Charleston Five collection

Collection

Identifier: AMN 1124

Staff Only

Collection Overview

The Charleston Five Collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, literary productions, printed materials and video material all pertaining to the published work of Suzan Erem and Paul Durrenberger. The collection is arranged into four series: Chapters, Supplemental Research Materials, Print Materials and Multimedia.

The first series, Chapters, contains materials directly cited in the book and is organized under the chapter headings originally given to us by the authors. Chapters 1-12 and 14 are included, with chapter thirteen lacking an originally designated set of materials. Chapters include sections of police reports, court documents, correspondence and literary productions used in the specific chapters.

The second series, Supplemental Research Materials, contains all other research materials included in the collection that were not included in specific chapters. Materials include police reports, legal documents, correspondence, literary productions and printed materials that relate to the Charleston 5 and the research for the work.

The third series, Print Materials, includes a set of published works included in the collection for their use in the book.

The fourth and final series includes DVDs, VHS and CDs with video and other files used in the production of the Erem/Durrenberger work, which include transcripts of the interviews and earlier drafts of the book.

Dates

Creation: 1921-2008
Creation: Majority of material found within 1998-2005

Creator

Durrenberger, E. Paul, 1943- (Person)
Erem, Suzan (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English, Dutch and Italian.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Historical Note

The Charleston Five, Elijah Ford Jr., Ricky Simmons, Peter Washington, Jason Edgerton and Kenneth Jefferson were brought up on felony riot charges following a confrontation on the Charleston docks with law enforcement. Members of the Local 1422 of the International Longshoremens Association, the Five sparked a local and global controversy on union labor. The encounter began with the use of non-union dock-workers by the Danish shipping company Nordana, which to many in threatened the ILA on a larger level. Following smaller, peaceful demonstrations, then-Attorney General Charles Condon called in 600 law enforcement officers to meet ILA members on the night of January 19th, 2000 setting the stage for the major dispute.

Extent

2.4 linear feet (3 archival boxes, 2 CDs, 1 DVD, 2 videocassettes)

Additional Description

Abstract

The Charleston Five, Elijah Ford Jr., Ricky Simmons, Peter Washington, Jason Edgerton and Kenneth Jefferson were brought up on felony riot charges following a confrontation on the Charleston docks with law enforcement. The Charleston Five Collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, literary productions, printed materials and video material all pertaining to the published work of Suzan Erem and Paul Durrenberger. The collection is arranged into four series: Chapters, Supplemental Research Materials, Print Materials and Multimedia.

Collection Arrangement

Collection is arranged in the following series:

1. Chapters. 2. Supplemental Research Materials. 3. Print Materials. 4. Multimedia.

Acquisitions Information

All materials were donated to the Avery Research Center Archives by Suzan Erem.

Suzan Erem has worked in the union movement as an organizer, union rep, communications director, and elected officer, mainly in Chicago. She is the author of Labor Pains: Inside America’s New Union Movement (Monthly Review Press). She is now a freelance writer.

E. Paul Durrenberger is a professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. Together Erem and Durrenberger recently wrote Class Acts: An Anthropology of Service Workers and Their Union and Anthropology Unbound: A Field Guide to the 21st Century. They are married and live in Pennsylvania.