Lucy Kramer Cohen papers

The collection documents the life and career of Lucy Kramer Cohen, particularly her work for several federal agencies, contributions to The Handbook of Federal Indian Law, and her political and advocacy work. Professional papers primarily consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, research notes, printed materials, and other papers relating to Kramer Cohen’s work for the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, National War Labor Board, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Department of Labor, National Science Foundation, and Public Health Service. Other professional papers include speeches and notes from Kramer Cohen’s time as a staffer and speechwriter for Helen Gahagan Douglas and memoranda and reports on Korea, Germany, and Iran from her time as an editor of the Human Relations Area Files. Other professional papers relate to Kramer Cohen’s work as a high school math teacher, research jobs, job searches, and the federal government’s loyalty investigation concerning Kramer Cohen in the 1950s.

The collection also contains writings by Kramer Cohen and her husband Felix S. Cohen, including notes and correspondence concerning the publication of The Legal Conscience, Felix S. Cohen’s correspondence concerning Puerto Rico, and correspondence concerning Lucy Kramer Cohen’s editing of her husband’s writings and management of his literary estate. Also present are correspondence, reports, clippings, and printed material concerning the Cohens’ involvement with political and social causes, including board meeting minutes and cassette tapes relating to the Association on American Indian Affairs. Material relating to Kramer Cohen’s art projects includes correspondence and notes documenting her work with Italian artist Pietro Lazzari and copies of the newsletter of the Washington Water Color Association, which she edited. Finally, personal and family papers include personal correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia concerning the Cohens, their daughters, and their extended family. Includes audiovisual recordings of Felix S. Cohen’s memorial service and legal and financial records concerning the estate of Lucy Kramer Cohen’s father Aaron Kramer.