June 9, 1999		Papers of Noted Civil Rights Leader Donated to Oberlin College Media Contact: Betty Gabrielli email: betty.gabrielli@oberlin.edu phone: (440) 775-8474
			OBERLIN, OHIO--The papers of the late Jewel S. Lafontant-MANkarious '43--acclaimed Chicago civil rights leader, lawyer and high-ranking U.S. official--have been acquired by Oberlin College. "Spanning the 1940s through the 1990s, these papers amount to 50 linear feet and recreate telling moments in the history of cultural pluralism in America," says Oberlin College Archivist Roland M. Baumann. Frequently referred to as the "Jewel" of Chicago, Lafontant-MANkarious (1922-1997) broke the barriers of race and gender by being the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School (1946). She also was a legal partner in a number of prominent law firms in Chicago and Washington, D.C. In the civil rights arena, Lafontant-MANkarious was a founding member of the Congress of Racial Equality, an officer of the Chicago chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a board member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and an activist on matters of race and women's concerns at the local, state and national levels. Lafontant-MANkarious held high appointments in the Nixon and Bush administrations. Appointed by President Nixon as Deputy Solicitor General, she was the first African-American to hold such a high position in the Solicitor General's Office (1973-1975). Under President George Bush, from 1989 to 1993, she served in the State Department with the concurrent titles of Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of Refugee Affairs. During her career she served on many corporate boards and she was a trustee of Oberlin College, Howard University, and Tuskegee Institute. Throughout the years she received numerous awards and honorary degrees. The papers acquired by the Oberlin Archives include files relating to public service by Lafontant-MANkarious, such as Deputy Solicitor General of the U.S. (1973-1975) and Ambassador-at-Large, U.S., Coordinator of Refugee Affairs (1989-1993); to committee or commission work, including The Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission; and to Republican party activities, including the Rainbow Coalition and presidential campaigns of the 1960s through the 1990s. The recent acquisition consists of the following: appointments and itineraries, 1970s-1990s; awards, certificates, and plaques, 1980s-1990s; citations or letters from U.S. Presidents, including Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and from Secretary of State James Baker, 1980s-1990s; correspondence (personal and family), 1950s-1990s; clippings files, 1950s-1990s; financial records, 1940s, 1970s-1990s; files relating to her law practices (Lafontant, Wilkins, Jones, and Ware; Vedder, Price, Kaufman and Kammholz; and, Holleb and Coff), 1960s-1990s; files relating to her public service, such as Deputy Solicitor General of the U.S. (1973-1975) and Ambassador-at-Large, U.S., Coordinator of Refugee Affairs (1989-1993); files relating to committee or commission work, including The Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, visiting committee to the Law School of the University of Chicago, and the Women's Round-Table, 1980s-1990s; files relating to Republican party activities, including the Rainbow Coalition and presidential campaigns, 1960s-1990s; files relating to her service on corporate Boards, such as TWA, Revlon, Mobil, Equitable Life Assurance Society, and Ariel Capital Management, and College Boards of Trustees, including Oberlin College and Howard University, 1980s-1990s; scrapbooks and photographic files (individuals and family), 1970s-1990s; travel files, 1980s-1990s; and objects (service recognition and those collected by her).