Archival Collections

Music and Musicians of the Women's Movement, 1960s-present

symposium logo

Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) Archives and Periodicals Collection (1972-1994): ALFA administrative files and records of other Southern women's organizations such as Lucina's Music, Southeast Women's Music Festival, and the Atlanta Socialist Feminist Union; ephemera; and hundreds of newsletters from feminist, lesbian, and other activist organizations. Contains catalogs from Olivia Records, Radical Rose Recordings, Redwood Recordings, and Rounder Records, among others. Includes flyers for several women's music festivals including National Women's Music Festival, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, Virginia Music Festival, and the Richmond Woman's Festival, as well as newspaper clippings of artists and performers both helping and hindering the women's liberation movement. The finding aid may be consulted for additional information. 24 linear ft.
Bobbye Ortiz Papers (1919-1993 and undated (bulk 1950-1990)): Collection consists chiefly of personal correspondence; extensive subject files on international and cultural movements; photographs and slides; ephemeral publication material such as grassroots newsletters, pamphlets, broadsides, and clippings; cultural artifacts, including buttons and T-shirts; and over 300 sound recordings of spoken voice and music. The recordings feature artists such as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Holly Near, and Sweet Honey in the Rock. Albums include FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance, Mean Mothers Independent Women's Blues, The Freedom Singers Sing of Freedom Now!, And Aint's I a Women, and Songs of the Suffragettes. Access to parts of the collection is restricted. 30.4 linear ft.
Charis Books and More-Charis Circle records (1976-2004): Collection documents the day-to-day operation, programs, and mission of Charis Books and More and Charis Circle, and the interrelated nature of these two organizations. Includes 102 audio cassettes featuring artists such as Holly Near, Mary Watkins, Jan Barlow, and Cris Williamson. Albums include Dyke the Halls, Uppity Blues Women, Goddesses As Inner Images, The Righteous Mothers STAND UP!, WomanSongs, Tears of the Grandmothers, and Peace Camps Sings. Also includes a live recording of the 1985 Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. Collection not yet available for use. 23.5 linear ft.
Common Woman Chorus records (1970s-2003): Administrative files and records from Common Woman Chorus; sheet music, skits, and programs from performances; and many newsletters and correspondence from other feminist and gay men's choruses such as Cincinnati's Women's Choir, Columbus Women's Chorus, and GALA Choruses. The Common Woman Chorus is a feminist and non-profit organization "serving the Triangle [Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC] since 1983." 16 linear ft.
Paula Kamen Papers (1971-2000 and undated): Collection consists of research files, clippings, manuscripts, published writings by Kamen and others, correspondence, publicity materials, recorded interviews and transcripts relating to Kamen's books, articles, and plays. Includes extensive subject files with materials pertaining to a wide range of women's issues including music of the women's movement—primarily 1980-2000. Collection closed. 42 linear ft.
Ladyslipper, Inc. Records (1978-2002): Collection contains the publisher's photographic negatives for the company's wholesale and retail catalogs as well as a run of the catalogs themsleves. Ladyslipper, Inc. describes itself as "a collective project of several women who are interested in expanding the scope and availability of Women's music, in exploring and sharing the 'herstory' of women in music, and in working with and for other women to make a living." The goal of Ladyslipper, Inc. is "to be able to build a catalog of records and tapes by women that reflects our pasts, our presents and our futures." In addition to Ladyslipper products, the catalogs contain information about women's music and musicians as well as feminist activism generally such as: advertisements from Paid my dues, inserts for Olivia Records, articles from Women Against Violence Against Women and excerpts from articles by Alix Dobkin. 2 linear ft.
Rock Against Sexism Records, ca. 1981-1994, and undated.: Formed in Boston, Mass., in the early 1980s as an activist group involved with the local music and arts scene. Rock Against Sexism (RAS) followed in the DIY (do it yourself) tradition of punk music and subculture, producing its own zine, organizing direct action protests, and putting on shows in local venues. RAS predated the riot grrrl movement, giving women more access to punk subculture. Also includes administrative information and printed material relating to the zine, Rock Against Sexism as a group, and the punk bands the group promoted. 1.1 linear ft.

Last modified June 12, 2006 12:43:38 PM EDT

Mobile Library Home (content for handheld devices such as cellphones)

Unless otherwise specified on this page, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Perkins Circulation Desk: 919-660-5870