Kevin Coffee Papers
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Abstract
Established in 1984, No Business As Usual (NBAU) was an anti-war initiative comprised of various activist groups. It was begun to organize public opposition and protest to the United States government's military spending, planning, and anticipated use of nuclear weapons against the USSR. Kevin Coffee is an archaeologist and museologist whose research focuses on urbanization and industrialization. He taught at Columbia College Chicago from 1982-1988. He became the faculty sponsor for an anti-war student group in 1983, and in 1989, the NBAU clearinghouse files were transferred to his care. The Kevin Coffee Papers (1978-1991) are comprised of materials created and collected by the No Business as Usual network and Coffee in his role as faculty advisor for the NBAU student chapter at Columbia College Chicago. Materials include national mailings from the San Francisco clearinghouse, correspondence, press clippings, press releases and statements, action (event) flyers and photographs, and audio and video recordings of various NBAU sponsored events.
Historical Note
Established in 1984, No Business As Usual (NBAU) was an anti-war initiative comprised of various activist groups. It was begun to organize public opposition and protest to the United States government's military spending, planning, and anticipated use of nuclear weapons against the USSR. Its initial focus was to coordinate a national day of protest on April 29, 1985. A range of progressive voices, including C. Clark Kissinger and Leonard Post, were involved in the creation of the NBAU project. They formed an ad-hoc coordinating committee to faciliate communication about organizing events. On April 29, 1985, small and large protests were staged in cities and towns and on college campuses across the United States. Volunteers maintained a national mailing list and communication network through a clearinghouse mail drop in San Francisco. Following the success of April 29, 1985, the No Business As Usual Action network formed in order for activists to maintain contact and attempt further joint activities. The NBAU network persisted in calling attention to war planning and preparation, which included promoting the pledge by more than 6,500 university research scientists to refuse to participate in weapons research. During this same time, some NBAU-affiliated groups continued to focus their attention on military interventions by the United States in Central America, especially Nicaragua, and the Iran-Iraq War. In 1989, the volunteers in San Francisco determined that they could no longer provide support for the clearinghouse, so volunteers in New York agreed to coordinate communications among activists. By mid-1991, the anti-world war focus of the network had been eclipsed by world and national events.
Source Cited:
Coffee, Kevin. "No Business as Usual Network/No Business as Usual Action Network Description." April 22, 2025
Biographical Note
Kevin Coffee is an archaeologist and museologist whose research focuses on urbanization and industrialization. He taught at Columbia College Chicago from 1982-1988. He became the faculty sponsor for an anti-war student group in 1983, and many of the students formed a No Business as Usual group on campus. Coffee participated in NBAU events and collaborated with colleagues on other social justice public events. In 1987, Coffee moved to New York to work at the American Museum of Natural History. In 1989, the NBAU clearinghouse files were transferred to his care. From 2018-2023, Coffee worked as the chief interpretation and education officer at Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Arrangement
Arranged alphanumerically.
Scope and Contents
The Kevin Coffee Papers (1978-1991) are comprised of materials created and collected by the No Business as Usual network and Coffee in his role as faculty advisor for the NBAU student chapter at Columbia College Chicago. Materials include national mailings from the San Francisco clearinghouse, correspondence, press clippings, press releases and statements, action (event) flyers and photographs, and audio and video recordings of various NBAU sponsored events. Also included are mailings, flyers, and photographs from different local chapters, mainly in Chicago, Boston, and New York. A large part of the collection contains printed matter, such as newsletters and mailings, from other organizations. Organizations include the American Service Friends Committee, Mobilization for Survival, and the War Resisters League. All of the materials in the collection reflect the main mission of NBAU, which was to bring attention to the government's war efforts, protest the use of nuclear weapons, and disrupt any developments that would lead to World War III.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Kevin Coffee were transferred to New York University in 2005 by Kevin Coffee. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Please contact Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Kevin Coffee Papers; TAM 328; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Kevin Coffee in 2005. The accession number associated with this gift is 2005.019.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596, with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Appraisal
One off-air recording of a copyrighted broadcast, in analog format, has been appraised out of the collection due to copyright limitations.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In April 2025, the collection was arranged alphanumerically and described. Materials were placed into acid-free legal boxes and folders, and oversized materials were rehoused in appropriately sized boxes. Duplicate publications and documents and publications widely available online or in NYU's catalog holdings were removed.
