Jeffrey Gerson Brooklyn politics research collection
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Abstract
This collection contains materials related to Jeffrey Gerson's interviews in the 1980s and 1990s of Brooklyn-based politicians and community organizers who were active in the 1960s and 1970s. Materials include audio recordings, newspaper clippings, transcripts, and handwritten notes.
Biographical Note
Jeffrey Gerson is a professor in the Department of Political Science at University of Massachusetts – Lowell. He graduated from Canarsie High School in 1974 and received his B.A. from the State University of New York Brockport in 1978. During the summer of 1984, Gerson was a research assistant for Sharon Zukin, professor at Brooklyn College, and Gilda Zwerman, professor at State University of New York (SUNY) Westbury.
Gerson received his PhD in political science from the City University of New York Graduate School and University Center. His dissertation was on Irish, Jewish, and Black political succession in Central Brooklyn.
From 1992-1993, Gerson was a Scholar in Residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. His research project focused on Black democratic clubhouses in New York City and how they worked with or responded to new state and federal social programs and social movements in the 1960s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title, which reflects the donor's original order.
Scope and Contents
The Jeffrey Gerson Brooklyn politics research collection is made up of materials related to Jeffrey Gerson's research on Brooklyn politics and interviews of Brooklyn-based political leaders and community leaders active in the 1960s and before.
These research files are titled with the names of organizations, people, authors of papers Gerson consulted, or related subjects. They contain newspaper clippings, research papers, copies of materials found in other archives, and transcripts from oral history projects conducted at other organizations.
74 of these files are related to people that Gerson interviewed. These files may contain a transcript, handwritten notes about the interview, and newspaper clippings. Each interview includes a biography written by Gerson and keywords related to the content of the interview. The interview may also be accompanied by a digital audio file with Gerson's comments on the interview.
Interviews from 1984 are from Gerson's work as a research assistant for Professors Sharon Zukin and Gilda Zwerman for their article "Housing for the Working Poor: A Historical View of Jews and Blacks in Brownsville" published in New York Affairs in 1985. Interviews from 1985-1989 were conducted for Gerson's dissertation research, which culminated in Building the Brooklyn Machine: Irish, Jewish and Black Political Succession in Central Brooklyn, 1919-1964, published in 1990. Interviews from 1992-1993 were conducted for Gerson's work as a Scholar in Residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a project focused on Black democratic clubhouse politics in New York City.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to users without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright retained by the owner. Please consult library staff for further details and assistance.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Jeffrey Gerson Brooklyn politics research collection, 2013.021, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Jeffrey Gerson, 2014.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Cassette tapes in this collection are not available for research use. Corresponding digital surrogates should be used in place of the originals.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The archivist made preservation photocopies of newspaper clippings and Thermofax paper and discarded originals.
