Thomas M. Kerr (1919-2006) was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. He received his A.B. from Lafayette College in 1940 and his J.D. from George Washington University in 1950. After serving as an attorney for the anti-trust division of the U.S. Justice Department, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to work for Westinghouse Electric Company in 1956. Kerr subsequently entered private practice and became chair of the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU from 1962 to 1964, and president of the ACLU of Pennsylvania from 1964 to 1984. During this period, he also served on the national board of directors of the ACLU and was active nationally in Americans for Democratic Action. Locally, Kerr provided legal counsel to the anti-war, civil rights, and women’s movements. He was also engaged in a wide variety of cases involving criminal justice, civil liberties, and academic freedom. Kerr died on February 25, 2006, in Pittsburgh.
The papers of Thomas Kerr contain correspondence and subject files primarily related to his role as chair of the Pittsburgh chapter and president of the Pennsylvania ACLU from 1962 to 1984. The files cover an extensive variety of subjects, including women’s rights, civil rights, criminal justice, civil liberties, conscientious objection to selective service, Democratic Party politics, academic freedom, de-criminalization of drugs, separation of church and state, and students’ and teachers’ rights. Also scattered among the correspondence are news clippings and releases; newsletters; letters to the editor; texts of speeches; meeting minutes; financial reports; and election results.
Series I. American Civil Liberties Union, Pittsburgh Chapter Correspondence, 1962-1967
Series II. American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania Correspondence, 1967-1978
Series III. General Correspondence, 1956-1971
Series IV. Subject Files, 1945-2004
No restrictions.
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Gift of Thomas M. Kerr in July 2004.
This collection was processed by Ben Blake in 2006. An addition to the collection was processed by Zachary Brodt in December 2007.
American Civil Liberties Union, Pittsburgh Chapter Records, AIS.1997.16, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Thomas M. Kerr Papers, 1945-2004, AIS.2004.17, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Series I. American Civil Liberties Union, Pittsburgh Chapter Correspondence, 1962-1967
Scope and Content Notes
This series contains internal organizational correspondence primarily related to Kerr’s service as chair of the Pittsburgh chapter of the ACLU. It encompasses a broad range of topics, including fair housing, public school de-segregation, capital punishment, rights of the accused, employee loyalty oaths, censorship, academic freedom, student rights, school prayer, freedom of speech, and the abolition of the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities. Also scattered among the correspondence are news clippings, newsletters, financial reports, and meeting minutes.
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| Box | Folder | | Correspondence, 1962-1967 | 1 | 1-24 |
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Series II. American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania Correspondence, 1967-1978
Scope and Content Notes
This series contains internal organizational correspondence primarily related to Kerr’s tenure as president of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. It covers an extensive variety of topics including, women’s rights (the Equal Rights Amendment, sex discrimination and abortion rights), civil rights (fair housing, public school de-segregation, racial discrimination in employment), criminal justice (capital punishment, rights of the accused and the right to a fair trial), civil liberties (employee loyalty oaths, censorship and FBI surveillance), conscientious objection to selective service, and academic freedom. Also scattered among the correspondence are news clippings, press releases, meeting minutes, budgets, and election results.
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1967-1970 | 25-36 |
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| Box | Folder | | Correspondence, 1970-1978 | 2 | 1-24 |
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Series III. General Correspondence, 1956-1971
Scope and Content Notes
This series contains personal correspondence primarily related to Kerr’s law practice and political activities. It covers a wide variety of topics including the 1960 Kennedy presidential campaign, censorship, conscientious objection to selective service, civil rights, criminal justice, fair housing, affirmative action in the construction trades, school integration, students’ rights, and FBI surveillance of political activists. Included in this correspondence are copies of sixteen letters to the editor from 1966 to 1970 and texts of nine speeches from 1966 to 1968.
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1956-1965 | 25-40 |
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| Box | Folder | | Correspondence, 1966-1971 | 3 | 1-23 |
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Series IV. Subject Files, 1945-2004
Scope and Content Notes
This series contains subject research files primarily related to Kerr’s law practice and public speaking engagements. It spans a broad range of topics, including school integration, abortion rights, affirmative action in the construction trades, capital punishment, censorship, rights of mentally ill, selective service, fair housing, rights of the accused, de-criminalization of drugs, separation of church and state, and the rights of students and teachers. Also included are some files on Kerr’s academic work at Carnegie Mellon University and Point Park College.
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| Folder | | Abortion, 1966-1974 | 24-25 |
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| Folder | | Academic Freedom in Secondary Schools, 1967 | 26 |
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| Folder | | Americans for Democratic Action, 1970-1974 | 27 |
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| Folder | | Black Community, 1969 | 28 |
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| Folder | | Black Construction Coalition, 1969 | 29 |
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| Folder | | Brown v. Board of Education, 1970-1972 | 30 |
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| Folder | | Campisi, Carmello Case File | 31 |
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| Folder | | Capital Punishment, 1965-1985 | 32-33 |
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| Folder | | Carnegie Mellon University, 1972-1979 | 34 |
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| Folder | | Carnegie Mellon University, Program for Executives, 1971-1973 | 35-36 |
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| Folder | | Censorship, 1960-1969 | 37-38 |
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| Folder | | Centerville Clinics, Incorporated, Mental Health and Mental Retardation Program, Fredericktown, PA, 1975 | 39 |
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| Folder | | Circle Program, Pittsburgh Public Schools, 1973-1974 | 40 |
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| Folder | | Civil Commitment of the Mentally IL, 1969 | 41 |
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| Folder | | Civil Liberties and the American Civil Liberties Union, 1967-1975 | 42 |
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| Box | Folder | | Corporal Punishment, 1965-1977 | 4 | 1-2 |
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| Folder | | Draft Deferment Case Letters, 1972 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Drugs, 1967-1972 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Dwelling House Building and Loan Association, 1968-1976 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, 1973-1976 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Federal Crime Insurance Program, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1971-1976 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Home Rule Charter for the People of Pittsburgh, Discussion Draft, September 1973 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Law Enforcement and the Rights of the Accused, 1963-1967 | 9 |
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| Folder | | Lowenstein, Al, U.S. Senate Campaign, 1973-1974 | 10 |
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| Folder | | Malone, Thomas Case File, August 20, 1975 | 11 |
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| Folder | | Non-Heartbeating Organ Donors, 1991-1993 | 12 |
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| Folder | | Non-Profit Bail Bonding Corporation, 1969-1972 | 13-14 |
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| Folder | | Oskoui, M. Case File, 1972-1976 | 15 |
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| Folder | | Pennsylvania Program for Women and Girl Offenders, Inc., 1971 | 16 |
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| Folder | | Point Park College, 1964-1975 | 17-18 |
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| Folder | | Prayer and Bible Reading in the Public Schools, 1958-1965, 1982, 1991 | 19-20 |
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| Folder | | Pre-trial Justice Project, American Friends Service Committee, 1968-1971 | 21 |
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| Folder | | Retention Committee, Retreat State Hospital, Hunlock Creek, PA, 1977 | 22 |
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| Folder | | Rights of Children, 1971-1975 | 23 |
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| Folder | | Rights of Students in Private Institutions, 1961-1966, 1969-1981 | 24-26 |
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| Folder | | Rights of Teachers and Students in Secondary Schools, 1969-1972 | 27 |
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| Folder | | Selective Service, 1968-1972, 1982 | 28-29 |
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| Folder | | Senate Bill 1, 1976 | 30 |
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| Folder | | Singer, Nathan Case File, 1945-1976 | 31-39 |
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| Folder | | Students' Rights, 1963-1969 | 40-42 |
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| Box | Folder | | Unitarian Church, 1971-1973 | 5 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Wage-Price Freeze, August 1971 - January 1972 | 2-3 |
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| Folder | | Welfare Rights, 1965-1969 | 5-6 |
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| Box | Folder | | Civil and Labor Rights Articles | 6 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Elaine Mittleman, 1987 | 2 |
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| Folder | | Personal Correspondence | 3 |
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| Folder | | Allegheny Bar Association Memorial Service for Marjorie Hanson Matson, Esq. Eulogy by Kerr, 1980 | 4 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence with Carnegie Mellon University | 5 |
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| Folder | | Home Rule Charter Draft, 1973 | 7 |
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| Folder | | Research on Ethics in City Government | 8 |
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| Folder | | Manuscript regarding Presidential Impeachment | 9 |
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| Folder | | Carnegie Tech Ideas, Fall 1966 | 10-11 |
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| Folder | | Carnegie Tech, Fall 1965 | 12 |
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| Folder | | Ingersoll-Rand and Flow International Corporation Merger, 1994 | 16 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board, 1989 | 17 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board, 1980-1985 | 18 |
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| Box | Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board | 7 | 1 |
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| Folder | | Lawsuits against Cities as Employers | 2 |
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| Folder | | Lillian Roberts and William Terrell v. City of Pittsburgh | 3 |
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| Folder | | Ray Wolfgang Appeal, 1990 | 4 |
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| Folder | | David M. Stangl v. City of Pittsburgh, 1990 | 5 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board, 1984-1990 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Gloria Novak v. City of Pittsburgh | 7 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board Correspondence, 1984-1989 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Kerr Interview Transcripts, 2004 | 9-15 |
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| Folder | | Kerr Obituaries and Articles | 16 |
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| Folder | | City of Pittsburgh Personnel Appeals Board Cases | 17 |
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| Box | Folder | | Correspondence with Melanie Smith, November 19, 1984 | 8 | 1 |
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| Folder | | "The New People", Thomas Merton Center, May 1984 | 2 |
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| Folder | | “Mr. Civil Liberties” Dinner Honoring Kerr, October 25, 1995 | 3 |
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| Folder | | Atlantic City Casino Articles | 4 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1993 | 5 |
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| Folder | | Teaching Materials, 1984-1993 | 6 |
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| Folder | | Freedom of Speech and Expression | 7 |
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| Folder | | Michael T. Newell v. City of Pittsburgh Civil Service Commission, 1991 | 8 |
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| Folder | | Personal Correspondence, 1990 | 10 |
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| Folder | | American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, Inc. v. City of Pittsburgh | 11 |
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| Folder | | Free Speech and Press, 1992 | 13 |
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| Folder | | Presidential Commemorative Print, 1995 | 14 |
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| Folder | | Clippings, 1992-1993 | 15 |
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| Folder | | Complaint of Judicial Misconduct, 1987 | 16 |
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| Folder | | Letter to Working Assets Funding Service, August 1988 | 17 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1989-1994 | 18 |
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| Folder | | Clippings, Mid-Atlantic County, July 1994 | 19 |
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| Folder | | Mt. Lebanon Committee and Voting, 1964 | 22 |
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| Folder | | Allegheny County Democratic Committee | 23 |
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| Folder | | Kerr Court Documents | 24 |
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| Folder | | Americans for Democratic Action, 1984 | 25 |
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| Folder | | Baptist Homes, 1979 | 26 |
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| Folder | | Labor and Civil Liberties, 2003 | 27 |
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| Folder | | Grand Jury Abuse, 1978 | 28 |
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| Folder | | George Countz v. Children’s Hospital and Servicemaster Industries, Inc., 1979 | 29 |
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| Folder | | American Civil Liberties Union, 1977-1978 | 30 |
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| Folder | | University Relations with Intelligence Agencies | 31 |
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| Folder | | Correspondence, 1970s | 32 |
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| Folder | | Freedom of the Press | 33 |
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