United Bronx Parents Records, 1966-2011
Summary Information
Abstract
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1770
- Bib ID:
- 11527437 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- United Bronx Parents
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 22 linear feet (18 record cartons, 1 flat box)
- Language(s):
- Material is primarily in English, with some items in Spanish.
- Access:
- You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
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This collection is located off-site. Researchers will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Box 4 Folder 19 contains client identifiable information and is restricted until 2095.
Lorraine Montenegro's schoolwork in Series IV is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation.
Description
Scope and Contents
The United Bronx Parents, Inc. (UBP) Records document the organization's work for social services in the Puerto Rican community of the South Bronx from the 1960s to the 2010s. Early records from the 1960s-1970s document UBP's educational activism and parent organizing from 1966 to the early 1980s. These include flyers, handouts from parent workshops, funding proposals, meeting notes, and planning documents from Universidad Urayoán. Much of the collection covers the years from 1984-2011, when founder Evelina López Antonetty's daughter, Lorraine Montenegro, took over as executive director. They highlight the organization's transition to address other issues facing the community including substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, child care, and hunger. Some of the records document important long-lasting programs and facilities, notably La Casita, the first residential drug treatment program for women and their children in the United States. Others relate to the management of the central office, grant management and fundraising, and short term events, activities, and partnerships. There are also a number of boxes of photographs from United Bronx Parents events and from Montenegro's personal and family collections.
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Series I: Administration, 1966-2011
Series I contains records related to management, human resources, training, and operations at United Bronx Parents (UBP). These administrative files document activities from the United Bronx Parents central office under the organization's second executive director, Lorraine Montenegro, as well as La Casita and other major projects. There are groups of Board of Trustees meeting minutes and internal and external memos, but neither is a comprehensive set of records. The human resources files provide insight into employee policies and practices at UBP, where many employees were family and friends. A small number of records from 2007-2009 document a major funder's investigation into complaints about Lorraine Montenegro's management of the organization and her reaction to the process. Series I also contains official UBP publications with histories and descriptions of each program area.
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Series II: Programming and Grants, 1966-2011
Series II documents United Bronx Parents' (UBP) activities from the 1960s to the 2010s. It includes organizing materials, training materials, records of partnerships with other organizations, and documentation of the many direct service programs that UBP ran. It also includes grant applications and reports, which highlight the organization's goals for specific programs and track their successes and numbers of clients served.
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Series III: Photographs, 1970s-2000s
Series III contains photographs of United Bronx Parents events and programs. They are not labeled and the specific event or people depicted is not clear. Photographs are primarily from community celebratory events and field trips as well as graduations and other parties.
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Series IV: Family Documents, 1940s-2011
Series IV contains documents from the Antonetty/López/Montenegro family. These reflect the fact that many family members worked at the organization and there was overlap between personal and professional matters. There are photographs and cards sent to Lorraine Montenegro and a set of personal photographs and school documents from her aunt (Evelina López Antonetty's sister) Lillian López. López was also an activist and was one of the first Puerto Rican librarians in New York City. This series also contains documents related to Lorraine Montenegro's employment history and masters degree in Human Services.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series. Materials in series I and II are arranged alphabetically and materials in series III and IV are arranged chronologically.
- Series I: Administration, 1966-2011
- Series II: Programming and Grants, 1966-2011
- Subseries II.1: Executive Director Evelina López Antonetty, 1966-1984
- Subseries II.2: Executive Director Lorraine Montenegro, 1984-2011
- Series III: Photographs, 1970s-2000s
- Series IV: Family Documents, 1940s-2011
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
This collection is located off-site. Researchers will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
Box 4 Folder 19 contains client identifiable information and is restricted until 2095.
Lorraine Montenegro's schoolwork in Series IV is restricted for 75 years from the date of creation.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Researchers must wear gloves when handling photographs in boxes 12-15.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); United Bronx Parents Records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Related Materials
United Bronx Parents, Inc. records, Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, CUNY: The United Bronx Parents, Inc. records document the organization's early work from 1966-1980s.
Lillian López papers, Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños, Hunter College, CUNY: the papers of Evelina López Antonetty's sister, including correspondence and interviews with Antonetty.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Appraisal
35 boxes of materials were discarded due to mold damage, medical privacy concerns, or limited research value. These include documents with personally identifiable information about clients and routine financial papers such as bank statements and payment requests.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Lorraine Montenegro in 2014.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.
This collection was processed by Rachel Klepper. Finding aid written by Rachel Klepper in June 2019.
Half of the materials acquired were suspected to be contaminated with mold. Five boxes of materials with high research value were inspected and determined to be clean. These were reintegrated into the collection. Other items were discarded due to confidential patient information. These include medical records, case notes with patient full names and diagnoses, or forms applying for services at UBP. In addition, boxes containing routine financial records from the 1990s-2000s such as bank statements and check requests were discarded.
Documents within each box were retained in the order in which they arrived at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Transfiles and moving boxes were replaced with new record cartons. Most of the collection was placed in new acid-free folders and original folder titles were retained.
Biographical / Historical
United Bronx Parents (UBP) was founded in 1965 by Evelina López Antonetty. It began as a grassroots organization of parents and local businesses advocating for improved education for children in South Bronx public schools. Its original funding came from the War on Poverty's Office of Economic Opportunity. Working primarily with Puerto Rican parents, Antonetty began a training program that encouraged parents to evaluate their schools and to exercise collective power to change the educational system. The organization advocated for increased resources, bilingual schooling, and community control over education. As it grew in the 1970s, UBP opened a daycare center, implemented a free summer lunch program serving over 150,000 children, and started adult education programs.
After Antonetty's death in 1984, her daughter, Lorraine Montenegro, became UBP's new executive director. Under Montenegro, the organization expanded, becoming one of the biggest non-profits in the Bronx and hiring hundreds of employees. It also shifted focus to address other issues facing Bronx residents, including homelessness, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS. In 1990, UBP opened La Casita, a drug-free residential treatment program for homeless substance-abusing women and their children. La Casita was the first program in the United States to allow women to care for their children while in treatment. Other UBP programs and facilities included Mrs. A's place (a multi-service center with substance abuse and HIV-related services), Women's Supportive Services, La Casa de Salud, COBRA HIV management, Casita Esperanza (facility for various HIV prevention programs), The Peer Training Institute (a collaborative city project to train HIV prevention workers) and the Day Care Center. It continued to emphasize community development and its role as a "community grown organization."
UBP's work was funded by a wide range of grants, many from New York City and State offices as well as private foundations. It faced periods of financial uncertainty but found ways to continue to sustain its work with new grants and partnerships. In 2011, the organization became an affiliate of the Bronx-based Acacia Networks, which continues several of UBP's programs. In 2017, Lorraine Montenegro passed away in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. In her honor, the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and Acacia Networks opened the Lorraine Montenegro Women and Children's Program Facility on Prospect Avenue in the Bronx.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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