Identity area
Reference code
ZA COM MR-AAO-112
Title
Cleveland Robinson
Date(s)
- 1914-01-01 - 1995-12-31 (Accumulation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
Personal archive ; The Tamiment Library holds his papers covering the period 1956-1992 and the collection contains correspondence, campaign materials, documents and news clippings. Included in the collection are records of several anti-apartheid campaigns and organisations in the USA and South Africa.
Context area
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Cleveland Robinson was an African American trade union leader and civil rights activist and was active in anti-apartheid campaigns. In addition to his union activity, Robinson was a stalwart of the civil rights movement. He was administrative chairman and one of the key organizers of the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A friend and advisor on labor matters to Martin Luther King, Jr, he was an active member of the National Urban League and the NAACP, a director of the Southern Christian leadership Council, and a trustee of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, GA. He was also a leader in the struggle to mobilise American opposition to apartheid in South Africa and supported movements for labor and human rights in many African nations.