Bill Callison collection of Peace and Freedom Party of California papers
Scope and Contents
Professional papers of Bill Callison comprised of correspondence, policy documents, membership lists, memoranda, flyers, promotional material, and newspaper clippings documenting the Peace and Freedom Party of California, 1968-2004, bulk 1974-1995.
The material documents the administrative, organizing, and electoral activities of the political party, as well as its approach to local, state, national, and global issues. Most of the collection relates to Alameda County and Contra Costa County.
Dates
- 1968-2004
- Majority of material found within 1974-1995
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Bill Callison Collection of Peace and Freedom Party of California Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Boston Rare Maps on the Frederick W. and Carrie S. Beinecke Fund for Western Americana, 2022.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Extent
2.58 Linear Feet (4 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Professional papers of Bill Callison comprised of correspondence, policy documents, membership lists, memoranda, flyers, promotional material, and newspaper clippings documenting the Peace and Freedom Party of California, 1968-2004, bulk 1974-1995.
The material documents the administrative, organizing, and electoral activities of the political party, as well as its approach to local, state, national, and global issues. Most of the collection relates to Alameda County and Contra Costa County.
William A. "Bill" Callison (1941-2008)
William A. "Bill" Callison (1941-2008) was born in Bremerton, Washington, to Robert Callison and Ardis Zalesky Callison. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1963 and a Master of Arts in Far East Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965. He lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in California where he worked as an electronic technician.
In 1967, during the Vietnam War, Callison was the founding editor of The Bond, the first antiwar newspaper for soldiers. He became active with the Peace and Freedom Party of California beginning in 1974 and served as Chair of its Contra Costa County branch from approximately 2000 to 2008. In 2008, he ran for United States Congress 7th Congressional District of California.
Peace and Freedom Party
The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP), which grew out of the civil rights and anti-war movements, organized in 1967 June and achieved ballot status in California in 1968 January under the California Secretary of State Report of Registration. After 1968, PFP affiliates in most states dissolved primarily because of ballot access restrictions. The California party, however, continued to maintain enough registered voters to hold on to its ballot status and continued to contest local elections throughout the 1970s and the 1980s.
Processing Information
Collections are processed to a variety of levels, depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived research value, the availability of staff, competing priorities, and whether or not further accruals are expected. The library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit.
These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards. For more information, please refer to the Beinecke Manuscript Unit Processing Manual.
Folder titles assigned by Bill Callison have been retained. Supplied titles for folders received without labels are in brackets.
- Alameda County (Calif.)
- California -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- California -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
- Contra Costa County (Calif.)
- Peace and Freedom Party (Calif.)
- Peace and Freedom Party (U.S.)
- Political activists -- United States
- Political parties -- California
- Socialist parties -- California
Source
- Boston Rare Maps (Bookseller)
- Title
- Guide to the Bill Callison Collection of Peace and Freedom Party of California Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Lerner
- Date
- April 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.