Leon Sachs, 1976 June 30
Abstract
Leon Sachs (1907-1992) was an Baltimore activist involved in the civil rights movement and the Jewish community's causes. Beginning his full-time work with the Baltimore Jewish Council in 1941, he retired in 1975 to focus on labor-management arbitrations. In this oral history interview, Sachs details his education, including his time at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, and his career with the Baltimore Jewish Council, highlighting his activism through landmark legislation such as the first fair employment practices legislation south of the Mason-Dixon line. Sachs recounts his relationships with Governor Theodore R. McKeldin (1900-1974) primarily through labor-management disputes and McKeldin’s interest in furthering Jewish causes. He describes McKeldin’s sincerity towards civil rights and religious rights and how his charismatic personality helped further these causes. Sachs also recounts his interactions with civil rights leaders Lillie May Carroll Jackson (1889-1975) and Juanita Jackson Mitchell (1913-1992), the NAACP, and their part in helping or hindering Jewish causes. Finally, he voices his opinions on the violence that CORE brought to Baltimore and how they sought to avoid it and instead emphasize legislation.
Dates
- 1976 June 30
Creator
- Sachs, Leon, 1907-1992 (Narrator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
180 Minutes (Audio recording)
88 Pages (Transcript)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Processing Information
There are an additional 14 pages of supplementary material (tape index, biographical data, and interview evaluation) included after the transcript.
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 other related items. Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, transcripts, tape indexes, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and interview evaluations. Each item record indicates whether a complete transcript or an uncorrected transcript is available for an oral history.
All recordings within the collection are digitized and continue to be added to MCHC's Digital Collections portal.
Interviews were conducted from 1975-1977, with some earlier recordings made prior to the project added to the collection. Narrators range from leaders in the Maryland civil rights movement and local activists, to people opposed to the movement. Narrators include Lillie May Carroll Jackson’s children: Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Virginia Jackson Kiah, and Bowen Keiffer Jackson; Parren Mitchell, U.S. Congressman, 1971-1987; Donald G. Murray, the first African American admitted to the University of Maryland Law School; Verda Welcome, one of the first Black women to be elected to a state Senate; Thomas J. D’Alesandro III, mayor of Baltimore, 1967-1971; Clarence Mitchell, Jr., chief lobbyist to the NAACP; Vernon Naimaster, Great Titan of the Maryland Ku Klux Klan; and Dr. J.E.T. Camper, a prominent physician who also devoted his career to seeking racial justice and equality.
In addition to these oral history interviews, there are four items related to the project that are included with the collection. There is an audio recording of a radio program on which narrators David Glenn and Judge Robert Watts appeared to discuss the McKeldin-Jackson project with host Alan Christian. There is an audio recording as well as textual materials from the colloquium and exhibition held at the Maryland Historical Society to commemorate the McKeldin-Jackson project on November 16, 1976. There is also a research paper written by a Goucher College student on Theodore R. McKeldin and the civil rights movement in Maryland and a binder containing information on the development and progress of the McKeldin-Jackson project.
Creator
- Sachs, Leon, 1907-1992 (Narrator, Person)
- Richardson, Richard (Interviewer, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org