Manuscript Collections – Special Collections & The Gallery

Women’s Conference

Did you miss the “NJ Women of Interfaith Dialogue and Holocaust Education” presentation from Session I: Women and Gender in the Archives of the Conference on Women and Gender 2024 that took place on Friday, April 5, 2024?

Don’t worry! We are making the speech available here along with the slides used that day.

New Jersey Women of Interfaith Dialogue and Holocaust Education

Presented by: Athena Frade, Archdiocese of Newark and Rutgers University and Jacquelyn Deppe, Seton Hall University

Abstract

This presentation, based on research in Seton Hall’s archives, will share the stories of three devout women, each coming from a different faith and perspective, whose work intertwined because of their dedication to the importance of teaching Holocaust and genocide education.

First is sister Rose Thering, who started as a Dominican nun in Racine Wisconsin. She very quickly realized her passions, which led to her research on a doctoral thesis that would eventually affect Vatican II, and influenced the church’s publishing of the Nostra Aetate, which spoke on the Catholic Churches relationship with the Jewish faith. She then spent the rest of her career focusing on strengthening the ties between the Catholic faith and the Jewish faith, including involvement in the New Jersey Commission for Holocaust Education.

Second is Nancy Forsberg, who was a pastor for the Faith United Church of Christ. She founded the Union Interfaith Committee on Holocaust Awareness, which was one of the committees also instrumental to integrating the teaching of Holocaust education into the public-school curriculum, which would eventually become state-wide law.

Third is Luna Kaufman. Kaufman, who was born in Krakow, first lived through the German occupation of Krakow and later held as a prisoner the concentration camps of Plaszow and Leipzig. She was able to survive the Holocaust, and eventually emigrated to America. She and her husband settled in New Jersey, where Kaufman was an active part of the Jewish Community and became the first woman president of her Temple. It was later in life she began to work and advocate for Holocaust education, picked by former Governor Kean to work on the Advisory Council for Holocaust Education when it was first formed in 1982. Kaufman spoke at Forsberg’s Interfaith Committee, and would eventually find her way to speaking and teaching at Seton Hall, where she met and then worked with Sister Rose on Holocaust education.

Together, these women worked tirelessly to bring Holocaust education to New Jersey while simultaneously bridging an interfaith divide. Their work brought both to the attention of the State of New Jersey, where their efforts eventually culminated in the 1994 law that mandated the teaching of the Holocaust and genocide in New Jersey schools. As prominent women of faith, they used their knowledge and cooperation to make education better for every student, regardless of faith.

Presentation

In 1994, New Jersey became the second state in in the nation to mandate the teaching of the holocaust and genocide in all elementary and high schools in the state. This law is still on the books today, and continues to make sure school curricula properly cover and inform students about the importance of learning about and from genocide. But this law did not spring out of nowhere, but was instead the concerted effort of passionate professionals. Seton Hall is lucky enough to house some of these professionals’ collections of papers which include evidence of their efforts.

The Archives and Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University recently reprocessed and rehoused the collections of three prominent religious women, Sister Rose Thering, Nancy Forsberg, and Luna Kaufman, under a grant funded project, Feisty Women in Interfaith Dialogue: The Second Vatican Council Years, from the New Jersey Historical Commission. These collections allow scholars not only to explore the often-untold story of women’s activism in changing the terms of religious dialogue but in transforming the educational system, ensuring that their values would be instilled in future generations. Through our reprocessing we discovered these women accomplished this through their involvement in development of Holocaust Education in New Jersey.

This reprocessing project for these three collections entails updating folder titles to be more reflective of their contents, replacing folders with chemically neutral archival folders to slow down deterioration and acidification of the paper, replacing boxes with chemically neutral archival boxes, and placing photographs in transparent polypropylene sleeves to protect surrounding paper from off-gassing chemicals from the photo, and protecting the photo itself, allowing it to be handled and seen without removing it from its sleeve. These are essential steps that allow a collection to be accessible in terms of information discovery and physical handling. Furthermore, this preservation will ensure that the collections will be available for longer periods. Allowing these invaluable primary sources to continue serving students and scholars alike as they research points of view, collect evidence, explore agreements and contradictions to gain a deeper understanding of history.

Sister Rose Thering

Labeled as the “feisty nun” Sister Rose Thering was a strong proponent of Judeo-Christian relations as can be seen in her doctoral dissertation. Sister Rose Thering started as a nun in Racine, Wisconsin, joining the Racine Dominican sisters at the age of sixteen. From there, she would earn an undergraduate degree from Dominican College there, then a Master’s from St. Paul University in Minnesota, and finally a doctorate from St. Louis University. With her doctoral thesis, she made the decision to focus on how Jewish people were depicted in Catholic education textbooks. In particular, her work focused on the long running antisemitic myth, that the Jews killed Jesus, and how, even with absolutely no biblical proof of this, it was a myth that was being taught and retold in classrooms to unsuspecting students. This thesis would later prove influential enough to catch the attention of Pope John XXIII, and in the Second Vatican Council, her work was used to draft the 1965 document ‘Nostra Aetate’, a proclamation that transformed Jewish-Christian relations after 1965. But her work did not stop there. She then spent an entire career making efforts to connect with the Jewish community, and bridge the gap between the Catholic community and the Jewish one. That includes years of leading trips of Seton Hall students on educational tours of Israel, establishing workshops educating people on Judaism, and she was head of the Jewish-Christian Department here at Seton Hall University. Sister Rose went on to become a part of the New Jersey Holocaust Education Committee, the one that she, and fellow subject of this grant Luna Kaufman, were both a part of, and helped author the 1994 bill. She had been on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Holocaust education since its founding in 1982. However, by 1994, the committee was able to put together a comprehensive curriculum for New Jersey Public School students, going all the way from kindergarten up through 12th grade, educating students on genocide and the Holocaust.

What that looked like for young students was understanding topics such as ‘The Self and Others’, ‘Dislikes and Prejudice’ and simply being able to define ‘The Holocaust’ (MSS 0016 Box 5 Folder 23) while older students were analyzing what propaganda and how it was used in both the holocaust and other genocides, and different types of resistance in the face of genocide. By the time students were in high school, the curriculum became much more in depth, older students being able to comprehend and digest the heavy topics being covered. It was a curriculum aimed at teaching students not only what the holocaust was and why it matters, but also was meant to instill a lifetime of resistance towards the mechanisms that push societies towards genocide.

A lifetime of resisting genocide was a large part of sister Rose’s career, and in the later part of her life, eventually the Sister Rose Thering Endowment was established in her name, meant to honors others who have done major work in holocaust education and interfaith work. Amongst its recipients were the author of the book Night, Eli Weisel, and Luna Kaufman. And it is an endowment that is still gifted today, extending Sister Rose’s dedication to interfaith education and holocaust and genocide education up into the present day. For the remainder of the semester, you can see an exhibit the archives have put up focusing on the legacy of Sister Rose Thering, to get an idea of the scope her works and papers encompass.

Nancy Forsberg

Nancy Forsberg became the pastor for the First Congregational Church in Union, New Jersey in 1961, but had already begun to do work of interfaith relations before that. She had spent her summers with the Intergroup Relations Experience, doing tours of churches in Germany and Switzerland, and doing a study tour in the Middle East covering Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. in both 1960 and 1963, she would do independent study and work in Israel, living with both Jewish and Arab families. She had also spent time as a freelance lecturer in America and Canada, where she lectured on the Middle East and Israel, all of which she saved in her papers.

During her time as the Pastor of First Congregational Church, her work in interfaith relations did not stop. She was able to start conversations by first educating her parish with the help of other holocaust educators, inviting speakers like Luna Kaufman, fellow educators on the horrors of the holocaust. And that spirit of collaboration, also present in Sister Rose’s work, is an important throughline with the education these women provided. Both Sister Rose and Nancy Forsberg recognized the importance of teaching holocaust and genocide studies, and knew part of teaching it, was to reach out to Jewish voices and survivors, and make sure their experiences were heard in their own religious communities. In her own words, “Many People still regard the Holocaust as a matter of Jewish concern, but nothing could be farther from the truth” (Mss0022 Box 12 Folder 5).

While also doing things like creating a successful bus ministry, a form of community outreach which involved bussing people to Sunday services they might not have otherwise been able to go to, and the creation of a nursery school, she also founded the Union Interfaith Committee on Holocaust Studies in 1982. To initiate this committee’s work, she invited people to her congregation during the ‘National Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust’ that year, April 18-25th, and from there, endeavored to organize a permanent committee on Holocaust Awareness of Union Township. Finally, she was a part of the Holocaust Council of New Jersey Professors, whose goals and standards for education would eventually influence the 1994 law, influencing those statewide standards to ensure a comprehensive holocaust and genocide education.

Luna Kaufman

Luna Kaufman was born in Krakow, Poland where she lived through the German occupation and survived the concentration camps of Plaszow and Leipzig. Once she was liberated, she returned to Krakow and obtained a degree before emigrating to Israel and then to America. She and her husband settled in New Jersey, where Kaufman was an active part of the Jewish Community and became the first woman president of her Temple.

Luna Kaufman’s passion for Holocaust Education began in the 1970’s. During this decade, she was becoming active in discussing her religion and her experience surviving the Holocaust to audiences of students and adults alike. A trip to Amsterdam as the president of Temple Shalom with Rabbi Goldman and a confirmation class of the Hebrew School solidified her interest and need to be involved in Holocaust Education. In 1982 her efforts picked up when she was appointed to the Advisory Council on Holocaust Education by Governor Thomas Kean. On this council she served with Sister Rose Thering who she met previously during a 1974 Holocaust observance held at Seton Hall University where her prison dress was set upon the altar.

Their friendship and respect for one another was strong as was their passion for Judeo-Christian Relations and Holocaust Education. In pages of Luna Kaufman’s diary, Sister Rose appears throughout it. This page talks about the memorial that took place at Yad Vashem for Sister Rose Thering and how Luna Kaufman had to iron out some details.

Together, Luna Kaufman and Sister Rose Thering served on the Human Resources Committee of the New Jersey Advisory Council for Holocaust Education. This committee had the basic charge:

“to compile an annotated and descriptive listing of ‘experts’ available to implement Holocaust Education objectives in the schools and to recommend available training programs” (MSS 0102, Folder 7, Box 3).

According to the committee, ‘experts’ were individuals who were survivors, liberators, second generation persons, social scientists, historians, prosecutors of Nazi war criminals, artists, and community leaders who could address moral and ethical dimensions (MSS 0102, Folder 7, Box 3). Furthermore, the committee determined an interview and screening process to determine which individuals would be best suited to participate in different aspects of Holocaust education.

Conclusion

One of the things that unite these women’s collections, besides their own lifetimes of collaboration on education together, is the fact that these collections can still be used for that education. Each woman collected a lifetime of holocaust and education materials- from dozens of conferences and speeches, to various trips to the middle east or to concentration camps, there are boxes of materials focused on educating people on the horrors of the holocaust. And, now that they’ve been reprocessed on an archival level, each collection is easier to search through than ever. These were women dedicated to education, and the continued use of their works and papers in that education, would be a fitting way to remember the work these women did.

New Jersey Women of Interfaith Dialogue and Holocaust Education – PowerPoint

For more information about these collections check out the finding aids:

Sister Rose Thering

Nancy Forsberg

Luna Kaufman

If you have further questions, contact us at archives@shu.edu or (973)761-9476. To schedule an appointment to view materials, please submit a Research Appointment Request Form by clicking here.

National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration and a recognition of contributions to the United States from the Hispanic community. Originated in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson as a weeklong event, it was expanded to a month in 1988 under President Ronald Reagan, starting September 15 and ending October 15 to coincide with national independence days in several Latin American countries. According to Pew Research, the United States Hispanic population reached 62.5 million in 2021 which would mean the Hispanic community accounts for about 19% of the United States population. Here at Seton Hall University, 21% of the student body is Hispanic along with numerous staff members, administrators, and faculty.

During this month, the Archives and Special Collections Center and the Walsh Gallery would like to showcase collections that highlight Hispanic heritage:

MSS 0130 – Father Raúl Comesañas Papers

The Father Raúl Comesañas Papers is the first bilingual finding aid created by the Archives. These papers document the life, work, and activities of Father Raúl Comesañas, a Roman Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Newark who was born in Cuba and became a civic advocate for Union City, New Jersey. Below is what the collection contains:

This collection covers materials related to Father Comesañas’s run for the 13th Congressional district of New Jersey, his work as a Catholic priest in New Jersey, and his work as president of the Union of Cuban Exiles (U.C.E.). There is also a variety of background information related to Fr. Comesañas’s political interests including his role on various boards, his post-secondary education and seminary work, and personal correspondence. There is a significant collection of newspapers, including La Nación Americana, El Clarín, La Tribuna, and Vanguardia Católica all of which Fr. Comesañas had a role in the publication or editing of. The remainder of the newspapers in the collection cover news in North New Jersey and is published in English and Spanish.

The collection covers the years 1943, from paperwork and correspondence of Fr. Comesañas’s family prior to arriving in the United States, to 2017, one year before his death.

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Esta colección cubre materiales relacionados a la carrera política para el trece distrito del Congreso de Nueva Jersey, el trabajo como un Padre de la iglesia católica, y el trabajo como presidente de la unión de exiles cubanos (U.C.E.) de Padre Comesañas. También, hay una variedad de información de fondo sobre sus intereses políticos incluyendo su papel en mesas directivas, su educación y trabajo en el seminario, y sus letras personales. Hay una colección significativa de periódicos, incluyendo La Nación Americana, El Clarín, La Tribuna, y Vanguardia Católica, todos en que Padre Comesañas tenía un papel en su publicación o revisión. El resto de los periódicos cubren noticias del norte de Nueva Jersey y se publican en ingles y español.

Los documentos cubren los años de 1943, con documentos de la familia de Padre Comesañas antes de mudarse al Estados Unidos, al 2017, un año antes de la muerte de Padre Comesañas.

Make sure to check out this digital exhibit!

MSS 0020 – Trina Padilla de Sanz papers

The Trina Padilla de Sanz papers covers the writings and correspondence of Trinidad (Trina) Padilla de Sanz, a Puerto Rican poet, suffragist, and composer, known as “La Hija del Caribe” in honor of her father José Gualberto Padilla, a prominent medic, poet, and political activist known as “El Caribe”. Below is what the collection contains:

The Trina Padilla de Sanz papers date from 1845 to 1968, with the majority of records dating from 1902 to 1957, and document the life and literary career of Puerto Rican poet, writer, suffragist, and composer Trina Padilla de Sanz. The collection consists mostly of correspondence, original manuscripts, and printed works and also contains a small number of photographs and family papers.

The collection is arranged into three series: “I. Correspondence, 1845-1957 (Bulk: 1902-1957)”, “II. Writings, 1910-1966 (Bulk: 1910-1956)”, and “III. Personal and family papers, 1905-1968”.

Series “I. Correspondence” dates from 1845 to 1957, with the majority of correspondence dating from 1902 to 1957, and consists of correspondence with friends, family, and notable musicians, poets, politicians, and writers of her day. Prominent correspondents include, but are not limited to: Luis Llorens Torres, a well-respected Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician; Luis Muñoz Marin, the first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico; Cayetano Coll y Toste, an esteemed Puerto Rican historian and writer; José de Diego y Martinez, a statesman and journalist known as the “Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement”; Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature; Manuel Fernandez Juncos, a Spanish journalist and poet who wrote the lyrics to Puerto Rico’s official anthem “La Borinqueña”; Braulio Dueño Colón, co-writer of the song series “Canciones Escolares” and lauded as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest composers; and Lola Rodriguez de Tio, the first Puerto Rican-born poetess to achieve widespread acclaim throughout Latin America. Other noteworthy correspondence includes a letter penned by José Gualberto Padilla, known as “El Caribe”, in 1845 and correspondence between La Hija and her son, Angel A. Sanz Padilla, and daughter, Amalia “Malín” Sanz Padilla. This series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Series “II. Writings” dates from 1910 to 1966, with the majority of writings dating from 1910-1956, and consists of articles, essays, poems, short stories, and open letters in both manuscript and printed formats. The series also contains newspaper and magazine clippings of La Hija’s work, writing fragments, and a small number of articles published after her death. Featured in this series are La Hija’s published works in several prominent Puerto Rican magazines, includingAlma Latina,Condor Blanco,Heraldo de la Mujer, andPuerto Rico Ilustrado. This series is arranged alphabetically by title.

Series “III. Personal and family papers” dates from 1905 to 1968 and contains newspaper and magazine clippings related to La Hija and her family, writings about La Hija, photographs, keepsakes and ephemera, a scrapbook documenting La Hija’s musical career, and a small number of papers belonging to her son, Angel A. Sanz Padilla. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type and chronologically thereunder.

This collection will be useful for researchers interested in the social, cultural, political, and economic issues specific to Puerto Rico during the first half of the twentieth century. It provides in-depth insight into a variety of topics of the pressing current events of that era. For researchers focused on the feminist movement, this collection offers insight into the role of women in society, inequality between genders, and domestic affairs. For those interested in the political sphere, La Hija’s writings contain analyses of not only Puerto Rican liberation efforts, but also the dynamic between the country and more powerful foreign influences, specifically the United States. Researchers who wish to study social problems faced by Puerto Rico will find various articles penned by La Hija related to poverty, wealth disparity, divorce, the death penalty, and juvenile delinquency.

Along with the archival collection, there is a small selection of books that belonged to Trina Padilla de Sanz. Included in these books are works by Hispanic authors such as:

Selección de poesías : Alma América, Fiat lux, Oro de Indias y otras poesías by José Santos Chocano

… Essais by Eugenio María de Hostos, translated by Max Daireaux

Las fronteras de la pasión : novela by Alberto Insúa

Make sure to check out this digital exhibit! And some digitized papers from the collection.

The Walsh Gallery holds many objects from all around the world, from places as close as parks within New Jersey to regions that have since been renamed. Here are a select few objects:

Make sure to check out this compiled map with more objects from around the world as well as Google Arts and Culture which has over 217 object photos. And stay tuned for the launch of PastPerfect!

If you are interested in using any of these materials as part of your research, please submit a Research Appointment Form.

If you are interested in using these materials as part of a class visit, please archives@shu.edu.

Learning Opportunities in Archives and Special Collections

image of students viewing artifact — Students in Dr. Laura Wangerin’s “VIKINGS!” class discuss a replica of the Gundestrup Cauldron from the university’s collections

The Archives & Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on crafting enriching educational experiences for their students. Class visits to the archives often spark a sense of awe and curiosity, which encourages students to participate in active learning activities, engage in inspired conversations, and connect the past to the present.

Primary sources, which comprise the bulk of our archives, rare books, and gallery collections, are powerful instruction tools. All students benefit from learning how to find, analyze, interrogate, and reference primary sources. Past class visits have included a range of disciplines, including Viking and Early Latin American history, typography, Catholic studies, and women’s studies. If you’re not sure our collections will have materials related to your subject area, try us! We love finding gems from the collections to support your research and instruction needs.

We welcome our faculty to contact our Public Services Archivist, Quinn Christie, to talk about how we can work together. Email quinn.christie@shu.edu, find her on Teams, or call (973)275-2033.

Irish Immigrant Solidarity in New Jersey, 1870-Present: New Archival Collections

The Monsignor Noe Field Archives and Special Collections Center is pleased to announce the addition of six new archival collections related to the Irish-American experience. Thanks to a generous grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, we were able to process the following collections that are now available to researchers:

In addition to processing these collections, we have digitized roughly 1,200 files, at just over 9GB of data, primarily from the John Concannon and James Comerford collections.

Irish-American Experience in the 20th Century: Collection Highlights

The correspondence, research files, publications, photographs, and audio-visual materials in these collections provide an inside look at how Irish-American fraternal organizations worked together and separately to wield influence and political pressure on issues of importance to their communities — primarily immigration reform and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These documents demonstrate how many of these organizations, notably the Ancient Order of Hibernians, maintained close ties with local political and religious leaders in New York and New Jersey.

For the first half of the 20th century, in the absence of larger governmental programs, membership organizations collected dues and shared out their funds to members in need of assistance. The AOH New Jersey and Knights of Columbus collections include ledgers and membership registers that record in granular detail how these organizations provided health insurance and sick benefits to their members.

In addition to serving as advocacy groups, Irish-American organizations provided a sense of community and maintained a full calendar of social events. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is widely documented in the John Concannon collection, as members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians helmed its operation for many decades. The collection includes internal documents, lines of march, invitations, correspondence, and hundreds of photographs.

Digital Exhibits

For an overview of these collections, we invite you to explore two digital exhibits:

Irish-American Organizations: The Power of Connection
Exploring the relationship between Irish-American organizations and political advocacy
James Comerford
Irish-American advocate and New York City judge

New Collections Available to Scholars in the SHU Archives

One year ago, Seton Hall’s Monsignor William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center received two grants: one to process the papers of New Jersey politicians, and one to process the papers of Irish fraternal organizations. Apprentice archivists were hired and trained by Seton Hall staff, and they got to work organizing boxes of material, deciphering handwriting, and creating custom archival boxes for obsolete media such as LPs and Super-8 videos.

The results are now ready for scholars:

MSS 132 Papers of Arthur A. Quinn, early 20^th century labor leader

MSS 003 Papers of Richard Hughes, the first Catholic governor of New Jersey

MSS 002 Papers of Bernard Shanley, Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower

MSS 0135 John Concannon Collection, National Historian of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians

MSS 0145 James MacFarland Collection, past president of the AOH New Jersey State Board

MSS 0146 AOH New Jersey Collection, materials documenting Irish American life sourced from the AOH New Jersey

MSS 0147 Knights of Columbus / Catholic Daughters of the Americas Collection, materials from these fraternal organizations

MSS 0148 James Comerford Papers, papers of a New York City judge who spent time as a volunteer in the IRA

MSS 0150 Gloria Schneider Papers, papers which document the donor’s involvement in numerous Catholic organizations in Northern New Jersey

The archives encourage those interested in these newly available materials to make an appointment to see them in the reading room. We look forward to seeing scholars use these collections to enrich our understanding of history!

Pathmakers in New Jersey Politics

exhibit walls behind glass — Pathbreakers in New Jersey Politics on display on the first floor of Walsh Library

Seton Hall cares for fourteen archival collections documenting the careers of New Jersey politicians, illustrating the evolution of this state since its founding in 1787. In 2021, the National Archives awarded Seton Hall a federal grant to process five of these collections: the papers of Arthur A. Quinn, early twentieth-century pioneer in labor activism, the papers of Bernard Shanley, Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower, Governors Richard Hughes and Brendan Byrne, and first Black Congressman from New Jersey Donald Payne. After processing, these unique materials will be available to the public, enriching our understanding of the state we live in and the many people who worked to make it better.

Exhibit case featuring photos, writings, inscribed book, political buttons and bound copy of Shanley diary

The exhibit includes photographs of these politicians, excerpts from their writings, political buttons issued by their campaigns, and most exciting: the daily diary kept by Bernard Shanley when he was Chief of Staff to President Eisenhower. The archives has a full copy of the diary now available to researchers, in addition to the bound copy on display.

painting of trees along a riverside, with sun glinting off the water — Edwin Havas
Along the Delaware
35 1/2” x 47 1/2”
oil on canvas
Date Unknown
2011.29.0001
Seton Hall University Permanent Collection

This exhibit is currently on display in the Archives Reading Room and may be viewed when the library is open. Hanging next to the hallway exhibit is a landscape by Seton Hall professor Edwin Havas, titled “Along the Delaware,” providing a contrast of the natural landscape in which all this political debate took place.

Special Collections and the Gallery acknowledge the support of the National Historic Publications and Records Commission, which generously provided funding for the archival work which made this exhibit possible.

closeup of exhibit text and acknowledgement — Acknowledgement to the National Historic Publications and Records Commission for its support.

Donald Milford Payne – African American Historian & History Maker

The annual commemoration of Black History Month is officially celebrated during February within the United States and Canada. The significance of this tribute has led other nations to celebrate the African Diaspora at different times throughout the year including the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom for example. These instances of wider tribute across the globe have been supported through the altruistic activities undertaken by Donald Payne, Sr., an alumnus of Seton Hall and New Jersey Congressman. Representative Payne was a noted advocate on behalf of education and human rights endeavors, but he also spent several years learning about, and lecturing upon a myriad of Black-centered history issues on both the local and international level during the course of his lifetime.

Donald Milford Payne, Senior Portrait, Galleon (Seton Hall University Annual), 1957

Donald Milford Payne (1934-2012) was a native of Newark, graduate of Barringer H.S., and an alumnus of Seton Hall University earning his diploma in 1957 prior to doing post-graduate education at Springfield College (MA). He was an executive at Prudential Financial Services; Vice President for Urban Data Systems, Inc., and also taught within the Newark Public Schools system prior to entering the political arena.

Congressman Payne spent a major portion of his public career as a United States Representative for the 10^th District covering Newark, South Orange, and other neighboring communities from 1989-2012. He was a strong advocate on academic-related issues of various types including the School-to-Work Opportunities Act and National Literacy Institute. Counted among his many board-appointed accomplishments include a stint on the Democratic Steering Committee (2002) along with membership as part of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. In addition, Congressman Payne was very active with peace negotiations in Northern Ireland and as a two-time (first ever individual re-appointed to this body twice) as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations (2003-2007) among other respected committee assignments.

Congressman Payne Newsletter, Summer 2003

The work undertaken by Congressman Payne in Africa was particularly keen as he became an advocate for the citizens of Darfur, Sudan, the Western Sahara, and other parts of the continent as a former Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. In addition, a highlight included a six-nation tour of Africa with President Bill Clinton during the 1990s along with leading a separate political mission to Rwanda. Congressman Payne was also a member of the Board of Directors for the TransAfrica Forum, and involved himself with ending the Somalian conflict of the 2000s.

Congressman Payne was also a trailblazer in his own right as the first African American President of the National Council of Young Men’s Christian Associations (YMCA) during the early 1970s, and later as Chairman of the World YMCA Refugee and Rehabilitation Committee between 1973-81. He was also the earliest African American U.S. Congressman to represent any district in New Jersey history and served as the 14^th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (founded in 1969) and first ever from the Garden State.

Congressman Payne and Comments on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. September 26, 2007

During the course of his life and legislative career in particular, Congressman Payne addressed noteworthy remembrances related to various African American individuals, institutions, events, and eras. Solemnity and respectful reflection in relation to such celebrations as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Douglass Day in addition to Black History Month. Congressman Payne also brought important perspective about his activities in the African American community to his alma mater and local constituents over the last several decades.

Transcript of speech on the life of Frederick Douglass, c. 2000

The most lasting memorial related to Congressman Payne from a Seton Hall perspective can be found within the preservation of his legislative records within the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center. School officials acquired his files in 2013, a year after his death. Various web pages and blog posts related to the local connections have been archived for public reference over the past decade . . .

Congressman Payne and Connections to Seton Hall University – https://www.shu.edu/search.cfm?q=donald+payne#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=donald%20payne&gsc.page=1

Donald Payne Papers, Acquisition of Materials – https://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2013/11/the-donald-m-payne-papers-come-to-seton-hall/

Donald Payne Papers, Open to Researchers Announcement – https://blogs.shu.edu/archives/2014/09/donald-m-payne-papers-now-open-for-research/

Donald Payne Papers, Collection Inventory (ArchivesSpace) – https://archivesspace-library.shu.edu/repositories/2/resources/242

Within our collection, one can find that Congressman Payne left behind a significant amount of quality documentation in the form of legislative briefs, speeches, correspondence, and other informational contents of note. In more detailed terms, the Donald Payne Papers date from 1988-2012, and are primarily related to the legislation and advocacy of his lifetime of work. The Scope and Content notes from the Congressman Payne Papers reads in part:

“The collection includes materials related to . . . legislative work, particularly for the House Committee on Education and Labor and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as on behalf of his district and state . . . There are significant files of material on Congressman Payne’s trips abroad, which included trips to a number of African nations as well as nations in Europe and elsewhere . . . materials cover Congressman Payne’s years in Congress including his African journeys and diplomacy and international relations work, national and legislative process efforts a good study in congressional protocols in general and local and national representation in particular.”

Link to the Donald Milford Payne Papers Collection – https://archivesspace-library.shu.edu/repositories/2/resources/242

As outlined above, there are several areas of research value, but in this month of February, it is important to note his work within African nations in particular and on behalf of Black History in its varied forms. When conducting a search that involves “Black History Month” within this collection, the results page yields a number of different file folders that focus upon various tributes are documented within such formats including correspondence, notes, reports, memoranda, and other types of materials including details on the commemorations from 1995 and 1997 along with “Speeches 1989-2011;” “African American History, 1992-2011;” “Black History, Undated;” “Black History, 1990-1995; and other subject areas found across this assemblage.

Article from the Donald Payne Congressional Newsletter, c. 2008

In more specific terms, Congressman Payne also left behind a myriad of background information on African American History along with specific files including speeches and background notes for his lecture appointments in particular. Examples include . . .

Congressional Research Service – Black History Month (IP 344B) Library of Congress, Washington, DC. (* Opening Text: “Since 1976, February has been celebrated as Black History Month, but the origins of this event date back to 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson set aside a special period of time in February to recognize the heritage, achievements, and contributions of African-Americans.” . . . Each year the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History selects a theme for the Black History Month celebration, and in 1995 it is “Reflections on 1895: Douglass, Du Bois, Washington.”)
“Reflections on 1895: Douglass, Du Bois, Washington,” by Janette Hotson Harris, Ph.D., National President, ASALH Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH), 1995.
CRS Report for Congress. “African-American Contributions To American Society in Selected Fields of Endeavor,” Corey Ali Jennings – Analyst in American National Government, Government Division. January 21, 1993. Congressional Research Service – The Library of Congress.
Tangela G. Roe, Senior Bibliographer, Government and Law – Library Services Division. “Black History and Culture: Bibliography-in-Brief,” CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, January 13, 1995.
Special Edition. Black History Is No Mystery. Special Edition, Winter 1993-94. Malcolm X, History of Black Spirituals, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. DuBois, etc. Boston MA.
Statement for Congressman Donald M. Payne. House Joint Resolution 320. Establishing the First Memorial Honoring African-American Civil War Veterans. Tuesday, June 9, 1992.
Remarks – Black History Month. S. District Court – Trenton, February 14, 2006. Judge Anne Thompson, NJ State. MLK and Coretta Scott King. Homer Plessy v. Judge John H. Ferguson. Brown v. Board of Education, Civil Rights Acts of 1950s and 60s. Thurgood Marshall, Charles Hamilton Houston – Howard Law School Dean. Congressional Black Congress. South African Apartheid and International Human Rights, etc.
Chairman Donald M. Payne – African American Civil War Memorial Breakfast – Draft #2 – African American Civil War Memorial and Museum – Washington, DC 9/21/2011.
Remarks – Commerce Department, Black in Government. Including mentions of the first statewide African American Convention – Trenton Zion AME church (1849).

Resources created and saved by Congressman Donald Payne, Sr.* provide an insightful look at the African American experience and are available for reference to our entire research community.

Information about African American History, Congressman Payne, and Seton Hall University please contact us via e-mail at: Archives@shu.edu or by phone at: (973) 275-2378. Thank you in advance for your interest.

(* Looking both to the past and future, the work started by Congressman Payne lives on through the efforts of his son, Donald Payne, Jr. who was elected to Congress in 2012. Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. has been an important part of the House of Representatives over the course of his tenure and has made his own significant contributions to this body through his work with domestic issues, labor, and Homeland Security among other subjects of importance.)