Masterson Papers. CSLA-19

THE THOMAS AND DOROTHY LEAVEY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LOS ANGELES RESEARCH COLLECTION

WILLIAM F. MASTERSON PAPERS, 1960-2001 (CSLA-19)

COLLECTION TITLE AND NUMBER: William F. Masterson Papers, 1960-2001. CSLA-19
ACCESSION NUMBER: 2000.23; gift of William F. Masterson
COLLECTION SIZE: 65 archival document boxes
PROCESSING HISTORY: Processed by Susan Jones and Clay Stalls, Department of Archives and Special Collections. Guide written by Clay Stalls. Date: 2003

The Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO), of Oakland, California, is dedicated to organizing local communities--usually low-income--for social action. Founded by Jerry Helfrich, S.J., and John Baumann, S.J., PICO carries on the tradition of community organizing developed by Saul Alinsky, the person most responsible in the United States for this type of social activism. William F. (Bill) Masterson has been closely involved with PICO since 1980, serving as its director of strategic planning from 1992 through 2002. This collection consists of the records of his work with PICO and covers the development of various PICO organizing projects throughout the United States, as well as the internal growth and workings of PICO.

To learn more about the Masterson Papers, consult the following pages of this on-line guide to the collection:

Collection and Series descriptions: The collection description provides general information on the types, topics, and research value of the materials found in the collection. These materials in the PICO holdings have been organized into subject categories called series, which are described in the series descriptions. In turn, the series descriptions have links to the box and folder lists indexing each series' folders and contents, and the boxes in which they are stored.

The Research Collection is a program of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles. To consult the collection on-site, please call Loyola Marymount University's Department of Archives and Special Collections at 310-338-2780 or 310-338-7478.

The CSLA Research Collection houses other holdings in the area of community organizing, from Thomas A. Gaudette, who worked closely with PICO. Together, these two collections together provide valuable insight into community organizing in the United States. To access the on-line guide for the Gaudette Papers, select the following title: Thomas A. Gaudette Papers.