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National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR), Syracuse Branch, Records

An inventory of its records at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: SS
Date: 21 Jun 2023

Biographical History

The National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR) was a radical revolutionary organization founded in 1978 by Grace Lee Boggs and her husband James Boggs. While it was started in Detroit, MI, multiple branches were opened across the country, including Syracuse, NY. Through its workshops, programming, and public statements, the group was actively involved in issues such as Black Power, feminism, the anti-war movement, labor rights, civil rights, and environmentalism.

Deborah Dix Maxwell (1949-2022) served as secretary of the Syracuse branch of the organization in the mid-1980s. Maxwell was a schoolteacher in Syracuse and Schenectady, and "an activist, totally committed to the fundamental values that she believed this nation stood for: justice, equality, fair play...Throughout her life, she deeply cared for and believed in social and economic justice and democracy, working...through various groups devoted to these goals." [From Maxwell's obituary, Heidrick-Zaumetzer Funeral Home; a copy is also in our internal files.]

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR), Syracuse Branch, Records consists of correspondence, financial records, meeting notes, printed materials, subject files, and a small amount of miscellany. For the most part, original folder titles have been retained.

Correspondence includes official correspondence, such as letters sent to all branches by the president of the national organization; internal correspondence within the Syracuse branch; and personal correspondence unrelated to NOAR. The majority of these materials are dated between 1980-1985.

Financial records includes financial projections, reports, and forms for both the Syracuse branch and the national organization. These materials date from 1978-1984.

Meeting notes contains informal notes and unofficial agendas for the local Syracuse branch. The majority are undated.

Printed materials consists of handouts, pamphlets, newsletters, etc. from NOAR as well as from groups with whom NOAR was affiliated. NOAR collaborated with multiple other groups, and their newsletters and various other pamphlets have thus been collected. The majority of these materials are undated.

Subject files consists of material on a wide variety of topics. These include NOAR's own activities (public forums, meetings, and committee work); external campaigns, organizations, and events; and relevant topics such as the "New Right," racism, and sexism.

Miscellaneous consists of a button and a card catalog which appears to be a reading list compiled by NOAR and arranged by topic (e.g. Education, Racism, Philosophy).

Arrangement of the Collection

Materials are arranged alphabetically by title, type, or topic as appropriate.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Boggs, Grace Lee.
Boggs, James.
Maxwell, Deborah D., 1949-2022.

Corporate Bodies

National Organization for an American Revolution.

Subjects

Anti-racism -- United States.
New Left.
Radicalism -- Societies, etc.
Radicalism -- United States.
Revolutionary literature, American.
Sexism.
Social justice.
Socialism.

Places

Syracuse (N.Y.)

Genres and Forms

Agendas (administrative records)
Brochures.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Financial records.
Minutes (administrative records)
Newsletters.
Reading lists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

National Organization for an American Revolution (NOAR), Syracuse Branch, Records,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Gerald Zahavi, 2022, on behalf of his wife Deborah Maxwell.

Processing Information

The arrangement scheme for collection was created during processing in the absence of a usable original order. Original folder titles were retained in most cases; where the original title was inapplicable or absent, such as for loose papers, an appropriate title was supplied by the processor, indicated by square brackets [ ].

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Financial records

Meeting notes

Printed materials

Subject files

Miscellaneous

Inventory