HTML-Encoded Finding Aid
Title: International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit Collection Genre: Records, Dates: 1919-1981 Size : 25 linear feet, 25 storage boxes Number: 1004 OCLC #: Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor & Urban AffairsHEFA.01b.update |
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In 1911, the national board of the YWCA established the first International Institute branch in New York City to assist the growing number of immigrant women. Eight years later, in 1919, the Detroit branch opened at Witherell and Adams. In 1935, the Detroit Institute combined with the Women’s Industrial Branch of the YWCA with headquarters on East Grand Boulevard. The Detroit Institute’s affiliation with the YWCA ended in 1945, when it incorporated as the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, an independent, non-profit, non-sectarian agency. In 1951, the International Institute moved to a building it had constructed on Kirby at John R.
The purpose of the International Institute is to promote the welfare, education, and social integration of immigrant and minority peoples, both permanent residents and visitors. Just as the Institute offers services to immigrants and minority groups that help them adjust to American culture and customs, obtain citizenship and employment, and improve community services in ethnic neighborhoods, it also promotes understanding of the histories, folk arts and crafts and contributions of people of different cultural backgrounds among the larger metropolitan community.
The papers of the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit consist of minutes, correspondence, reports, financial records, clippings, newsletters, pamphlets and other publications reflecting the activities of the Institute during its affiliation with the YWCA and after its incorporation as an independent agency in 1945. During this time, the Institute offered a variety of programs, including language and citizenship classes, dances, concerts, folk festivals, and the Old World Market. The papers also reflect the Institute’s work with particular groups like Japanese war brides, war refugees, Polish- and Lebanese-Americans, and others living in established ethnic communities in the Detroit area, its effort to educate metropolitan Detroiters about foreign cultures, and its campaign to fund the construction of the Kirby building.
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)
American Council for Nationalities Service
American Federation of International Institutes
Emigration and immigration law--United States
Ethnic art
Ethnic folklore
Ethnic performing arts
Immigrants--Michigan--Detroit
International Seamen’s Service
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Michigan Commission on Displaced Persons and Refugees
Michigan Commission on Immigration
Old World Market
Refugees--Vietnam
Social work with immigrants
War brides
World War, 1939-1945--Refugees
Young Women’s Christian Association International Institute Branches
Roy Adelberg
Edith Alvord
Robin Bahr
Mary Ball
Judith Brown
Florence Cassidy
Laura Gogola
Edna Jellinek
Margaret Montgomery
Alice Sickels
Brian John Smith
Ben Snyder
Pamela Rosso Stotz
Renee Van DewaterRoy Adelberg
Edith Alvord
Robin Bahr
Mary Ball
Judith Brown
Florence Cassidy
Laura Gogola
Edna Jellinek
Margaret Montgomery
Alice Sickels
Brian John Smith
Ben Snyder
Pamela Rosso Stotz
Renee Van Dewater
A number of photographs, films and scrapbooks have been placed in the Archives Audiovisual Collection and several issues of the International Institute newsletter have been transferred to the Archives Library.
RESEARCHERS USING THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT COLLECTION ARE REQUIRED TO SIGN A RESTRICTED USE STATEMENT AND MAY NOT CITE ANY NAMES APPEARING IN CASE RECORDS.
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