Collections : [New York State Modern Political Archive]

The M.C. Lawton Civic and Cultural Club Records showcase the operations of the first black organization in Albany that was actively involved in community service and educational advancement, which was founded in 1919.

The Michelle Crone Papers document her experience as a feminist and lesbian activist from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s. The collection includes material from here position as National Civil Disobedience Coordinator for the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Also present are records from Michelle Crone's management of a number of women's festivals from 1982 to 1996—most notably Rhythm Fest and the Cultural Festival at Gay Games IV—and records from her Capital District production company, Elword Productions. The collection also includes the records from her experience with the Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the National Lesbian Conference. Also included are her personal correspondence, records of her undergraduate studies with the theater and women's studies programs at the University at Albany, SUNY, and political literature from a number of progressive causes at the national and local levels.

The Monday Music Club was formed in 1904 among twenty women, to practice their music skills. The women practiced their skills in workshops and other artistic excerices. Even though they were founded in 1904, the collection does not cover the first twenty years of the club.

The collection documents the Jewish community in New York's Capital Region and the creation of the Albany Jewish Community Center.

Chartered in 1934, as the Tri-City Newspaper Guild of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, the Guild signed its first contract with the Albany Times Union in 1937. The collection includes correspondence, minutes, contracts, and organizing files. The majority of material in the collection is photocpied.

Records of non-profit citizens' organization committed to reducing hazardous chemical pesticides use through education and advocacy.

The Pine Hills Fortnightly Club was founded by Miss Mary M. Shaw in 1898 as a woman's literary and social club. According to the Club's earliest Constitution, "Its object shall be the study of history, literature and art and the literary and social entertainment of its members."

The Business and Professional Women's Club of Albany, New York, (BPW) was founded in 1934 with 22 charter members as a chapter of the Business and Professional Women's Clubs of New York State, Inc. (founded in 1919) and a member of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. The objectives of the club, according to its by-laws, were "To elevate the standards for women in business and in the professions; To promote the interests of business and professional women; To bring about a spirit of cooperation among business and professional women of the United States; [and] To extend opportunities to business and professional women through education along lines of industrial, scientific, and vocational activities."

The Glove Cities Area Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was founded in Gloversville, N.Y., 1954. This Joint Board originally had jurisdiction over the clothing workers unions in Gloversville and Johnstown, N.Y., and nearby villages. These locals were primarily locals of glove and leather goods workers.

This collection documents the lifelong activism of Albany, N.Y. resident Vera Michelson, especially her work with the Capital District Coalition Against Apartheid and Racism.