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Finding Aid for the Augustus F. Hawkins Papers, 1935-1990
1642
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Title: Augustus F. Hawkins Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1935-1990
Collection number: 1642
Creator: Hawkins, Augustus F.
Extent: 137 cartons (137 linear ft.)
1 oversize box
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Abstract: Augustus Freeman Hawkins (1907- ) was a member of the California State Assembly (1935-63) a Democrat in the U.S. Congress
(1963-91), Chairman of the Committee on House Administration (1981-84), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor (98th-101st
Congresses), and a member of many Congressional Committees. He retired from public service in 1990. The collection consists
of materials documenting Hawkins' service as a U.S. Congressman from 1963-90 and as Chairman of the House Education and Labor
Committee from 1984-90. A small portion of the collection relates to his service as a California State Assemblyman.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including
copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds
the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold
the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Augustus F. Hawkins, 1990.
[Identification of item], Augustus F. Hawkins Papers (Collection 1642). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young
Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Augustus Freeman Hawkins was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 31, 1907; his family moved to Los Angeles in 1918; AB,
UCLA, 1931; graduated from USC, 1932; member, California State Assembly, 1935-63; Democrat, U.S. Congress, 1963-91; Chairman,
Committee on House Administration, 1981-84; Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor (98th-101st Congresses); member, Joint
Economic Committee, 1984-90; member, Joint Committee on Printing, 1977-84; member, Joint Committee on the Library, 1981-84;
retired from public service in 1990.
Augustus F. Hawkins was born August 31, 1907, in Shreveport,
Louisiana. At age eleven his family moved to Los Angeles,
California, where he later attended Jefferson High School,
graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a
degree in Economics, and attended graduate school at the
University of Southern California.
Congressman Hawkins represented south, central Los
Angeles for fifty-six years. He served from 1935 to 1962 in the
California State Assembly before coming to Washington in 1963 as
a member of the United States House of Representatives. He will
retire from elected public service at the end of 1990.
He has compiled a remarkable record of legislative
achievement. As a State Assemblyman he authored over 100 laws,
including many important social welfare and anti-discrimination
bills. As a United States Congressman, he has enacted
legislation in the areas of child care; elementary, secondary,
vocational and higher education; job training and employment; and
Civil Rights. Significant bills passed into public law include
the Civil Rights Act Amendment establishing the Equal Employment
opportunity Commission, 1975; the Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act Amendments, 1978; the Full Employment and Balanced
Growth (Humphrey-Hawkins) Act, 1978; the Job Training partnership
Act, 1982; the School Improvement (Hawkins-Stafford) Act, 1988;
and the Civil Rights Restoration Act, 1988.
Prior to his chairmanship of the Education and Labor
Committee, Congressman Hawkins served as chairman of the House
Administration Committee from 1981 to 1984, where he was
responsible for House of Representatives procurement, personnel,
printing, elections, and automation issues. Additionally, he
served as a member of the Joint Economic Committee from 1984 to
1990, the Joint Committee on Printing from 1977 to 1984, and the
Joint Committee on the Library from 1981 to 1984.
Congressman Hawkins' view of public service is best expressed
by his own words: The leadership belongs not to the loudest, not to those who beat the drums or blow the trumpets, but to
those
who day in and day out, in all seasons, work for the practical
realization of a better world --those who have the stamina to
persist and to remain dedicated. To those belong the
leadership.
Collection consists of materials documenting Augustus F. Hawkins's lengthy service as a U.S. Congressman representing South
Central Los Angeles from 1963-90 and as Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee from 1984-90. A small portion
of the collection relates to his service as a California State Assemblyman, 1935-62. Materials in the collection cover subjects
such as Civil Rights, employment, child care, and equal opportunity with respect to education and job training.
The papers of Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins include
materials documenting his lengthy service as an United States
Congressman representing south, central Los Angeles from 1963 to
1990 and as the Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee
from 1984 to 1990. A small amount of material relates to his
service as a California state Assemblyman from 1935 to 1962.
In the collection are Legislative Files, Subject Files,
Correspondence Files, District Office Files, Education and Labor
Committee Files, California State Assembly Files, and
Miscellaneous Material. The papers cover subjects such as civil
rights, employment, equal opportunity, education, job training,
and child care. The two series with perhaps the greatest
research value are the legislative files since they document
Congressman Hawkins' attempts to enact legislation and his Committee
service, and the subject files which provide the background
information, including his handwritten notes, for many of his
legislative efforts.
During the last year, approximately 200 boxes of inactive
files of the Washington and district offices and numerous filing
cabinets and boxes of Education and Labor Committee staff files
were reviewed to determine historical value. Of this total, over
130 boxes were retained for the archives. Duplicates,
publications, routine files, and other materials were discarded.
The papers are arranged by series (or type). A minimum
amount of arrangement was done within each series. Each type of
material is described in a series description (a narrative with
accompanying box lists or box and folder lists). Individual
folder listings were compiled for most of the series and were
taken directly from folder labels. The number in parentheses
after a folder listing indicates when more than one folder exists
for a particular topic. Since similar materials could not always
be packed together, numbered boxes are sometimes listed out of
order. Asterisks denote when a box containing more than one type
of material appears on the list more than once. Additionally,
box counts given at the beginning of each series are not the
actual number of boxes in that series but rather a total of the
number of boxes containing that type of material. The table of
contents below refers researchers to individual series
descriptions.
Arranged in the following series:
- Legislative files (39 Boxes).
- Subject files (31 Boxes).
- Correspondence files (10 Boxes).
- District office files (39 Boxes).
- Education and Labor Committee files (17 Boxes).
- California State Assembly files (2 Boxes).
- Miscellaneous (11 Boxes).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Hawkins, Augustus F.--Archives.
United States--Congress--House.
United States--Congress--House--Committee on Education and Labor.
California--Legislature--Assembly.
African American legislators--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources.
Black Leadership in Los Angeles: Augustus F. Hawkins [oral history transcript] / Augustus F. Hawkins, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1995. Available at
Department of Special Collections, UCLA.