The David Reiner Papers

Item Information

Title:
The David Reiner Papers
Description:
The David Reiner Papers consist of documents concerning the work of the Lexington Civil Rights Committee between 1960-1972 and the Lexington/Boston Fair Housing Federation from 1961-1965. David Reiner's "Lexington Civil Rights Committee Records, 1960-1972" chronicle the growth and demise of the 1960s Fair Housing Movement efforts to increase the number of African American families living in Lexington. The LCRC focus on housing was multidimensional, for it entailed working not only with home seekers (providing information about listings, subscriptions to the local newspaper, helping with home visits, testing for bias, supporting cases of discrimination) but within Lexington neighborhoods (brochures, informational coffee hours, good neighbor pledges), with Lexington realtors (attempting to win support for fair housing efforts, apprising of fair housing laws), with personnel managers in 128 businesses, and with other organizations outside of Lexington (e.g., Fair Housing Federation of Greater Boston, AFSC, and later MCAD, METCO, CORE, SNCC).<br><br>Funds were raised through membership fees (1965 membership 1016) and special events (lectures and concerts). Some funds supported activities in Lexington (LCRC newsletter and other publications, high school essay contests, summer camp for Roxbury and Lexington youth, support for black history books and curriculum). Other funds went to activities outside Lexington and it was this proliferation of support for civil rights activities in Boston, in Mississippi, and elsewhere, rather than Lexington-focused housing activities, that contributed to the disbanding of the LCRC in 1972.<br><br>In addition to the LCRC records, David Reiner's papers include a folder on Hanscom Air Force Base and Fair Housing in 1968, which reveals how ill-prepared the Air Force was to deal positively with fair housing for its African American personnel.<br><br><a href="https://www.carylibrary.org/sites/default/files/David-Reiner-Papers-Finding-Aid.pdf" target="_blank">Finding Aid: The David Reiner Papers</a>
Format:
Collections
Postcards/Cards
Ephemera
Prints
Documents
Letters/Correspondence
Newspapers
Manuscripts
Maps/Atlases
Periodicals
Location:
Cary Memorial Library