Workers' Defense League records, 1940-1949

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Summary

Creator:
Workers' Defense League, Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, and John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture
Abstract:
The Workers' Defense League was an American socialist organization devoted to promoting labor rights. Collection comprises material mailed by the Workers Defense League primarily as part of fundraising efforts, particularly on the part of legal cases undertaken by the organization.
Extent:
0.2 Linear Feet (38 items)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.11895

Background

Scope and content:

Collection comprises material mailed by the Workers' Defense League primarily as part of fundraising efforts, particularly on the part of legal cases undertaken by the organization. The main case was that of Odell Waller, a Virginia sharecropper sentenced to death in 1940 for killing his white landlord. Arguing that the landlord had cheated Waller and that he had in any case acted in self-defense, the WDL raised money for Waller's defense, lobbied for the commutation of his sentence, and mounted a nationwide publicity campaign on his behalf. The effort was unsuccessful, and Waller was executed on July 2, 1942. Other cases included Alton Levey, Rosario Chirillo, and Tee Davis; the organization worked in support of federal regulation to repeal poll taxes. Items include brochures on the Waller case, luncheon and dinner invitations, a tear sheet for an advertisement, action alerts, flyer announcing a contest and a mass meeting in New York, and contribution forms with mailing envelopes.

Also includes a fundraising mailer (1946 May 16) related to Tee Davis and sent by Lillian Smith, the author of the novel STRANGE FRUIT. Tee Davis was an African American from Arkansas who was sentenced to ten years in prison for assault with intent to kill. His crime was firing a shotgun towards the bottom of the front door to his home while an intruder tried to break in. The intruder was a white sheriff looking for thieves.

Biographical / historical:

The Workers' Defense League was an American socialist organization devoted to promoting labor rights. The group was founded on August 29, 1936 with the endorsement of Norman Thomas, a six-time presidential candidate of the Socialist Party of America. The WDL described itself as a "militant, politically nonpartisan organization which would devote itself exclusively to the protection of workers' rights." Its officers included Thomas, David Clendenin, George S. Counts, and Pauli Murray.

Acquisition information:
The Workers' Defense League records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a transfer in 2012 and purchase in 2021.
Processing information:

Described by Alice Poffinberger, April, 2021

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2012-0143, 2021-0010

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Workers' Defense League records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1m721