GALILEO@UGA Subject Guides: Guide to Women's Collections at the Richard B. Russell Library: Grassroots

Main Library & McBay Science Library

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Collections

The Jeannette Rankin Foundation, named for the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress, provided scholarships to women thirty-five years or older for vocational training or undergraduate education. The Foundation records document the activities of the foundation and its awards process.

Carol Jones is an advocacy specialist at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and a long-time participant in the disability rights movement. Her papers include documents and memorabilia related to many advocacy issues and organizations, including ADAPT and the Long Road Home March and Rally.

The Lorena Weeks collection contains materials pertaining to Weeks Vs. Southern Bell, Weeks' sex discrimination case against Southern Bell Telephone Company. The materials date from 1966 to 2009 and detail her fight to be promoted from operator to switchman, a job Southern Bell claimed to be reserved only for men, despite such practices being declared unacceptable by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Week's oral history about the case can be found here.

Athens League of Women Voters (ALWV) Records consist of meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, and membership information documenting league activities from 1940 to 2006. Other files in this collection include publications such as annual political directories listing public officials and municipal services in the Athens-Clarke County area. The collection also has materials studied by the league regarding local, state, and national issues, including action studies, political studies, documents related to pending legislation, as well ass voter education information and candidate questionnaires. Also included are files from the League of Women Voters of Georgia, the National League, and other regional leagues.

Collections

Patricia Puckett is the Executive Director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia and an active member of many state and national organizations working to accomplish inclusive disability policy and services. Her papers document her advocacy for people with disabilities and efforts to influence the policies that affect their lives.

Mary Kissel is a founder and interim executive director of Georgia Options. Her papers document her advocacy for person-centered care for individuals with developmental disabilities and her work with Georgia Options and other advocacy organizations. "Campaign for Full Citizenship" [1991], a film by Laura Kissell, has been digitzed and is available for viewing online. Please see the end of the finding aid for the link.

Annette Bowling (1936-2016) served as the executive director of the Albany Advocacy Resource Center for over forty years. Her papers include materials related to her work advocating for people with disabilities, notably her service as chair of the Commissioner’s Oversight Committee, which oversaw the closures of the Brook Run Center in 1997 and the Georgia Mental Health Institute (GMHI) in 1998.

Beverly Long (1920-2015) served in state, national and international organizations as a mental health professional and advocate. Her papers document her extensive work and career in the mental health field and include correspondence, internal reports, papers, newsletters, memos, conference proceedings, and commission and board meeting materials.

Dottie Adams is the former Individual and Family Supports Director for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. Her papers document her prolific career in advocacy and disability activism and include materials from her work with state agencies and commissions, support organizations, and philanthropic and activist work in the state of Georgia.

The Martha Brown Stacy collection consists of correspondence, printed materials, and clippings primarily relating to Martha Brown Stacy's work as chair of radio and television for the Fort Worth (Texas) City Council of the Parent-Teachers Association and substitute teacher for the Fort Worth Public School system.

Iêda de Barros Siqueira Wiarda was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1936. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University and received her Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Florida, where she met her husband, Howard J. Wiarda. Howard became the Founding Head of the Department of International Affairs at the University of Georgia, and Iêda also taught at the university. This collection consists of Dr. Wiarda’s collection of books and papers on Brazil, as well as her work on Latin America in general and other countries in South America. It also includes her oral histories about her collection and other audiovisual recordings.

Collections

The Mary Frances Early Collection highlights Early, the first African American to graduate from the University of Georgia. Ms. Early’s transcripts, grades, financial aid documents, photographs, diaries, and notebooks illustrate her student life. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1962, with her master’s in music education, she worked for the Atlanta Public Schools and was involved in local, state and national educational organizations. Ms. Early’s involvement with organizations such as Georgia Music Educators Association, National Endowment for the Arts, and Music Educators National Conference is illustrated by correspondence, photographs, and speeches. Also included are materials regarding her education at Clark Atlanta University (1957) and honors received from the University of Georgia Alumni Association and College of Education. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, programs and event files, official documents from the University of Georgia, diaries, and notebooks.

Beth English is the executive director of Easter Seals Southern Georgia. Her collection documents her work on the Commissioner’s Oversight Committee, which oversaw the closure of the Brook Run Center in 1997, her work as executive director of Easter Seals Southern Georgia, advocacy initiatives, and Central State Hospital, in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Eleanor Smith founded and directed Concrete Change, an Atlanta-based, national organization focused on establishing home construction practices that welcome people with disabilities. The papers document her work to create visitable homes, in a move towards universal basic access, as well as her activism across a wide range of disability rights and justice issues.

Mary M. Wood is an educator, researcher and founder of the Developmental Therapy Institute, which focuses on training, research, development and outreach in Developmental Therapy-Teaching (DTT). Her papers document her work to improve the lives of troubled children, teens, and their families through effective interventions and includes publications, research and grant files.