Faith Holsaert papers, 1950-2020

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Summary

Creator:
Holsaert, Faith S. and Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
Abstract:
Faith Holsaert is a white, Jewish civil rights and LGBT community activist. The collection contains correspondence, newsletters, publications, writings, and other materials relating to the Holsaert's activities from the 1950s to the present. A large portion of the collection consists of correspondence and ephemera from her involvement in the civil rights movement, including with SNCC, as well as her activism in the women's rights and LGBT rights movements. Also includes materials from the writing and publishing of Hands on the Freedom Plow, as well as many other writings by Holsaert. The collection also contains personal memorabilia and materials relating to Holsaert's childhood and family. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
Extent:
16.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English
Collection ID:
RL.00566

Background

Scope and content:

The Faith Holsaert papers document the life, writings, and activism of author and civil rights activist Faith Holsaert from 1950-2020 through correspondence, newsletters, publications, and other materials. A large portion of the collection consists of correspondence and ephemera from her involvement in the civil rights movement, including SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), the Mississippi Summer Project, and the Southwest Georgia Voter Registration project. The collection also includes publications, ephemera, and other materials related to Holsaert's work on labor relations and social justice in West Virginia, as well as her involvement in the women's rights and LGBT rights movements. Materials from the writing and publishing of Hands on the Freedom Plow, as well as many other writings by Holsaert, are in the collection. The collection also contains personal memorabilia and materials relating to Holsaert's childhood and family.

Biographical / historical:

Faith Holsaert is a white, Jewish civil rights and community activist. She was born in New York in 1943, and was raised by her Jewish mother, Eunice Spellman Holsaert, and her African American music teacher, Charity Abigail Bailey. Holsaert took a year off from Barnard after her freshman year in 1962 to work with the SNCC. She was one of the earliest female student field workers. She worked on a voter registration project in Albany, Georgia, and on the Mississippi Summer Project. Subsequent to her civil rights work, Holsaert has worked on behalf of the back-to-the-land movement in New Mexico, labor relations in West Virginia, the Brown Berets, the anti-war movement, and LGBT rights. She is a co-editor of the book Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts of Women in SNCC (2012), and has written elsewhere about her experiences in the civil rights movement. She currently lives in Durham, NC.

Acquisition information:
The Faith Holsaert papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Faith Holsaert in 2008-2011 and 2024.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Meghan Lyon and Megan Lewis

Encoded by Meghan Lyon

Updated by Amber Covington, 2011 and Megan Lewis, 2014

Accession 2024-0070 added by Laura Micham, Reina Henderson, and Leah Tams, November 2025.

Accession(s) described in this collection guide: 2008-0277, 2010-0220, 2011-0150, 2024-0070.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Some materials in this collection are original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Faith Holsaert Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m17s6n