Mervyn M. Dymally Papers
Title
Mervyn M. Dymally Papers
Description
Mervyn Dymally (1926-2012) served as California State Assemblyman for the 52nd and 53rd District, and as State Senator for the 29th District. Dymally completed a Bachelor of Arts in education at California State University, Los Angeles in 1954. Dymally is known for breaking barriers as a black lawmaker in California and in Congress after moving to the United States from his native Trinidad at age 19. The collection consists of government correspondence, press clippings, press releases, speeches, and photographs.
Creator
Dymally, Mervyn M.
Publisher
California State University, Los Angeles, Library. Special Collections & Archives
Contributor
Special Collections and Archives, California State University, Los Angeles
Collection Items
Letter from Louis Martin Deputy Director of the Democratic National Committee, u.d.
Mervyn M. Dymally sends a telegram to Louis Martin, Deputy Director of the Democratic National Committee in protest of President Lyndon B. Johnson's lack of people of color in his delegation, more specifically, "Negros and Mexican Americans". In…
Letter from Arthur S. Takei Chair of the Japanese American Democratic Association of California, 1966
In a letter to Dymally, Arthur S. Takei mentions that Dymally has been endorsed for the June 7th Democratic Primary Election by the Japanese American Democratic Association of California. Takei mentions that Dymally's endorsement was based on…
Letter from Mervyn Dymally to Robert C. Cozens Director of California Department of Motor Vehicles, 1973
Senator Dymally writes to the director of the DMV about their recent approval of racial slurs on personalized license plates. Dymally encourages the director to remove these slurs from personalized licenses as they offend the Japanese American…
Letter from Herman Sillas Jr. Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, 1971
The Chairman of the California State Advisory Committee, Herman Sillas Jr. invites Mervyn Dymally to a public open meeting at the California State Capitol. The purpose of the meeting was to issue a report pertaining to the lack of political…
Letter from R. F. Valdez, 1971
Norwalk City Councilman Valdez wrote Dymally on behalf of Mexican American students at California State University, Los Angeles, asking for his support in changing the name of a building at the university from “South Tower” to “Zapata Tower”…
Letter from Mervyn Dymally to California State Colleges Board of Trustees, 1971
Dymally uses strong language to implore the CSU board to stop using xenophobic excuses and heed the call of “the largest minority in California,” to rename a building at Cal State LA in honor of the Mexican Revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata.…
Letter from a private citizen, 1968
As a California State Assemblyman, Dymally introduced legislation to mandate the inclusion of Black history in California textbooks. The legislation was later expanded to include the history of other people from races and ethnicities. The fight for…
Letter from Mervyn Dymally to a private citizen, 1971
Dymally suggests in this reply to a constituent, that they may misunderstand the workings of the Senate Bill 242. He explains the Bill is going to help children who are experiencing an ineffective school system. He gets personal with her and mentions…
Letter from Mervyn Dymally to the editor of The California Journal, 1975
In this letter, Dymally defends his reputation and disputes his involvement in a private company gaining a public health plan for Medi-Cal recipients. Dymally faced harassment in the form of unsubstantiated claims of corruption and supposedly…
Letter from Mervyn Dymally to a private citizen, 1971
While Governor of California, Ronald Regan’s efforts to defund the newly enacted state Medicaid Program, Medi-Cal, were largely defeated. His efforts were either blocked by the democratic speaker Jess Unruh or by the courts. Regan was able to reach…