Skip to main content

Vincent Klingler papers

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 641

Scope and Contents

The Vincent Klingler papers contain reports, fliers, correspondence, photographs and mailings relating to Klingler's activism as Chairperson of the Coalition to Stop Rhodesian and South African Imports, the United People’s Campaign against Apartheid and Racism (UPCAAR), and the Philadelphia Coalition for Justice in Angola. Topics include U. S. longshoremen and dock worker strikes against unloading Rhodesian exports of chrome, asbestos, and nickel on the "African Neptune" and "African Sun," records relating to ILA Local Union 1291 - a majority African American longshoreman union which was boycotting unloading South African ships, South African coal exports, and American companies and university divestment from South Africa.

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1973 - 1978

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

The material is stored off site. Please request 3 working days in advance if you wish to use it.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the authors of the items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. For photocopy and duplication requests, please contact the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, Michigan State University Libraries.

Biographical / Historical

Vincent Klinger was born on September 19, 1951. During the 1970s, he was involved in several activist organizations regarding Southern African affairs. He was the Chairperson of the Coalition to Stop Rhodesian and South African Imports, which organized dockworkers and longshoremen to block the unloading of Rhodesian chrome, nickel, and asbestos. [there are several photographs in File “1975 Part B” of one of their protests]. The Coalition would also instruct workers on how to identify whether a docked ship was carrying goods from Southern Africa.

Klinger was also involved in the United People’s Campaign against Apartheid and Racism (UPCAAR), based in Philadelphia, as well as the Philadelphia Coalition for Justice for Angola. His organizations routinely collaborated with those in other cities, such as the “Baltimore African Liberation Support Committee”, the “Atlanta Conference to Stop South African Coal” and the “National Coalition for the Liberation of Southern Africa”.

Throughout Klinger’s papers, it is clear that his east coast activism was grounded in the struggles which he and his colleagues were facing at the work site. His reporting regarding protests among dockworkers sought to link the struggles of industrial workers in the USA to those in Southern Africa [see file “1975 Part B”].

Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated by Vincent Klinger in 2017.

Related Materials

This collection is part of the African Activist Archive.

Processing Information

Lydia Tang reprocessed this collection in 2020, adapting legacy description from Jessica Martin and Peter Limb, and rehousing the collection for better preservation conditions.

Title
Finding aid for the Vincent Klingler papers
Status
4 Published And Cataloged
Author
Lydia Tang, Jessica Martin, and Peter Limb
Date
2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections Repository

Contact:
MSU Libraries
366 W. Circle Drive
East Lansing MI 48823 USA