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Records of the American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for Evacuees, 1942-1963

Overview of the Collection

Creator
American Friends Service Committee. Midwest Branch. Advisory Committee for Evacuees
Title
Records of the American Friends Service Committee, Midwest Branch, Advisory Committee for Evacuees
Dates
1942-1963 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 linear ft. ((25 boxes))
Collection Number
(Accession No. 4791-001)
Summary
Quaker social service organization which coordinated Chicago-area aid to displaced Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Boxes 1, 2, and 25 are of these records are open to all users. Boxes 3-24 are open only to scholars working in their fields of expertise.

Material stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

In July 1942, the U.S. War Relocation Authority announced a policy that permitted qualified inmates to leave incarceration centers to accept permanent jobs outside of designated war zones. Applicants were required to have a means of support and a place to live. Cities in the Midwest such as Chicago were suddenly faced with finding housing and jobs for a massive influx of Americans of Japanese descent coming from West Coast camps. Local social service agencies began to organize to meet the need, and it soon became apparent that an overall coordinating body was need.

The Midwest Branch of the American Friends Service Committee (a Quaker social service organization) took on this responsibilty by organizing the Advisory Committee for Evacuees. Membership in the committee included representatives from eighteen social service agencies as well as other interested individuals concerned about the problems faced by the displaced Japanese Americans. The committee was chaired by Rolland W. Schloerb of the Chicago Federation of Churches. Edwin G. Morgenroth of the Midwest Branch of the AFSC served as Executive Secretary.

The committee cooperated closely with the War Relocation Authority, which reviewed applications to be released released from the camps and conducted background checks. The AFSC accepted applications for employment and acted as a clearing house for jobs, housing, and educational opportunities. It maintained hostels in Chicago to provide temporary housing for former inmates as they arrived from the camps. The AFSC also attempted to promote community acceptance of displaced Japanese Americans and to minimize problems of adjustment.

Because of the success of this arrangement the War Relocation Authority asked the AFSC at the national level, to perform similar services for college students needing to transfer to schools out of the west-coast war-zone. This resulted in the formation of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. The Midwest Branch of the AFSC was also designated as a field office for this organization.

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Content Description

The records in this collection appear to be from the Executive Director's office of the Advisory Committee for Evacuees. Boxes 1 and 2 and 25 contain minutes of the committee's meetings; correspondence with the War Relocation Authority; correspondence regarding specific programs sponsored by the committee; reports and newsletters of agencies and organizations working with Japanese Americans and files which document the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council's efforts to match nursing students with openings in Chicago-area programs. Boxes 3-24 contain case files (application for housing and employment), and a card file that documents contacts with inividuals (including a narrative account of services provided). Many cards include comments on how individuals were received by the community.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Much of the material consists of case files and contact records that identify individuals by name. Users must guarantee privacy of these individuals in a written agreement. Copying and quotation are permitted for boxes 1 and 2 and 25 only. For additional information, contact the repository.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

No records document the gift of this material to the University of Washington Libraries. The best guess is that these are the records of the Advisory Committee for Evacuees, possibly formed under the auspices of the American Friends Service Committee at an organizational meeting in Chicago on July 28, 1942. The records are assumed to have come to the University via the Council of Churches of Greater Seattle.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

  • General Correspondence

    • Description: Advisory Committee for Evacuees - Consultants on Integration
      Dates: June 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 1/1
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Advisory Committee for Evacuees - Miscellaneous
      Dates: Jul. 1942 - Jan. 1946
      Container: Box/Folder 1/2-4
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Assimilation
      Dates: May 1943 - June 1944
      Container: Box/Folder 1/5
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Christmas Gifts for Tule Lake
      Dates: Sept. - Nov. 1942
      Container: Box/Folder 1/6-8
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Gates, Isabelle
      Dates: Feb. - July 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 1/9
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: National Japanese American Student Relocation Council - Nursing
      Dates: July 1943 - Mar. 1945
      Container: Box/Folder 1/10-12
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation - Community Interpretation
      Dates: May 1942 - Mar. 1945
      Container: Box/Folder 1/13
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation - American Friends Service Committee Forms and Procedure
      Dates: July 1942 - June 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 1/14-15
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation - Housing Publicity
      Dates: Apr. 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 1/16
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation Inquiries Out of City
      Dates: June 1942 - Aug. 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 1/17-18
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation Students
      Dates: May 1945
      Container: Box/Folder 1/19
      Location: General Correspondence
    • Description: Relocation WRA Letter re: Formation of Committee to Assist Evacuees
      Dates: May 1942 - Feb. 1963
      Container: Box/Folder 1/19
      Location: General Correspondence

  • Notes

    • Description: Room and Board Positions
      Dates: n.d.
      Container: Box/Folder 2/1
      Location: Notes

  • Minutes

    • Description: Advisory Committee for Evacuees
      Dates: July 1942 - Oct. 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 2/2-3
      Location: Minutes

  • Reports

    • Description: American Friends Service Committee - Japanese American Resettlement
      Dates: Aug. 1, 1945
      Container: Box/Folder 2/4
      Location: Reports
    • Description: War Relocation Authority - Miscellaneous
      Dates: Dec. 1942
      Container: Box/Folder 2/5
      Location: Reports
    • Description: War Relocation Authority - Quarterly Report
      Dates: July - Sept., 1942
      Container: Box/Folder 2/6
      Location: Reports

  • Case Files

    Restricted.

    • Description: A - E
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 3/1-57
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: F - Han
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 4/1-52
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Har - Ho
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 5/1-52
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Hor - Ito
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 6/1-54
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Ito - Ka
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 7/1-63
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Ki - Kur
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 8/1-66
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Kuri - Mat
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 9/1-65
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Mi - Mur
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 10/1-54
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Nad - Nis
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 11/1-70
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Nit - Omo
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 12/1-66
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Ono - P
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 13/1-30
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Sab - Shin
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 14/1-71
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Shio - Taka
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 15/1-67
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Take - Toku
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 16/1-65
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Tom - Yamag
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 17/1-62
      Location: Case Files
    • Description: Yamam - Z
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 18/1-53
      Location: Case Files

  • Chicago Applications

    Restricted.

  • File Cards

    Restricted.

    • Description: A - N
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box 23
      Location: File Cards
    • Description: O - Z
      Dates: 1942-1945
      Container: Box 24
      Location: File Cards

  • Lists

    • Description: Representatives Attending Meeting of Advisory Committee for Evacuees
      Dates: n.d.
      Container: Box/Folder 25/1
      Location: Lists

  • Bulletins

    • AFSC - Japanese-American Relations Committee

    • Description: Minorities in the U. S.
      Dates: May 15, 1942
      Container: Box/Folder 25/2
      Location: Bulletins
    • Description: Church Federation Bulletin
      Dates: Dec. 1942
      Container: Box/Folder 25/3
      Location: Bulletins
    • Description: Federal Council of the Churches of America
      Dates: Dec. 6, 1943
      Container: Box/Folder 25/3
      Location: Bulletins

  • Periodicals

    • Description: Methodist Church -The Christian Advocate
      Location: Periodicals
    • Description: Poston Relocation Center -Poston Notes and Activities
      Dates: Apr. 1943
      Location: Periodicals
    • Description: WRA - Field Bulletin - North Central Area
      Dates: May 15, 1945
      Location: Periodicals

  • Newsletters

    • Description: WRA - Kansas City Area Relocation Office
      Dates: Sept. - Nov. 1943
      Location: Newsletters
    • Description: North Central Area
      Dates: May 1944
      Location: Newsletters

  • Newssheets

    • Description: WRA - National Japanese American Student Relocation Council
      Dates: Jan. 1945 - June 1945
      Location: Newssheets

  • News Releases

    • Description: WRA - Office of War Information re: Tule Lake
      Container: Box/Folder 25/9
      Location: News Releases

  • Newspapers

  • Clippings

    • Description: Miscellaneous
      Dates: 1942-1943
      Container: Box/Folder 25/11
      Location: Clippings

  • Ephemera

    • Description: Nursing
      Dates: 1942-1944
      Container: Box/Folder 25/12
      Location: Ephemera
    • Description: Miscellaneous
      Dates: 1943-1945
      Container: Box/Folder 25/13
      Location: Ephemera

  • Folio of Drawings

    • Description: Prints after Sketches of Relocation Centers by Henry Fukuhaba
      Container: Box/Folder 25/14
      Location: Folio of Drawings


1996 (Last modified: 4/11/2018)

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