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Raymond and Margaret Yazell collection of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Pinellas County chapter, records, 1955-1981

 

Summary

Creator:
Arsenault, Raymond
Yazell, Raymond, 1914-1995
Yazell, Margaret (Margaret "Margo" Yazell), 1918-2001
Abstract:
The Pinellas County American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Collection consists of the personal archives and research files of Raymond and Margaret Yazell.
Extent:
8 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Raymond and Margaret Yazell collection of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Pinellas County chapter records, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

The Pinellas County ACLU Collection includes two distinct series. Materials in the three archival document boxes constitute the Ray Yazell ACLU research files. This series contains board meeting minutes, administrative materials, newspaper clippings, legal research reports, and subject files on civil liberties issues. Copies of Come Unity, an underground/community action newspaper, reside in a newspaper storage box and form the second series.

Biographical / historical:

A native of Kentucky, Raymond "Ray" Milton Yazell retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel and moved to St. Petersburg in 1968. He immediately became involved in civil liberties issues, serving as chairman of the Greater St. Petersburg ACLU chapter in 1971, as acting executive director of the state chapter in 1973, and as a long-time delegate on the Pinellas County and state 3 executive boards. Yazell encouraged members of the community to understand and appreciate their cherished freedoms and the Bill of Rights. Through the court observer program and regular correspondence to municipal authorities, he worked with local officials to guarantee that courts extended constitutional protections to defendants. In addition to his ACLU responsibilities, Yazell also advocated criminal justice reform through regular discussions with law enforcement administrators and his Coalition for Alternatives to Jail Expansion (CAJE) organization. After the reinstatement of the death penalty, Yazell served as a co-founder of Tampa Bay Citizens to Abolish the Death Penalty. Along with his wife, Margaret "Margo" Yazell, he edited Come Unity, a St. Petersburg based social action newspaper. While attending classes on the USF St. Petersburg campus, Ray and Margo played an important role in the development of a student ACLU chapter. Ray and Margo continued to enroll in seminars and classes at USF into the early 1990s. In 1993, the Florida ACLU chapter awarded Ray and Margo Yazell the Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award for their tireless efforts on behalf of the community. On 4 November 1995, Ray Yazell passed away at the age of 81 due to complications caused by cancer.

Acquisition information:
Donated to the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library in 1995 by Dr. Raymond O. Arsenault, professor of History at USF St. Petersburg and then president of the Pinellas County ACLU chapter.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Raymond and Margaret Yazell collection of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Pinellas County chapter records, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Location of this collection:
140 7th Avenue South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
USA