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COLLECTION Identifier: MC 201

Papers of Mildred Hodgman Mahoney, 1944-1969

Overview

Correspondence, articles, speeches, of Mildred Hodgman Mahoney, executive secretary of the Massachusetts Governor's Commission for Racial and Religious Understanding (1943-1946) and chair of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination until 1964.

Dates

  • Creation: 1944-1969

Language of Materials

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions:

Access. Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Mildred Hodgman Mahoney is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.

Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

Extent

1.46 linear feet (3+1/2 file boxes)

This collection includes minutes and annual reports of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, annual reports of the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Commission, correspondence concerning Mildred Hodgman Mahoney's re-appointment, speeches from the 1944 Institute on Intercultural Education held at Boston University, and other material relating to discrimination in Massachusetts.

BIOGRAPHY

Mildred Hodgman Mahoney was born April 21, 1896 in Taunton, Massachusetts. She attended Pine Manor Junior College in 1918, and married John Joseph Mahoney in 1923. Thirteen years later she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Boston University, and in 1942 she received her Master's degree in Education from Radcliffe College. Mahoney became executive secretary of the Governor's Commission for Racial and Religious Understanding in 1943, and held the position until she was appointed Chairman of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in 1946. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination handled complaints of discriminatory treatment, usually settling cases out of court. Mildred Hodgman Mahoney presided over the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination until 1964, when controversy increased between those who charged that the Commission should more vigorously pursue and prosecute offenders, and those who felt that Mahoney's behind-the-scenes handling of cases was the most effective method of dealing with discrimination. She was refused re-appointment by Governor Endicott Peabody.

Mahoney also served as a member of the Advisory Council of the Boston College School of Social Work, and as a committee member of the United Community Services of Metropolitan Boston.

Physical Location

Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Accession number: 74-29

The papers of Mildred Hodgman Mahoney were deposited with the Schlesinger Library in February 1974 by Mildred Hodgman Mahoney.

CONTAINER LIST

  1. Box 1: 1-18
  2. Box 2: 19-25
  3. Box 3: 26-33
  4. Box 4: 34-41

Processing Information

Processed: February 1974

By: Katherine Gray Kraft

Title
Mahoney, Mildred Hodgman, 1896-1980. Papers of Mildred Hodgman Mahoney, 1944-1969: A Finding Aid
Author
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
sch00714

Repository Details

Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository

The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.

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