Jacques E. Levy research collection on Cesar Chavez

The Jacques E. Levy Research Collection on Cesar Chavez consists of audiotapes, transcripts, notebooks, correspondence, documents, printed material, and writings accumulated by Levy while conducting research for his book, Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa (New York: Norton, [1975]). The collection, spanning the dates 1959-1997, documents Cesar Chavez's life as well as the early history of the United Farm Workers union and the labor movement in California.

The collection was organized by Levy before its acquisition by the Yale Collection of Western Americana. This finding aid preserves the folder titles, series, and subseries titles used by Levy. Levy's sections have been reordered, but not rearranged internally. The Levy file numbers and audiotape numbers are preserved as part of the folder titles so that the numerous cross-references to those numbers in the Levy inventory are accessible. A copy of the highly detailed inventory of the collection prepared by Levy may be found in Series IX, Levy Inventory.

The Levy collection, housed in 78 boxes and comprising 35.47 linear feet, consists of ten series: Series I, Principal Cesar Chavez Tape Collection; Series II, Miscellaneous Cesar Chavez Tape Collection; Series III, Jacques E. Levy's Notebook Collection; Series IV, Research Collection; Series V, News Clippings; Series VI, California Labor Relations Act Collection; Series VII, Post Mortem Research; Series VIII, Written Notes; Series IX, Levy Inventory; and Series X, Assassination Plot. Boxes 50-52 contain Oversize material, boxes 53-76 contain Restricted Fragile, and box 77 contains Restricted Material.

The oral history component of the collection is particularly strong, as Levy conducted extensive interviews of Chavez, Chavez family members, colleagues, and others involved in the labor movement in the United States. Levy's book takes the form of reminiscences presented in the first person as taken from these interviews, however, he states in the preface that he has blended Chavez's remarks from several sources to bring out his views. Levy also honored Chavez's request that some statements not be used until after his death, and gathered many other audiotape interviews both before and after Chavez's death for books that were never completed. Therefore, the audiotapes contain original material and unedited statements that do not appear in Levy's biography or his other published writings.

Levy's collection of audiotapes (314 in all, totalling ca. 500 hours of interviews), was compiled between 1969 and 1995; the bulk of the interviews are dated prior to 1976. The oral history interviews were conducted by Levy outside of formal studio settings: in bedrooms, hotel rooms, at rallies, on picket lines, on long car trips, and plane trips. In addition, there are audiotapes of speeches made at rallies, interviews on television, and phone conversations. Several speeches are in Spanish. Many of the tapes were transcribed for or by Levy. Where a transcript of an audiotape exists, a note has been made in the finding aid listing its location. Levy's inventory indicates whether an audiotape has been partially transcribed, partially paraphrased, or not transcribed at all. The original audiotapes are restricted. Reference copies have been made on CD-ROM. Notes regarding the reformatting of the audiotapes to CD-ROM may be found in Appendix B.

Series I, Principal Cesar Chavez Tape Collection , 1969-1976 (boxes 1-6), contains original audiotape interviews of Cesar Chavez and others closely associated with him, as well as transcripts of these interviews. This series contains most of the interviews of Chavez that were used for Levy's Chavez biography. There are 128 audiotapes, comprising approximately 230 hours of interviews. The interviews cover an array of topics: Chavez's life, philosophy, religion, politics, labor history, tactics, and interpretations of current events from 1969-1976. The interviews were conducted at Chavez's home and numerous other locations, including many made on long car trips, with Levy driving and Chavez operating the tape recorder. Levy had access to executive board meetings and strategy sessions of the United Farm Workers, as well as Chavez's thoughts on the behind the scenes maneuvering to get the growers to the negotiating table in 1970. Levy was also part of the Chavez party during a 1974 trip to Europe, where he taped key meetings with European labor leaders and others. The interviews with relatives, friends, and colleagues of Chavez, as well as growers and law enforcement, include a group interview of Chavez, his brothers, sisters, and parents recalling early years in Arizona and California, taped over a two day period.

The audiotapes are organized into Tapes 1-105 and Additional Tapes, the latter being further organized into Miscellaneous, Europe Trip, and Post Book Interviews. The transcripts are not complete: not every audiotape has a transcript, some transcripts are partial or contain paraphrased material (for details, see the Levy inventory in Series IX). Levy also included as part of two transcripts material that was not audiotaped but transcribed from his notes instead. This includes Levy's notes from the June 1970 negotiations with large scale growers (box 2, pages 529-583, folders 141-142), and an interview with Al Rojas (box 4, folder 174). Most of the transcripts were divided into five "volumes," with pages numbered continuously from volume one to volume five. Other transcripts may be found in files for individuals. Most transcripts are in English, with a few scattered Spanish phrases. The transcripts often appear in duplicate, with one copy corrected in manuscript. The transcripts also include Levy's notes about the taping of the interview: reasons why he turned off the tape recorder, notes on the quality of the audiotape, etc.

Series II, Miscellaneous Cesar Chavez Tape Collection , 1969-1976 (box 7), is organized into two subseries: Audiotapes and Transcripts. This series contains a wide variety of material taped by Levy while he was researching the book and after publication. There are 57 audiotapes, yielding approximately 95 hours of interviews. Transcripts exist where noted. The audiotapes include a few radio and television interviews of Chavez, many interviews of Levy about the book, and ten audiotapes of Levy reading the book manuscript to Chavez. Other audiotapes in the collection include Ethel Kennedy's visit with Chavez in Salinas jail, Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a rally in Salinas in 1970, the Reverend Jesse Jackson at a rally, 1970; Joan Baez at a Mass in Phoenix in 1972; Governor Jerry Brown on "Firing Line" in 1975; and Governor Jimmy Carter at the UFW Convention in 1976. Two audiotapes feature Chavez speaking in Spanish.

Series III, Jacques E. Levy's Notebook Collection , 1968-1994 (boxes 8-16), contains the author's original field notes in 96 top bound stenographer's spiral notebooks, organized in chronological order. The notes were taken at meetings, court hearings, and labor negotiations during the formative stage of the United Farm Workers union, particularly the last year of the five-year grape strike and its resolution, the labor strife in the vegetable industry, and the 1973 strikes. There are also notes from numerous interviews, the 1,000 mile march, information on the assassination plot, and hearings on the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, as well as ideas for a screenplay based on the book. Levy used some of these notebooks in recording his memory of events on audiotape, which he later transcribed. These appear in Series I, Principal Cesar Chavez Tape Collection (see Transcript volume 2, pages 529-583, box 2, folders 141-142). The dates assigned to the notebooks are approximate, as many of the notebooks are undated. Levy often wrote in the notebooks from front to back, and then from back to front, and used his own shorthand: "x" stands for "Mrs." when it precedes a name, an elongated "w" stands for "with," and a double elongated "w" stands for "without."

Series IV, Research Collection , 1959-1978 (boxes 17-23), is organized into four subseries: Preliminary Research, Later Research, General Information, and Bracero 1965 Research. These subject files are arranged alphabetically, and include both original material and photocopied material. The files include printed material, court reports and other documents, correspondence, a radio script, reports, press releases, and other writings. Of particular interest are a photocopy of Cesar Chavez's appointment book from 1957; 14 original letters from Chavez to Dolores Huerta, co-founder and first vice president of the United Farm Workers union; newsletters of the Farm Workers Association; a United Farm Workers union coloring book; photocopies of Chavez's correspondence with Robert F. Kennedy, Edward Kennedy, Saul Alinsky, Fred Ross, and Dolores Huerta; photocopies of articles by Chavez; a manuscript map of the Chavez family homestead in Yuma; and Chavez's speech nominating Jerry Brown for President at the Democratic National Convention in 1976.

Series V, News Clippings , 1961-1996 (boxes 24-27a), is arranged in chronological order. The clippings are predominantly from California newspapers, and consist of long as well as very short articles on farm workers, the United Farm Workers union, Cesar Chavez, and related subjects, including pesticide use, Watergate, the mafia, Mexican Americans, and the AFL-CIO. There are a few complete publications, including several issues of the union publication El Macriado, single copies of El Chicano, The California AFL-CIO News, The New York Review of Books, The Christian Century, and The New Republic. A couple of the clippings are in unusual formats: stories directly from the UPI newswire, Levy's handwritten copies of stories. The largest group of clippings dates from 1973; the number of clippings collected drops off dramatically in September, 1975. News clippings may also be found in Series IV, Research Collection; Series VI, California Labor Relations Act Collection; and Series VII, Post Mortem Research.

Series VI, California Labor Relations Act Collection , 1968-1994 (boxes 28-30), is organized into two subseries: Audiotapes and Written Collection. This series concerns the passage of the California Labor Relations Act, which was signed into law on June 5, 1975. The 17 audiotapes (approximately 24 hours of interviews) are arranged in roughly chronological order, and were made in 1975. All but three of the interviews on the audiotapes (tapes 6A, 7A, and 8A) were gathered too late for inclusion in Levy's book, and were not used by him for any other published work. The first two audiotapes contain detailed accounts of the CALRA legislation as recounted by union members two weeks after the bill was signed into law. The transcripts are not complete: not every audiotape has a transcript, and those that do are often partial transcripts or contain paraphrased material.

The Written Collection, which contains both original and photocopied material, is organized into Agricultural Bills, General Materials, Tape Transcripts, Post 1988 Material, and Press Clippings. Included are printed bills, signed petitions circulated by the United Farm Workers union, Jacques Levy's notes, leaflets, Agricultural Labor Relations Board Reports, press releases, and news clippings. The series includes official Agricultural Labor Relations Board election results from the law's passage in 1975 through July 31, 1994. The clippings focus on Governor Jerry Brown, and include several non-clipping items: the printed text of Brown's inaugural address, his budget message, and many preliminary transcripts of news conferences distributed to the press. Materials related to this legislation may also be found in Series I, Principal Cesar Chavez Tape Collection; III, Jacques E. Levy's Notebook Collection; IV, Research Collection; and VII, Post Mortem Research.

Series VII, Post Mortem Research , 1981-1997 (boxes 31-40), is organized into two subseries: Audiotapes and Written Collection. The Post Mortem Research files were created when Jacques Levy began work on a full length biography of Cesar Chavez following his death in 1993, tentatively titled More Time Than Life: Cesar Chavez -- His Life and Legacy, which Levy has not completed. Levy interviewed Chavez's family, friends, and colleagues about events since 1975 and also before, looking for information that had been withheld during his previous research.

There are 73 audiotapes in the Post Mortem Research Files, approximately 100 hours of interviews. Some of the interviews were conducted by Davy Figaro, Levy's research assistant. The audiotapes include a group interview shortly after Cesar's death describing the days before his death and the circumstances of his death.

The Written Collection, which contains both original and photocopied material, is further organized into General Files, Oversized Files, and FBI. The transcripts, which are part of the General Files, are complete except for the last three: the rehearsal of Daniel Kingman's Cesar Chavez, Gran Hombre de la Tierra, and interviews with Roy T. Harris, Fred Abad, and Jerry Cohen in September and October 1993. The transcripts were created using a computer, and contain original file names at the top of each page. The pages have highlighter pen marks, Levy's notes, and codes written in the margin indicating the section of the book in which Levy intended to apply them. These codes Levy called tags, and the subject files include indexes to these tags.

In addition to the transcripts, the files include copies of the notes Cesar Chavez used for his lecture series on the history of farm labor and the University of California Santa Barbara in 1992, correspondence between Levy and interviewees, as well as documentation relating to Levy's negotiations with the Chavez Foundation in sponsoring his work on the biography. There are eleven folders of Chavez's FBI files, which Levy requested through the Freedom of Information Act in 1993. Printed material relating to Chavez's death include clippings, and programs from the funeral.

Series VIII, Written Notes , 1968-1993 (boxes 41-42), is organized into six subseries: Negotiations, Jacques Levy Personal Papers, Jacques Levy Correspondence, Jacques Levy Research Notes, Book and Movie Outline, and Post 1975 Materials. Within each subseries, the subject files are arranged alphabetically. This series, which contains both original and photocopied material, includes unpublished notes on major negotiations with grape growers and others, correspondence with Cesar Chavez about writing the biography, discussing developments in the union, as well as personal matters. Other correspondents include Jim Drake, Senator George Murphy, editors, literary agents, and librarians at Wayne State University. Levy discusses his work on the book with these people and gathers information in these letters. Personal papers of Levy's include copies of speeches made about Chavez and the farm labor movement, a book proposal, and proposals for a movie based on Cesar's life.

Series IX, Levy Inventory , 1998 (box 43), is the original inventory created by Levy that accompanied the collection when it was acquired by the Beinecke Library. Levy's inventory lists each item in each folder, provides lengthy descriptions of the content of the audiotapes and notebooks, and lists clippings individually by title, date, and newspaper. The inventory does not provide current box and folder information needed to locate individual items or groups of material: for that, consult the box and folder listings laid out in Series I-VIII and X. Other differences of detail between the finding aid and inventory: Levy's description of each file makes no distinction between copies and originals in terms of assigning dates; the Beinecke finding aid lists copies of original material as undated. The Levy inventory also indicates whether an audiotape has been partially transcribed, partially paraphrased, or not transcribed at all.

Series X, Assassination Plot , 1971-1974 (boxes 44-49), is currently restricted. For further information, please contact the curator. The series is organized into seven subseries: Audiotapes, Book Material, Plot Files, Plot Material, Shears Tapes, "The Snitch", and Transcripts. This series contains both original and photocopied material relating to Levy's investigation of a growers' plot to kill Chavez, as revealed by informant Larry Shears, and Levy's suspicion of a subsequent cover-up by government and law enforcement officials on behalf of prominent growers. Most of this material was never published. There are 39 audiotapes; 20 of them (and 6 duplicates) are surreptitiously taped phone conversations made by Larry Shears, a police informant, to document a plot to kill Chavez in 1971. Each side of these audiotapes was numbered individually. The other audiotapes in the collection are tapes of Levy's interview of Larry Shears, tapes of Larry Shears' polygraph test, and interviews by others of Larry Shears. The audiotapes made by Shears were turned over to the police and FBI, and transcripts were made as well. There are transcripts for almost all of the audiotapes in this series, and there are also transcripts present for which there are no corresponding audiotapes. After reformatting, some audiotapes were discovered to be duplicates, necessitating a rearrangement of the audiotapes and a gap in the folder numbering.

The subject files in the Book Material, Plot Files, Plot Material, and Transcripts subseries are arranged alphabetically, and include transcripts, copies of court transcripts, Levy's notes of his meetings with authorities and Larry Shears, correspondence relating to the plot, a polygraph report on Larry Shears, a typescript by Levy detailing the plot, and a screenplay by Maurice Hatton based on events as researched by Levy, entitled "The Snitch." The Plot Files were apparently files created by Levy during his research on the plot, and Plot Material is apparently files of others obtained by Levy. The assassination plot is also chronicled in Series III, Jacques E. Levy's Notebook Collection, notebooks 32-41, 43, 45, 53-56, 60-61, 64, 70, and 89.

Oversize , boxes 50-52, contains material from Series V, VI, and VII, and is organized in box order.

Restricted Fragile in boxes 53-76 and broadside folder 1043 may only be consulted with permission of the appropriate curator. Preservation photocopies or photographic prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files. The original audiotapes are restricted. Reference copies on CD-ROM have been made.

Restricted Material in box 77 may only be consulted with the permission of the appropriate curator.

CD-ROM Reference Copies of Audio Tapes contains the box listing for reference copies from Series I, II, VI, VII and X, and is in folder order.