Scope and Content Note
The papers of Byron Kennard span the years 1937-2020, with the bulk of the material dating from 1980 to 2014. The collection documents Kennard's work as a political activist and writer, predominantly in the area of environmentalism. It includes newsletters and reports from several of the organizations Kennard founded, including the Center for Small Business and the Environment, and material documenting Kennard's early political career at The Ohio State University. The bulk of the collection consists of drafts and copies of Kennard's writings, primarily as a playwright and as a political satirist creating sketch comedy for the Washington, D.C.-based theater group the Public Interest Follies. Also included are many drafts, fragments, and notes for unfinished articles and books focusing predominantly on the topics of government, bureaucracy, and the environmental movement in the twenty-first century. Related to Kennard's role as national chair of Earth Day in 1980, the collection includes speeches, newsletters, memoranda, and pinback buttons.