961
ABT's 65th birthday, 1977
Newspaper clippings and awards, 1987-97
Audiocassettes
ABT w/ Kat Timpson Wright singing "Internationale," "They Grow Wild," and "Spread it on the Ground," 1979
Interview with Bill Schecter, 18 Dec 1980-10 Feb 1981 [5 cassettes]
Interview with Kathleen Banks Nutter, 10 Jul 1998 [CD]
Interview with Kathleen Banks Nutter, 7 Aug 1998 [CD]
ABT interview with unidentified male for ABT's autobiography, n.d. [CD]
Frank Gorman oral history, n.d. [CD; note: This material may not be copied. For copies, contact the Southern Labor Archives at Georgia State University.]
VHS cassettes
ABT at Boston Public Library and home, 1986
Arthur Edward Timpson by ABT, 12 Mar 1987
"Around Town with Bruce Arnold," ABT guest, 21 Feb 1989
Interview, 11 Sept 1997, Rolls 7-9 [all 3 on single DVD]
"With Heads Held High: The Story of the I.T.U.," 1997: ABT clips from 11 Sept 1997 interview [DVD]
"Birthday Greetings to the Red Flame," 1999 [DVD]
ABT memorial, 2003 [VHS]
"Stopping the Clock: A Time to Remember the Salem Pequot Mill Strike," 2004 [DVD]
Mini Digital Video cassette
Interview with Nicholas Burlak, 9 Aug 2002 [VHS]
Interview with William Timpson, 9 Aug 2002 [VHS]
Super 8
Kat Timpson driving, snow shoveling, Jan 1961
May Day, 1961
Anne Burlak Timpson, Leningrad and Stalingrad, circa 1961
Cape Cod, 4 Sept 1963
Christmas, 1963
"Sausage for Chuck," circa March 1964
Christmas, 1964
Bill Timpson's driving lesson, South Cape Cod Beach, Peter's Pond, Snake Pond, Wedding, Harvard, Mass., circa 1964
Kat and David Wright, Feb 1965
Christmas, 1965
Swan's Island Nov. 1966
Christmas, "Short of Ollie," "Lady in Park," 1967
Kat Timpson graduation, Camping at Peter's Pond, 1960s
"Brothers & Kathy-graduating clothes," 1960s
Bill Mossing, n.d.
Departure, May Day, n.d.
Vacation in Maine at the Jones, n.d.
Lobsters in Maine, Pleasure Island, Bicycles in Park, Penny the dog, n.d.
Anne Burlak Timpson trip, n.d.
John Burlak and family, Odessa, n.d.
Henry Timpson, n.d.
Four unidentified reels, n.d.
OVERSIZE MATERIALS
Biographical materials
Articles and newspaper clippings, 1931-32, 1956, 1982-92
Awards
Rhode Island Labor History Society, 1990
Mass. House of Representatives, 1991
Family: Mike Burlak sketches, 1989
Tributes: Poster, "Stopping the Clock…," 2004
Correspondence
Buhle, Paul: advertisement, Encyclopedia of the American Left, circa 1990
"S": Don Searle to ABT, 20 May 1993
Writings and speeches: autobiography research notes, 1932
Organizations
General: posters, programs, reports, 1962-1991
Mass. District: finances, Boston area clubs, 1990
People's Daily World: poster, "A Conversation with Vladimir Posner," 1987
People's Weekly World: Poster, "Justice for Rodney King," n.d.
Seventy-fifth anniversary: calendar, 1995
Youth Communist League, Dynamic, Apr 1988
Jobs with Peace: poster, "Stop the Arms Race! Join Us at the Jamaica Plain Speak-Out," 1983
Peace Fleece: brochure, n.d.
U.S. Council for International Friendship: newsletter and poster, 1982, n.d.
U.S. Peace Council: conference brochures, 1979-85 (3)
Wonder Woman Foundation: brochures, 1981-83
Young Liberation League: Young Worker, 1979
Subjects
Appalachia: "Pride in Appalachia: Music Crisp and Tart at Pipestem Festival," n.d.
Berkman, Edith: letter and newspaper clipping regarding Berkman's hospitalization and Burlak's demands that Berkman be released, 1932
Black liberation: advertisement, "An Attack on One is an Attack on All," 1 May 1970
Bonner-Lyons, Pat: posters, "Bonner-Lyons for School Committee," n.d.
Civil Liberties: "James Roosevelt: Abolish the Un-American Committee," [1960]
Communism (International)
"Internationalism and the Soviet Union," Discussion Bulletin no. 5, 1957
"A Letter to the Communist Party, People's Republic of China," by Gus Hall, n.d.
Du Bois, W.E.B.: "W.E.B. Du Bois: the 'logic of life' leads to socialism," People's Weekly World, 1994
Education: brochure, Progressive Labor School of Boston, 1937
President
Communist campaign articles, 1972 (4)
Jesse Jackson campaign literature, 1984-88 (2)
State elections/issues: poster, "Judith LeBlanc, Communist Party Candidate, State Senate," n.d.
Boston: poster, "Polly Halfkenny for City Council," n.d.
Hall, Gus: "The Last Comrade," Boston Globe Magazine, 1993
Harrison, William H.: announcement, "Blacks in Boston" conference, 1989
Hood, Frances and Otis: "Otis Hood, a Yankee the New Witchhunters Want to 'Get,'" The Worker, 9 May 1954
Jamaica Plain: map, n.d.
King, Mel: campaign poster and newspapers, "Mel King for Mayor," 1986, n.d. (4)
Labor
"Phony 'Labor' Party Exposed as CIA Front," Daily World Reprint, 1975
Southern Patriot, Jan 1976
"Cambridge and the Great Depression: 1928-38," Dec 1976
Local 509 Legislative Directory, 1991-92
Latin America and the Carribbean: poster, "Heurte gehört uns GRENADA und morgen die ganze Welt!" n.d.
McCarran Act: poster, "The Nation, The World, is Fighting the McCarran Act," n.d.
Nuclear weapons: poster, "Danger-Nuclear War," 1980
Poster, "Russians are coming," 1981
Advertisement, "Peace…Please," Daily World, 7 June 1984
Newsletter, International Workcamper, 1989
Sign, "Urgent Appeal for Peace," n.d.
Persecution
"A Mind of Her Own: Americanism Wins," by Norma Nikrant, reprinted from Providence Evening Bulletin, 1 Mar 1957
Poster, "Reward for Information Leading to the Apprehension of Jesus Christ," 1968
Politics (National): campaign literature, District of Columbia statehood, 1979-83
Racism: article, "Racism-Monopoly's Hammer Against All Workers!" by Gus Hall, 1975
Red-baiting: "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" 1982
Smith Act
Poster, "Justices Douglas and Black Dissenting…" 1951
Poster, "Episcopalians Lead Amnesty Appeal for Communists," 1953
Pamphlet, "What Will Wellman do Now?" n.d.
Songs and poetry: union songs, n.d.
Soviet Union: Soviet-U.S. relations: Advertisement, "Friendship Worked Then…It Can Work Now," 1985
Strikes
Poster, "The Strike" by Robert Koehler, 1886
Book-signing event program, Strike of '28, 8 Oct 1993
Teixeira, Ed: poster, "Register to Vote for Ed Teixeira," n.d.
Unemployment: "Call for Action on Jobs and Unemployment," 1971
Union: ILUW Local 6 Bulletin, Mar 1983
Union women: poster, "A Boston Premiere: Union Maids," 1976
Vietnam War
Poster, "An Open Letter to President John F. Kennedy against U.S. military intervention in South Vietnam, 1972
Brochure, People's Coalition for Peace and Justice, n.d.
Poster, "Why Demonstrate in May?" n.d.
Poster, "All For Vietnam!" n.d.
World War II: The Ack-count, 9 May 1945
Youth: brochure, "11th World Festival of Youth and Students, 1978
Photographs: ABT and others, 1932, n.d.
Scrapbooks: railway maps of Scotland, England, Wales, 1943
International Peace Walk: Brochures, 1987-88 (2)
Union women: "Time and Motion" exhibit poster, 1991
Original and print masters for audiovisual materials