Holmes, Elizabeth, 1900- .

ABSTRACT: Papers, mainly 1960-1965, of a former English professor at the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee and member of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, consisting of speeches; school district reports and studies; and correspondence, minutes, reports, and clippings of the Committee on Appointment and Instruction, the Special Committee on Equality of Educational Opportunity, which studied segregation within Milwaukee schools, and other committees of the board. Also included are project proposals, reports, and research council minutes concerning the Great Cities Program for School Improvement which studied the problems of migrant and transient students in Milwaukee. 

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The papers are a small collection which document only Mrs. Holmes' association with the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. Even for this limited aspect of her professional career the papers are incomplete, affording documentation only for the period 1955-1965. Nevertheless, because the collection contains some rare materials on the growing concern over de facto segregation within Milwaukee schools, the collection is of interest for research. The collection consists mainly of correspondence, minutes of committee meetings, speeches, studies and reports, newspaper clippings, and photographs; it is organized as Personal Information, Committee Records, and Reports, Studies, and Curriculum Materials. A few photographs received with the papers are available in the name file in the Visual and Sound Archives.

The Personal Information consists of several documents concerning members of Mrs. Holmes' family (one item concerns a relative who was also a teacher in 1852), biographical news releases from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee archives, a copy of her remarks as school board president to district students at the beginning of the 1962 school term and several unidentified statements to the board, biographical clippings, and general correspondence. The correspondence is largely official and deals with her activities as member and president of the board. The largest portion of the correspondence consists of letters and form letters sent or received by Holmes, Harold W. Story, Cornelius L. Golightly, and other members concerning the activities of the Special Committee on Equality of Educational Opportunity. Several letters congratulate her on positions on public education and her concern for the Black children in the district, although a few examples of hate mail she received are also included. Additional letters concern work on the Teachers' Committee on Final Examinations and Closing Procedures.

Committee Records on which Holmes served include documentation on the Special Committee on Equality of Educational Opportunity mentioned above, the Committee on Appointment and Instruction, and smaller files on several other groups. Most notable of these are the files on the Educational Opportunity Committee, which consist of comments on the committee's final report by the superintendent's office, mimeographed minutes, information on a minority report which Holmes supported, a report to the committee on de facto segregation by Harold Rose, the controversial Bibliographic Digest issued in the name of the committee, and information on the position of the NAACP toward committee activities. Also of special interest here are information on a project of the board under the aegis of the Great Cities Program for School Improvement to study the situation of migrant and transient students in Milwaukee schools. Included too are conference materials, minutes of the Research Council of the Great Cities program, and a report which cited Milwaukee's efforts as a "promising practice for the culturally deprived." Other documented committees include the Teachers' Committee on Final Examinations and Closing Procedures (1955) and the Parental School Study Committee (1964).

Among the papers received with the Holmes Papers were a number of Reports, Studies, and Curriculum Materials distributed to board members for informational purposes. Because the board retains copies in its own files, only those reports of general interest were retained. Of the curriculum material only a teachers manual on teaching about democracy and communism was retained. Other reports include a 1962 report on the district from the Department of Public Instruction and the board's reaction and several studies of teaching staff and physical facilities.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Former University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee English professor Elizabeth K. Holmes was born in Milwaukee on July 25, 1900 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in journalism in 1922. After briefly working in the training department of Schusters' stores, she received her first appointment as an instructor in the English Department at the University of Wisconsin Extension Center in Milwaukee in 1926. Eventually she served as chairman of the department for fifteen years. In 1976 Mrs. Holmes published The Urban Mission Anticipated: A Biography of the University of Wisconsin Extension Center in Milwaukee.

Mrs. Holmes completed an M.A. in English in 1933, continuing her graduate study through 1938. In 1956 she moved to the English Department at Milwaukee State Teachers' College, which later became the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, remaining there until her retirement in 1969. For the extension Mrs. Homes taught freshman composition and literature of the Romantic and Victorian periods; after moving to UWM she specialized in Victorian literature.

In 1949 Mrs. Holmes was persuaded to run for a position on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. She was elected and then reelected in 1955 and 1961 to two additional terms. In 1956 and 1962 she served as president of the board. In 1964 Mrs. Holmes, who was widely known both on campus and in the community for her involvement with the problems of Black citizens and youth, was appointed vice-chairman of the school board's Committee on Equality of Educational Opportunity which studied the problems of the school's inner city schools. In 1964 she was appointed director of the UW-Milwaukee Project Destiny, a project which aimed at preparing disadvantaged high school students for higher education.

Mrs. Holmes, who was married to John E. Holmes, also a teacher, belonged to the American Association of University Professors, the Modern Language Association, the UWM Renaissance Guild, and the American Federation of Teachers.

Holmes, Elizabeth, 1900- . Papers, 1852-1976. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 118. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee. College of Letters & Science. Office of the Dean. Records, 1948-1995. (UWM Archival Collection 1)

University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee faculty and staff biographical files, [ca. 1885]-[ongoing]. (UWM Archival Collection 62)

ACQUISITION: Presented by Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 1966 (accession number M66-264).

PROCESSING: Processed by Jean Claude Mahoune (Intern) in 1988.

• Afro-Americans--Wisconsin--Milwaukee--Segregation.
• Children of migrant laborers--Education--Wisconsin.
• Holmes family.
• Milwaukee Public Schools. Board of Directors.
• Milwaukee (Wis.)--History--Sources.
• Research Council of the Great Cities Program for School Improvement.
• Schools--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Segregation in education--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

About the Archives | General Information | Subject Listings | Finding Aids
Genealogy | Upcoming Events | Exhibits | Teaching Resources
Records Management | Other Web Sites | Archives Home Page

©2007 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee -- All Rights Reserved.
URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/findaids/mss118.htm
Last edited on Monday, February 26, 2007.
Ask an Archivist