The Charlotte Todes Stern Papers, spanning the years 1925-1955 have been arranged into eight series, generally chronologically, following the order of Stern's involvement: I. Workers Health Bureau; II. Centralia, Washington Campgain; III. Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee; IV. Writings; V. Trade Union and Labor Education; VI. Womens Committees Membership; VII. Miscellaneous; VIII. Oral History Interview Transcripts. The bulk of the material reflects the Centralia campaign, 1927-30, and the conspiracy charges against the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee by the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1943-50. Additional small amounts of materials pertain to her publications, workers health, education and labor organizing efforts.

Overall the papers reflect Charlotte Stern's life as a progressive activist rather than strategist. The Centralia-ILD correspondence demonstrates the strategist role played by New York-based ILD leaders; there is correspondence from J.P. Cannon, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Martin Abern, Max Shachtman and others, along with day-to-day Charlotte Stern initiated corespondence which manifests her role as seemingly tireless implementer. These materials reflect as well the relationship between the ILD-directed Centralia Liberation Committee and the Centralia Publicity Committee, agreements and disagreements between them on strategy, and different styles of appealing to the public, etc. Materials from the period also include correspondence to Charlotte Stern from individual prisoners, mimeo appeal letters, minutes and meeting notes, resolutions and petitions.

The JAFRC materials provide substantial amounts of documentation of the JAFRC/HUAC case, e.g., trial and appeal briefs, opening defense (O. John Rogge) argument draft, press releases and newspaper clipppings from both progressive and general circulation newspapers, as well as an almost complete set of JAFRC Executive Board meeting minutes for the 1943-48 period along with calls to meetings issued by the Committee's Executive Secretary Helen Bryan. These materials differ considerably from the Centralia ones in that they offer little sense of Charlotte Stern's particular involvement. Identifiable as hers though is a set of political remarks incorporated in several draft versions of a speech she planned to deliver before surrendering to the U.S. Marshalls in June 1950. This is the only section of the collection with references to her family life; these appear in some, mostly handwritten, notes of others to her in the immediate pre- and post-jail period.

Further indications of Charlotte Stern's political interests can be seen in the group of materials organized as "writings." This contains correspondence and reviews related to Lumber and Labor, published in 1932, which focused on working conditions in the lumbering industry, The Injunction Menace, also published in 1932, which dealt with the legal weapons arrayed against labor organizing efforts, and William H. Sylvis and the National Labor Union, correspondence and reviews dating from 1928-45; Sylvis was a 19th century labor progressive. Additional materials here are articles Charlotte Stern published in progressive newspapers and magazines; publication lists and books in print lists including her works; and a series of translations from the German of letters of Rosa Luxemburg, 1916-18, from an edition published in 1946.

Throughout her career Charlotte Stern functioned primarily as a trade unionist and labor educator. In series #l and #5 can be found materials relating to her work with the Workers Health Bureau, the Hairdressers and Cosmetologists, the United Office and Professional Workers of America and Local 6, Hotel and Club Employees, along with Workers School, A Peoples Institute, etc., catalogs containing Charlotte Stern-taught course listings; and a set of course materials relating to various worker education topics, e.g., understanding a contract, etc.

Finally, materials evidencing Charlotte Stern's membership in various Womens' Committees of progressive organizations, i.e., the National Council of Soviet-American Friendship, The American Labor Party, the Congress of American Women, and New York Trade Unions have been grouped together as have small amounts of material classified as biographical, miscellaneous correspondence, brochures and leaflets, ranging from 1935 to 1956; included here is a brochure advertising a social security seminar visiting Western Europe and the Soviet Union in the summer of 1937 which Charlotte Stern led, along with some photographs, some reflectiong Local 6 activities, other unidentified. Duplicates and publications have been transferred to the vertical file and serial collections.

The collection does not provide any indication of the sources of Charlotte Stern's political orientation; researchers should consult oral histories by Ros Baxandall and Dorothy Swanson, part of the Oral History of the American Left Collection, Tamiment Library.

SERIES OUTLINE

Series I: Workers Health Bureau, 1925-28. 3 folders. Includes correspondence, minutes and meeting notes, releases and reports, lists of locals contributing to WHB support, and descriptions of some health and safety measures advocated.

Series II: Centralia, Washington Campaign, 1927-30. l0 folders. Includes correspondence, minutes and meeting notes, resolutions, petitions and other records of the Centralia Liberation Committee, the Centralia Publicity Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, prisoners, and cooperating clergy and unions; correspondence to and from ILD New York leadership to Stern and others including significant correspondents Cannon, Abern, Shachtman (including their resignation from ILD in 1928); also resolutions from Centralia Liberation Conference, news releases, monthly bulletins, photographs, and unique items including postcards from prison, prisoner's memento book.

Series III: Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, 1943-55. 8 folders. Includes meeting minutes, Executive Board, 1943-48, and other materials documenting relief activities of JAFRC, HUAC transcripts and other legal documents, news releases, newspaper clippings, bulletins, mimeo letters and correspondence re HUAC hearings, including IRS recission of JAFRC federal income tax exemption and Stern's notes for Manhattan Center rally speech prior to surrender to federal marshalls.

Series IV: Charlotte Stern's Writings, 1928-45. 5 folders. Includes correspondence and reviews Lumber and Labor, The Injunction Menace, William H. Sylvis and the National Labor Union; articles and reviews authored by Stern; publication lists and books in print lists; Stern translation of Luxemburg letters.

Series V: Charlotte Stern's Trade Union and Labor Education Activities, undated. 5 folders Includes course outlines, catalogs, and worker education materials and correspondence relating to Stern's work for Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Local 560B , UOPWA, and Local 6, Hotel and Club Employees Union.

Series VI: Charlotte Stern's Womens' Committees Membership. undated. 1 folder. Includes invitations, fund-raising materials issued by National Council of Soviet-American Friendship, American Labor Party, Congress of American Women, New York Trade Unions.

Series VII: Charlotte Stern Miscellaneous, undated. 3 folders. Includes Charlotte Stern biographical material, correspondence, brochures, leaflets, Local 6 and unidentified photographs.

Series VIII: Consists of copies of the transcripts of six interviews conducted in 1976-1977 by Rosalyn Fraad Baxandall, which are in the Library's Oral History of the American Left Collection (NS2).