ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
RECORDS,
1977-1997
6
linear feet
ACQUISITION: The records (donor no. 118) were donated by Elizabeth Kay
Moon. The material was received in 1992.
ACCESS: The records are open for research.
COPYRIGHT:
Copyright has been
transferred to the
PHOTOGRAPHS: In Box 8.
PROCESSED BY: Derryn E. Moten, 1993;
History
The Johnson County-Iowa City National Organization
for Women chapter organized in
NOW's raison d'etre
was to ensure that women in
In its rather short tenure, the Johnson County-Iowa
City NOW became involved with a couple of events of major national
significance. The first was its 1980 work to obtain voter approval of the
Scope and Content Note
The Johnson County-Iowa City National Organization
for Women records measure 6 linear feet and date from 1977 to 1988 They are arranged into seven series: Administrative,
Financial Records, Fundraising, Political Activities, Topical Files,
Photographs, and Scrapbook. The bulk of the collection concerns NOW's efforts
to ratify the state and the national Equal Rights Amendment in the period 1978
and 1980. Additional subjects covered include lesbian rights, abortion rights
and sex discrimination.
The Administrative series (1978-1988)
consists of general business and organizational materials including bylaws,
budgets, board meetings minutes, and committee oversight. The correspondence
folder features letters by Jean Lloyd Jones, Minnette
Dodderer, and Lily Tomlin. The History subseries two
events scrapbooks highlighting some of NOW's most celebrated campaigns such as
their 1981 UI Bijou protest against DePalma's
"Dressed to Kill" at the Bijou Theatre on the University of Iowa
campus. NOW argued that the movie should not be shown at the
campus cinema because it portrayed gratuitous acts of violence against women.
The Financial Records (1978-1988) series
includes ledgers, budgets, treasurer's reports, as well as ancillary material
such as receipts for the Linda Eaton Litigation Fund.
The Fundraising (1978-1984) series provides
a glimpse into the types of activities use by NOW to raise funds at the same
time, and women's consciousness. Prominent among them were the Linda Eaton
litigation drives, the ERA runs, and the 1980 Alternative Inaugural spoof,
presenting a woman president and vice president as alternatives to 1980
president-elect Ronald Reagan and vice-president-elect George Bush.
The Political Activities (1979-1985) series
contains a plethora of material concerning NOW's many political campaigns and
canvassing. These documents dovetail with other series in this collection in
that they mostly pertain to NOW's state and national ERA efforts. Similarly,
this series contains information about NOW's political endorsements and its
efforts to elect Walter Mondale president of the
The Topical Files (1978-1997) document some
of NOW's less sustained political and fundraising activities such as the
The Photographs series includes Roxanne Conlin, Linda Eaton, Geraldine Ferraro, and the ERA
Countdown Rally.
Scrapbook (1980-1983) consists of four
scrapbooks entitled "ERA Task Force;" "Johnson County/Iowa City
NOW," 1981-1983; Johnson County/Iowa City NOW, 1978-1980; and Linda Eaton,
1979-1981. They are comprised of
newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia.
Box no.
Description
Box
1
Administrative
General
Administrative office
codes
Bylaws
National Organization for Women--amended 10/1978
Johnson County-Iowa City National Organization for Women,
1978-1981
Chapter memorabilia and
records, 1978
Correspondence,
1978-1985
Standardized computer
data entry; staff and volunteers
Taskforce guidelines
Governing Board
Board meetings, 1979,
1982
Executive board
(general), 1980 and undated
Operating rules/bylaws
task force
Minutes
April-December, 1978
1979
1980
1981
January-May, 1982
Box 2
Membership
Application, fact sheet,
and local chapter directory
General membership and
board meetings minutes
May
1978-September 1979
October 17, 1979-September 17, 1980
October 1, 1980-September 16, 1981
Iowa NOW membership list
Membership processing
manual
Roster (2 folders)
1978-1981
1982-1988
Financial Records
General
Iowa NOW treasurer's
report and budget, 1984-1986
"Record Keeping for
Chapters," undated
Administrative Committee
Budget request, November
5, 1980
Budgets, 1978-1983
Chapter renewal monetary
report, 1983-1988
Federal tax forms and
information, 1979-1980
Income and expense
records (3 folders)
1979-1980
January 1981-October 1981
November 1981-December 1982
Box 3
Ledgers
1978-1979
1979-1980
1980-1981
1982
1983
1984-1985 (2 folders)
Account balances
Income
Treasurer
Procedure manual, undated
Treasurer's report, 1978-1982
Fundraising
General
Correspondence,
1978-1981
Local chapter campaigns,
1981-1984
Events
Alternative inaugural
ball, January 20, 1981
ERA Countdown rally,
June 30, 1981
ERA lapel pin, 1981-1982
ERA Media Awareness
Week, 1981
ERA Walk/Run, August 20,
1980
Film Festival, 1981
Flyers and placards
Linda Eaton legal fund
Spouse abuse shelter,
1979-1981
Box 4
Political Activities
Iowa NOW
Administration, general
Correspondence,
1980-1981
Endorsement guidelines
Legislative project,
1981
Lesbian rights committee
report, July-September 1985
Precinct caucus project,
1981
Precinct report-delegate
election tally, 1984
Proposed state plan of
action (strategies), 1985-1986
Public relations
committee report, 1981
Reproductive Rights
Lobby Day, January 19, 1983
Skills development
conference, November 10-11, 1979
State conferences
1979
1984-1985
State consciousness
raising coordinator, 1980
State contact sheet
State council meetings,
1981-1985
State council minutes,
1981-1982
Political conventions
Johnson County
Democratic Convention, 1980
State and county
convention: delegates and alternatives,
1980
District Democratic
party convention, 1982
First district
Third district
Democratic national
convention (2 folders)
1980
1984
Democratic newsletter
Iowa Democratic
Convention, 1980-1982
Political action
committees
Political endorsements,
1980
Box 5
Precinct work
Iowa NOW precinct caucus
kit, 1982
Johnson County precinct
captains
Precinct caucus
delegates, 1980
Precinct caucus delegate
selection
1979-1980
1984
Precinct coordinator:
Edward Kennedy endorsement, 1980
Precinct finders, 1981
Precinct maps: Iowa City
Precinct report tally
sheets, 1984
Republicans of Iowa,
1980
Republicans rights
plank, 1980
Walter Mondale's Presidential Bid
Iowa Women for Walter
Mondale, 1983-1984
Mondale phone script--aka "Fritz Blitzers"
Mondale precinct captain
kit
Mondale precinct caucus,
February 20, 1984
Mondale precinct report
forms
Topical files
Abortion rights week, 1979
Advertisements, 1979-1981
Affirmative Action, 1981
AllState
[Insurance] protest, 1983
Antioch University Internship, 1978-1979
Certificates of Appreciation
Chicago ERA march, May 11, 1980
Chu, Amy: sex
discrimination, 1982
Clark, Joan: visit to University of Iowa,
November 16, 1979
Consciousness raising, 1979
Constanza, Midge
visit at Old Brick, 1980
Director of Human Relations, Iowa City,
1978-1979
Disorientation collective, 1983
Door-to-door canvassing, 1982
Early childhood development committee,
February 1981
Box 6
Eaton, Linda (2 folders)
General, 1979
Newspaper clippings,
1979-1984
ERA Congressional correspondence, 1978-1979
ERA state vote count, Iowa 1983
ERA travel ban, 1980
Goldsmith, Judy campaign visit to Iowa
Memorial Union, 1983-1984
Grant, Charity: sex discrimination, 1984
Illinois legislature lobby, 1982
International Women's Day, 1982
Iowa Abortion Rights Action League, 1981
Iowa City Human Rights Action League
Iowa City Jaycees: sex discrimination, 1982
Iowa City Street Lights Campaign, 1980
Iowa redistricting, 1980
Iowa State NOW chapters
Iowa Women's Day, April 17, 1979
Iowa Women's Meeting, June 1977
Box 7
Jepsen, Roger
(former U.S. Senator, R-IA), 1984
Iowa City town meeting,
March 31, 1984
Newspaper clippings
Johnson, Sonia: Mormons and the ERA, 1979
King, Sheila Jean (lesbian mother--child
custody case)
Legal Defense Fund, 1980
Lesbian Rights Task Force
Letter writing (handbook on effective letter
writing)
Message brigade
Midwest regional conference, Sioux City, IA,
1981
"A Million Voices Strong: The Call to
Conscience:" resolution of
Iowa NOW, September 7, 1985
Model state bylaws, 1978
National ERA petition campaign
National Organization for Women material
order form
National Organization for Women policy manual
Newsletter
Iowa City/Johnson County
National Organization
For Women Newsletter
June 1978-December 1979 (scattered)
1980-1981
1982-October 1984
February 1993-1994
1995-1996
Box 8
1997-
Newspaper clippings, general
Press releases
Questionnaires
Resolutions
Roth, Sandy--visit to Iowa City, November
7-12, 1979
Round, Claudia J. (lesbian mother--child
custody case)
Schlafly, Phyllis
Iowa City visit, March 1983
Sex discrimination
Sexist advertisements, 1979
Sexual harassment survey, 1981
Speech materials
State presidents/coordinators caucus
Strategic overview of local feminism,
November 12, 1978
University of Iowa homecoming, [NOW protest
of Homecoming
Queen pageant] 1978
Volunteer workshop, 1983
Wells-Schooley,
Jane visit, November 30-December 2, 1979
WRAC (Women's Resource and Action Center)
orientation, 1978
Women and hunger, 1984
Women in development symposium, May 6, 1980
Women on U.S. postage stamps, 1979
Women's Truth Squad on Reagan, 1984
Photographs
Conlin, Roxanne
ERA Countdown rally, June 30, 1981 (4
envelopes; includes
negatives)
Eaton, Linda
Ferraro, Geraldine
Johnson County-Iowa City National
Organization For Women
holiday party, undated
Box 9
Scrapbooks
ERA Task Force, 1980
Johnson County/Iowa City NOW, 1981-1983
Linda Eaton, 1979-1981
Johnson County/Iowa City NOW, 1979-1980