Joel R. Gardner, Editor-Interviewer, UCLA Oral History Program. BA, MA, French, Tulane University; MA, Journalism, UCLA.
Place: Home of Eason Monroe, 2832 Avenal Street, Los
Angeles.
Dates: July 27, August 1, 3, 8, 15, 28, 1972.
Time of day, length of sessions, and total number of recording
hours: The first two interview sessions were conducted in the evening; the
rest, in the morning and afternoon. Six sessions were held, ranging from two hours
(the first two and the last) to four and a half hours (the third, fourth, and
fifth). A total of twelve hours was recorded.
The interview followed a chronological format. The interviewer first asked Mr. Monroe to describe his youth and early education, the background that preceded his commitment to work in the area of civil liberties. Mr. Monroe then detailed his refusal to sign the Levering Oath, reasons and repercussions, including his chairmanship of the Federation for the Repeal of the Levering Act and his hiring by the Southern California Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. The conversation then pursued Mr. Monroe's participation in ACLU and that organization's primary functions, principal cases, and outstanding individuals.
Editing was performed by Mr. Gardner, who checked the verbatim transcript for accuracy and edited it for punctuation, paragraphing, spelling, and verification of proper names. The final manuscript remains in the same order as the taped material. Words or phrases introduced by the editor have been bracketed.
Mr. Monroe reviewed and approved the edited transcript.
The index was prepared by the interviewer, who also wrote the introduction. Front matter was assembled by the Program's staff.
The original tape recordings and edited transcript of the interviews are in the University Archives and are available under the regulations governing the use of noncurrent records of the University.
Available in the Department of Special Collections, University Research Library, is the complete archive of the Southern California Branch of ACLU, Collection 900, entitled "ACLU of Southern California." It includes many documents and materials pertinent to the content of this oral history interview. Also available through Special Collections is microfilm of the ACLU periodical