The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Durham was founded in 1920 and served the larger Durham community from the 1920s until the 1970s. The Harriet Tubman branch of the Durham YWCA served the AfricanAmerican community in particular and, through collaboration with the Central branch, fostered integration in a radically segregated Durham. In the 1970s, the YWCA became the home of the Durham Women's Health Co-op and the Durham Rape Crisis Center, which operated out of the YWCA Women's Center. These organizations were central to reform movements throughout Durham, from women's health and childcare to fair wages and civil rights. The YWCA of Durham records reflect both the administrative history of the YWCA, as well as the programs, projects, social events, and community outreach that formed the backbone of the organization. For example, a series of scrapbooks, put together by Y Teen groups, program participants, and residents of the YWCA's boarding houses captures the strength of the YWCA community. The broader impact of the YWCA is evident in their range of programming, especially the clubs they hosted, from PMS and Single Mothers groups to a "Matrons Club." The YWCA's impact is also reflected in administrative and financial materials that tell the story of the Y's work to serve the people of Durham that needed a safe place to build community for themselves and their families.
Search Results
World War II propaganda collection, 1939-1945 0.5 Linear Feet — 400 items
The collection includes pro-Allied, pro-Axis, and anti-Allie and anti-Axis propaganda in the form of flyers, broadsides, and leaflets that were distributed or dropped in the United States, England, Germany, occupied France, and the Pacific arena from 1939 and 1945. The majority of the leaflets are in German and were dropped by the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) over Germany. There is also a significant run of anti-Semitic, anti-Bolshevik, pro-German broadsides published by Theodor Kasse and the Deutscher Fichte-Bund of Hamburg, Germany, in English and intended for Allied audiences. The collection also contains propaganda leaflets from the Psychological Warfare Branch, U.S. Army Forces, Pacific Area, APO 500, most of which are in Japanese (most with English translations), some of them in Tok Pisin. There are also leaflets from the French exile government dropped over occupied France (in French, most accompanied by English translations); some propaganda newsletters, magazines and newspapers from France and the Netherlands (in English translation); German propaganda in English intended for dropping over Great Britain; some examples of Japanese propaganda (in Japanese); and a few single leaflets in Finnish, Russian, and Burmese. One notable portion of the collection is a set of broadsides illustrated by Pvt. Franklyn, printed by Special Service I.B.S., targeting American soldiers and warning them against loose women who may be infected with venereal disease. These posters often include the campaign's catchphrase, "Leave 'Em Alone! Don't be a Dope with a Dose."
Workers' Defense League records, 1940-1949 0.2 Linear Feet — 38 items
Collection comprises material mailed by the Workers' Defense League primarily as part of fundraising efforts, particularly on the part of legal cases undertaken by the organization. The main case was that of Odell Waller, a Virginia sharecropper sentenced to death in 1940 for killing his white landlord. Arguing that the landlord had cheated Waller and that he had in any case acted in self-defense, the WDL raised money for Waller's defense, lobbied for the commutation of his sentence, and mounted a nationwide publicity campaign on his behalf. The effort was unsuccessful, and Waller was executed on July 2, 1942. Other cases included Alton Levey, Rosario Chirillo, and Tee Davis; the organization worked in support of federal regulation to repeal poll taxes. Items include brochures on the Waller case, luncheon and dinner invitations, a tear sheet for an advertisement, action alerts, flyer announcing a contest and a mass meeting in New York, and contribution forms with mailing envelopes.
Also includes a fundraising mailer (1946 May 16) related to Tee Davis and sent by Lillian Smith, the author of the novel STRANGE FRUIT. Tee Davis was an African American from Arkansas who was sentenced to ten years in prison for assault with intent to kill. His crime was firing a shotgun towards the bottom of the front door to his home while an intruder tried to break in. The intruder was a white sheriff looking for thieves.
Womonwrites records, 1979-2014 3.0 Linear Feet — 1875 Items
Collection includes anthologies of writings by Womonwriters (conference attendees), conference chronological files, meeting notes, and membership lists. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
RESTRICTIONS: Membership mailings lists, in Box 3, are CLOSED until 2020.
Women Work! records, 1975-2009 17.1 Linear Feet
Accession (2009-0163) (16.5 lin. ft.; dated 1979-2009) includes board materials, training guides and reports, program materials, conference files, newsletters and publications, news clippings and photocopies, photographs, slides, electronic files and images, and videos. CDs and other electronic data files have been removed and transferred to Duke's ERM server. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Accession (2015-0112) (0.6 lin. ft.; dated 1975-1990) is an addition that includes board materials, training guides and reports, program materials, administrative records, correspondance, and copies of the Network News, the publication for the Displaced Homemakers Network.
Women's Worship Circle records, 1992-2001 .2 Linear Feet
The Women's Worship Circle records document the creation and operation of the organization, in which members engaged with and performed feminist theology through the development of their own worship services. The records consist of correspondence, liturgies, programs, meeting notes, handouts, members' reflections, photographs and invitations.
Women's Theological Center records, 1977-2006 4.75 Linear Feet
Collection consists of administrative records documenting the foundation and development of the WTC, as well as board meeting and other committee notes from Francine Cardman and Gay Harter. Budgets, membership information, and reports are also in the administrative records. Collection also includes grant applications and funding requests, publicity and programming materials, and writings and publications. The publicity and programming materials document the WTC's activities and include articles, brochures, and event programs, as well as information, readings, and other materials from the Study/Action program. Most of the Study/Action material is from Gay Harter's files. Writings and publications include WTC newsletters, drafts of an unpublished book about the Study/Action program, and other writings by WTC members.
WTC members who appear frequently in the administrative records, particularly meeting minutes, as well as Study/Action materials and WTC newsletters include Donna Bivens, Nancy Richardson, Marian (Meck) Groot, Angelica (Gay) Harter, Francine Cardman, and Joan Martin.
Women's Social and Political Union scrapbook, 1908-1917, undated 0.9 Linear Feet
Women's Health Project poster, undated 1 Linear Foot
Women's Guild of Arts records, 1902-1949 and undated 0.2 Linear Feet — 88 items
Collection comprises primarily 81 letters from 29 members of the Women's Guild of Arts between 1902 and 1949. There are 7 additional documents, including draft resolutions, certificates, lists, and notes. Three letters predate the founding of the organization in 1907. The primary topic of the letters is the crisis within the Guild regarding its women-only status, an argument regarding how restrictive the Guild should be. Pamela Colman Smith wrote to May Morris (22 January 1913) that the reason she joined the Guild was that it made a point of asking its members not to exhibit at women-only shows, as it lowered the standard of work and that the Guild was never intended to be a purely woman's affair. Other letters on the subject come from Evelyn de Morgan, Feodora Gleichen, and Ethel Sandell. Gleichen's letter was circulated to members, and the collection contains a list of those who agreed with her; several letters are marked up to indicate a position on the matter. There is also a draft resolution welcoming any move to widen the scope of the Guild "such as stimulating and interesting lectures not only from our own members but from men and women outside....It is with this in view that we supported the resolution passed at the recent Annual Meeting, inviting as Honorary Associates a few people with whose work we are in sympathy..." (22 January 1913). Other topics in the letters include the role of the president, exhibitions, lectures, and the work of the organization, along with the William Morris Centenary Commemoration in 1934.