Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The records of the Central Toledo Action Committee (CTAC) date from 1971 to 1973, with some pertinent supplementary material dating several years prior to and several years following the existence of the Committee. The history of this inner city pressure group consists of approximately 3 1/2 linear feet of meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence, subject files, annual and statistical reports, legal proceedings, printed materials, newsclippings, and photographs and audio recording tapes.

The records of the Central Toledo Action Committee were donated to the Center for Archival Collections in May 1988, through the cooperation of Diane Pribor, past Board Member of CTAC, and Ann Bowers, University Archivist and Assistant Director of the Center for Archival Collections. Literary and property rights have been dedicated to the public and duplication is permitted for the purposes of preservation and scholarly research. The records are available for patron use in their original form. The register was prepared by Mallory J. H. Maury, Graduate Assistant, History Department, Bowling Green State University, in November, 1989, and revised by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in March 1992.

Agency History

The Central Toledo Action Committee organized in late October, 1971, "for the purpose of working together to solve community problems." Under the financial auspices of the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Toledo, CTAC was formed by a coalition of several geographically specific inner-city action groups, through the directional efforts of three Jesuit organizers. The Committee was granted a two year funding by the Bishop's office, with the understanding that monies be found elsewhere for subsequent years of operation.

Though bound together in form and function, CTAC and its component groups nevertheless acted independently of each other, depending upon the action to be taken. All groups, to varying extents, shared the 355 West Bancroft Street office in Toledo. Membership in CTAC was informal; involvement in the activities of the group(s) was the only membership criterion.

The primary concerns of CTAC were twofold. Immediate objectives were the improvement of deplorable housing conditions, educational facilities, and other neighborhood specific problems, such as traffic patterns and quality and quantity of parks. The removal of abandoned, dangerous structures from the inner-city landscape became paramount in the group's ultimate goals of stopping the deterioration of neighborhoods and reversing the spiral of decline. Of equal importance were the organizers' intentions of engendering within the inner city residents a realization of their own power and ability to organize for their collective good.

The people themselves were of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. While the Old West End was a fairly integrated community, in fact, fearful of real estate efforts at racial steering--a process which would destroy the integrated character of the community--the east end was inhabited largely by Polish, German, and Mexican Americans, with only a few Black newcomers, and the heart of the city was overwhelmingly Black. The population of the area approximated 50,000, half of which were renters. Sixty-percent of the area's population was black, and mostly low income, while twenty percent of the white population, living primarily in the Old West End, was middle and upper income. Leadership of CTAC was predominately white middle class, but the Black community represented itself in board positions and in key areas of involvement. Women were in the overwhelming majority, both in higher levels of organization and in membership.

Of considerable noteworthiness is CTAC's struggle with opposition by city hall, which culminated in the passage of Administrative Regulation 15, municipal legislation which effectively barred CTAC from confronting paid public officials at their offices, and the subsequent lawsuit brought by CTAC against the city. Another proposed piece of legislation, the Anti-Demonstration Ordinance, was never passed due to substantial opposition by many groups and organizations around Toledo, including labor unions and the ACLU. Following the suit, from which CTAC gained only limited victory (it was dropped immediately following the preliminary hearing, after it was learned that a full trial could not commence for at least another year), the group's community support eroded until, only five months later, the Board decided upon disbandment. Funding already had been obtained for its third year of operations through the Washington D.C. based Campaign for Human Development. Within days of notification of the $22,000 grant, CTAC Board Members notified their benefactor that the program was no longer operational. In the first weeks of November, 1973, the pressure group folded.

Scope and Content

The records of the Central Toledo Action Committee date generally from October 1971 to November 1973, with some pertinent material dating several years prior to and following the existence of the Committee; together they document the history of a diverse group of inner-city residents bound together by the need to improve living conditions. The efforts of the external pressure group are predominantly preserved in meeting agendas, correspondence, subject records, printed materials, newsclippings and photographs, which together provide several avenues of research.

Taken as a whole, the records of the Central Toledo Action Committee provide an excellent overview of the organization's functioning within the city of Toledo in general, and with the contemporary city administration. The meeting agendas, correspondence, subject/issue records, and printed materials clearly document the activities and concerns of the group. These also demonstrate the relationships CTAC had with city officials.

While CTAC was a coalition of a handful of geographically-specific action groups, the collection is primarily representative of the activities of the Old West End Action Committee, along with those of the coalition, CTAC. This is primarily due to the source of the materials, Diane Pribor, who was both a board member of CTAC, and Chairman of the Old West End Action Committee. A shortcoming of the collection, therefore, is the absence of the records of the other action groups; most of these committees only are mentioned on several occasions within the collection.

While the agendas for meetings, both within the group and with outside individuals, particularly city officials, are numerous, and indicate the general business attended to, actual minutes are few and scattered. For this matter, the correspondence provides a better indication of the actual action taken by the group. These, together with the numerous printed materials in the forms of press releases and general circulars, present for the researcher both the obstacles CTAC worked to overcome and its statements of intent. In-depth knowledge of issues can be obtained from subject records, which include such topics as schools, urban renewal, traffic patterns, open spaces, real estate and banking practices, and a court case brought by CTAC against the city of Toledo. Numerous reports by CTAC regarding housing conditions and firetrap status, give important scope to the most pressing and yet most controversial issues of relevance to the group.

A grasp for the larger, social and even political issues can be obtained in other subject records, which add considerably to the historical context for the Committee's existence. These include topics on maintaining the integrity of integrated neighborhoods, national and local organizations promoting the same, Model Cities Program studies, and a 1970 Census and Description of Toledo Housing Patterns. Reports in the form of Toledo City School Budgets, and subject records containing numerous Health and Building Codes, both municipal and state, provide a means to assess policies in force at the time of CTAC's activities.

Particularly useful to following the overall chronology of CTAC's actions, and to discovering general perceptions of the group, is the rich collection of newspaper and periodical clippings. As a body of information the clippings are for the most part accessible in the collection independently of other materials. In maintaining the original order of the collection, however, clippings having relevance to specific issues, filed in specific subject records, have been kept with that subject. For this matter, with some few exceptions, those newsclippings are not duplicated in the chronologically arranged newsclipping folders. Similarly, correspondence pertaining to specific subject records have stayed with the subject, while the majority of correspondence has been arranged chronologically on its own.

While there exists in the collection information on the funding of CTAC; there are no financial records available, with the exception of two banking deposit slips; these are of limited use to the researcher interested in this aspect of the agency's history.

Of supplemental value to the researcher is the inclusion of three hours of audio recording, an oral interview with Diane Pribor conducted in November 1989. The interview is indexed, allowing accessibility by topic, and includes an interview history to aid the researcher in placing the value of the interview into perspective. While some relationships are made more clear by the interview, the interview's chief value may lie in its contribution to understanding the philosophy of the organizational methods of the group, particularly the commitment to empowering the people.

Following the interview, additional materials were presented to the interviewer to be added to the CTAC Collection. These materials were of the same format as the original collection. Of particular importance was the addition of newspaper clippings for a period lacking in the original donation. This supplemented the existing media record by nearly twenty-five percent. These, together with additional correspondence, serve to clarify some matters otherwise taken up in the oral interview.

Series Description

PROCEEDINGS

MEETING AGENDAS
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Often include time and place of meeting, the person or group met with, members attending, some minutes, the particular coalition group which met on that occasion, demands and suggestions for action by the group.

CORRESPONDENCE

OUTGOING
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Primarily consists of communications with municipal, state, and federal officials regarding specific issues of concern to the coalition and its component groups; requests for meetings, status reports, and action.

INCOMING
October 1971-April 1974
Arranged chronologically
Primarily consists of replies by municipal, state, and federal officials regarding specific issues of concern to the coalition and its component groups. Also included are copies of correspondence between municipal, state or federal officials, sent to CTAC to inform the coalition of action taken. There are also some inter-group directives. Filed on its own is a small series of correspondence with Ohio Bell.

TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION
September 1972-June 1973, scattered dates
Arranged chronologically
Includes notes of incoming and outgoing telephone conversations with some city officials and judges.

SUBJECT FILES

CODES: MUNICIPAL AND STATE; HEALTH AND BUILDING
1968-1972
Arranged chronologically; others are not dated

OLD WEST END CONSERVATION PROJECT
HOLLYWOOD BLOCK CLUB
OLD WEST END DISTRICT COUNCIL
June 1971-1972
Arranged chronologically
Contains correspondence, meeting agendas, land use, maps, financial reports, progress reports.

WORKABLE PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
1972
Recertification for Urban Renewal Program, city of Toledo; application and approval notice.

RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MODEL CITIES ORGANIZATION AND OTHERS WHOSE PROGRAMS AFFECT THE TOLEDO MODEL NEIGHBORHOOD
October 1971
A study and paper prepared by Ruth Searles, University of Toledo.

FAIR HOUSING ISSUES
1968-1973
Arranged chronologically
National Neighbors, Toledo Neighbors, West Side Neighbors: Organizational information, exemption applications, notes from national conferences, publications, correspondence, activities; also, 1970 Census analysis of Negro housing patterns in Lucas County.

NEIGHBORHOODS; RELATED NATIONAL EXPERIENCES
1965-1971
Arranged chronologically
Publications of the approaches to neighborhood solutions by several U.S. cities, "The Resurgent Neighborhood," an article by James V. Cunningham, publications by regional associations defining and explaining local housing patterns as they pertain to race and cultural factors.

NEIGHBORHOOD PHILOSOPHY: INTEGRATION AND COMMUNITY
1973-1974
Arranged chronologically
Various publications pertaining to the topic, collected following dissolvement of CTAC.

APARTMENT/REAL ESTATE SURVEYS
1971-1972
Arranged chronologically
Surveys compiled by Toledo Neighbors for the National Neighbors Survey on Fair Housing Policy.

CTAC; ORGANIZING, FUNDING, INCORPORATION
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Contains original proposal for the Community Organization Project, Minutes of 28 June 1972, Central Cities Ministry Meeting, Progress Report to Central Cities Ministry, News Releases by Catholic Diocese of Toledo, Funding Search Fact Sheets, articles of incorporation, correspondence as it pertains to funding, "Don't push us around anymore, rent man," a proposal for funding to the Campaign for Human Development, Washington, D.C.

CTAC: VARIOUS LISTS-INDIVIDUALS
n.d.
Includes City Directory: list of City of Toledo officials and addresses, some membership lists, "Troops," some meeting attendance lists, "call lists," phone numbers for various attorneys and organizations.

A & P MARKET
January 1972
Meeting agenda to discuss problems, copy of agreement to be signed by A & P representatives, flyer for public notification.

REAL ESTATE AGENCIES, BANKS, AND RACIAL STEERING
1971-1975
Arranged chronologically
Includes affirmative marketing plan for relators and brokers, affirmative loan policy for financial institutions, meeting minutes with Ed Knowles, President-People's Savings and Loan, general correspondence, newspaper clippings, U.S. Justice Department Racial Steering Case correspondence, assorted bank and realty publications, CTAC flyers.

DEVELOPMENT CONCERNS: URBAN RENEWAL AND REHABILITATION
January 1972-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes status reports on some properties, meeting agendas, correspondence, lists of properties approved to be purchased by Urban Renewal, CTAC flyers, CTAC circulars.

COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENTS
February 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Contains correspondence, meeting agendas, CTAC circulars and flyers as they pertain to traffic control, street lights, and neighborhood parks.

NEW SCHOOL NOW COMMITTEE
March 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes a financial review of Toledo Public Schools by LMC Mediation Panel, meeting agendas, correspondence, notes on course of action, CTAC flyers and circulars, newspaper clippings, membership vote on architect choice for new Junior High School.

CTAC YOUTH
October 1972-May 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes CTAC circular announcing CTAC Youth Committee Activity and correspondence of the group.

TOLEDO AREA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Fall 1972-March 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes a history, goal sheets, program sheets, roster, limited correspondence.

OLD WEST END ASSOCIATION
January 1972
Contains Constitution and membership list.

JUDGE ANDY DEVINE/HOUSING COURT
August 1972-May 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence, meeting agenda, CTAC flyers and circulars, newspaper clippings, Housing Court reports, Housing Court notes.

CITY OF TOLEDO-NUISANCE ABATEMENTS
June-December 1972
Arranged chronologically
Legal notices.

2446-48 HOLLYWOOD/HEALTH ESCROW
December 1972-July 1973
Arranged chronologically
Contains Housing Code Escrow Provision fact sheets, correspondence, CTAC flyers and circulars, legal proceedings in Ernestine Smith-Escrow Case, photographs of meeting with Wenzel, Commissioner of the Board of Health.

SLUM HOUSING: SPECIFIC ADDRESSES
1971-1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence, notes, flyers, circulars and newspaper clippings--following the progress of several of the more notorious slum housing situations.

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION 15
December 1972-July 1973
Arranged chronologically and by topic
Includes general information covered by meeting agendas, correspondence, flyers, and circulars. Specific topics are covered by pretrial notes and trial proceedings, as well as subpoenas, argument by Gerald Lackey, and a transcript of Judge Watinsk's decision. Newspaper clippings for the period can be found in the general body of newspaper clippings, in chronological order.

ANTI-DEMONSTRATION ORDINANCE
May 1973-June 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence, flyers and circulars. Newspaper clippings concerning the topic can be found in the general body of newspaper clippings, in chronological order.

DAN MCCARTHY-"MAKING WAVES IN TOLEDO."
June 1973-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes the article "Making Waves in Toledo," printed in America Magazine. Correspondence on the same, and a November, 1973 publication of National Jesuit News.

STRAY DOGS
November 1972
Contains notes on the problem of stray dogs.

NOTES ON PARKER STABBING
August 1973
Handwritten notes, letter on this case.

ABSENTEE LANDLORDS
July, August 1972
Arranged chronologically
Includes lists of buildings absentee owned, correspondence, a newspaper clipping.

WILLIAM M. JENKINS AND PROPERTY-2405 GLENWOOD
1968-1972
Arranged chronologically
Includes correspondence and notes.

REPORTS

MODEL CITIES PROJECT - EVALUATION REPORT
May 1972
Includes a 1971 Model Cities newsletter, and a copy of the report submitted by Donald K. Hill.

TOLEDO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORTS
January 1972-December 1972
Includes tentative appropriations for fiscal year 1973 and monthly fiscal reports.

MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes Old West End Association Plan of Action, 19 July 1972; Community Improvement Committee Progress Report, late 1971; Report, 30 June 1972 to Central City Ministry Department by Total Community Development Action Committees; Action report by CTAC early 1972; Report by Earlean Jones (CTAC) to City Council on Lead Poisoning, 19 June 1983, and, 16 November 1973, National Conference of Bishops Resolution report.

CTAC ANNUAL REPORTS
October 1971-August 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes reports on all actions taken by the individual geographically based action groups. Also includes financial report.

CTAC IN HOUSE REPORTS
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Contains lists of abandoned buildings provided by CTAC Committee, status on firetraps, status reports on building actions with Health Department (abandoned buildings), Health Department Housing Orders.

CTAC IN-HOUSE REPORTS - INSPECTION
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes requests by CTAC for Health Department inspections of inadequate housing, inspection lists made by CTAC, some status reports on Health Department action on inadequate housing, CTAC action on Slum Lords.

CTAC - LISTING OF FIRES - PUBLIC HOUSING LIST
1962-1971
Arranged chronologically

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

AGREEMENTS
October 1971-November 1973
Contains form agreements drawn up by CTAC for use between CTAC and landlords, relators, and City of Toledo Building Inspection Department.

FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

BANK STATEMENTS
December 1973
Contains two banking statements.

SCRAPBOOK MATERIALS

NEWSCLIPPINGS
March 1971-December 1973
Arranged chronologically
Includes clippings from the Toledo Blade, The Bronze Raven, The Old West End Crier, The Catholic Chronicle and the Toledo Times. Clippings give a comprehensive accounting of the activities, issues and controversy surrounding CTAC.

PRINTED MATERIAL

FLYERS
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
The releases made by CTAC to the general public, to inform of actions and issues of a specific nature, generally brief.

CIRCULARS
October 1971-November 1973
Arranged chronologically
The releases made by CTAC of a format which provided in-depth information on specific issues and general policy. Also includes press releases and fact sheets.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL

POSITIVE PRINTS
1971-1974, n.d.
Contains photographs of housing conditions and several events: Porter "hit," July 1974; Garbage "incident," November 1971; traffic wreck, July 1972; Fun Mobile, July 1973. Glued to pages with unstable glue.

AUDIO RECORDINGS

AUDIO RECORDING CASSETTE TAPES
November 1989
Contains a three hour interview with Diane Pribor, CTAC Board Member, along with tape index, interview history, and interview chronology.

Inventory

Box 1

Folders

1. Meeting Agendas/Minutes, October 1971-September 1972
2. Meeting Agendas/Minutes, October 1972-November 1973
3. Correspondence-Outgoing, October 1971-September 1972
4. Correspondence-Outgoing, October 1972-April 1973
5. Correspondence-Outgoing, May 1973-November 1973
6. Correspondence-Incoming, October 1971-April 1973
7. Correspondence-Incoming, May 1973-April 1974
8. Ohio Bell Correspondence, 1973
9. Phone Conversation Notes, September 1972-June 1973

Box 2

Folders

1. Codes: Health and Building; Municipal and State, 1968-1972
2. Codes: Health and Building; Municipal and State, 1968-1972
3. Old West End Conservation Project, Hollywood Block Club, Old West End District Council, June 1971-1972
4. City of Toledo: Urban Renewal; "Workable Program for Community Improvement", 1972
5. Study: "Relations Between the Model Cities Organization and Others Whose Programs Affect the Toledo Model Neighborhood", October 1971
6. Fair Housing Issues: Pertinence to National Neighbors, Toledo Neighbors, West Side Neighbors, 1968-1971
7. National Neighbors, Toledo Neighbors West Side Neighbors, Miscellaneous Related Activity, January 1972-November 1973
8. 1970 Negro Census/Housing Patterns in Lucas County, 1970

Box 3

Folders

1. Neighborhoods: Related National Experiences, 1965-1971
2. Neighborhood Philosophy and Integration, 1973-1974
3. Apartment/Real Estate Surveys, 1971-1972
4. CTAC: Organizing, Funding, Incorporation, October 1971-November 1973
5. CTAC: Various Lists - Individuals, n.d.
6. A & P Market, January 1972
7. Real Estate Agencies, Banks, Racial Steering, 1971-1975
8. Development Concerns: Urban Renewal and Rehabilitation, January 1972-November 1973

Box 4

Folders

1. Community Improvements, February 1971-November 1973
2. New School NOW Committee, March 1971
3. New School NOW Committee, October 1971-February 1972
4. New School NOW Committee, March 1972-September 1972
5. New School NOW Committee, October 1972-January 1973
6. New School NOW Committee, February 1973-November 1973
7. CTAC Youth, October 1972-May 1973
8. Toledo Area Council of Churches, Fall 1972-March 1973
9. Old West End Association, January 1972
10. Judge Andy Devine/Housing Court, August 1972-May 1973

Box 5

Folders

1. City of Toledo-Nuisance Abatements, June-December 1972
2. 2446-48 Hollywood, Health Escrow, December 1972-July 1973
3. Slum Housing-Specific Addresses, 1971-1973
4. Administrative Regulation 15-General, December 1972-July 1973
5. AR-15: Lawsuit, Pre-Trial Notes, July 1973
6. AR-15: Lawsuit, Trial, July 1973
7. Anti-Demonstration Ordinance, May 1973-June 1973
8. Dan McCarthy-"Making Waves in Toledo", June 1973-November 1973
9. Stray Dogs, November 1972
10. Notes on Parker Stabbing, August 1973
11. Absentee Landlords, July, August 1972
12. William M. Jenkins and Property-2405 Glenwood, 1968-1972
13. Model Cities Project-Evaluation Report, May 1972
14. Toledo City School District-Appropriations Report, January 1972-Dec 1972

Box 6

Folders

1. Toledo City School District-Board of Education Monthly Report, January 1972
2. Toledo City School District-Board of Education Monthly Report, March 1972
3. Miscellaneous Reports, October 1971-Nov 1973
4. CTAC Annual Report, October 1971-Sept 1972
5. CTAC Annual Report, October 1972-Aug 1973
6. CTAC Annual Financial Report and Budget Projections, 1972/1973
7. CTAC In-House Reports, October 1971-Sept 1972
8. CTAC In-House Reports, October 1972-Nov 1973
9. CTAC In-House Reports-Inspections, October 1971-Sept 1972
10. CTAC In-House Reports-Inspections, October 1972-Nov 1973
11. CTAC List of Fires and Public Housing Listing, 1962-1971
12. Documents-Agreements, October 1971-Nov 1973
13. Financial Documents, December 1973
14. Newspaper Clippings, March 1971-May 1972

Box 7

Folders

1. Newspaper Clippings, June 1972-January 1973
2. Newspaper Clippings, February 1973-May 1973
3. Newspaper Clippings, June 1973-December 1973
4. Printed Material/Flyers, October 1971-Sept 1972
5. Printed Material/Flyers, October 1972-Nov 1973
6. Printed Material/Circulars, October 1971-Sept 1972
7. Printed Material/Circulars, October 1972-Nov 1973
8. Photographs/Housing Conditions, 1971-1974, n.d.
9. Photographs/Miscellaneous, 1971-1974, n.d.

Box 8

Folders

1. Audio Tapes, November 1989
2. Tape Index, November 1989

Manuscripts by Subject | Political Collections