IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
OLABELLE REED (1935- )
PAPERS, 1935-1997
10 items
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no.
471) were donated by Olabelle Reed in 1997. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers are open for
research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has not been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Jenny Meyer, 1998. |
|
REVISION: |
February 26, 1999, Robert J. Jett, version WORD97. |
Biography
Olabelle Reed, teacher and
community activist, was born in Iowa City, Iowa on January 30, 1935. She was the seventh of eleven children born
to Freeman and Isabella “Sweetie” Woods.
When she was only four months old, two of her sisters drowned in a vault
of water at the back of the family’s home in Waterloo.
While she was in high
school, Olabelle Woods participated in many activities including choir, student
council, and speech, in which she won a state contest. She was not allowed to join the cheerleading
squad or swing choir, however, because of racial discrimination. Woods graduated from Waterloo East High
School in 1953.
Despite discouragement from
others, Woods went on to college and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa
(UNI) with an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in elementary
education. As a college student,
Olabelle Woods married Richard Reed.
They had three children: Paula, Mark and Adrienne.
Olabelle Reed had difficulty
finding work as a teacher but in 1960 she signed a teaching contract with
Waterloo Community Schools. This put
her among the first five minority women to teach in the district. She taught for nine years before returning
to UNI to earn her master’s degree.
Reed continued to work in Waterloo schools until her retirement in 1996.
Reed was an active member of
the Waterloo community for many years.
She belonged to various educational and youth foundations and served as
a representative for the Iowa and National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Reed also helped found Club Les Dames, an
African-American women’s club in Waterloo, and has held various leadership
roles within it.
Scope and Content Note
The Olabelle Reed papers date from 1935 to 1997 and consist of ten
items. The papers
consist of newspaper clippings; biographical material; correspondence; the
funeral program of a friend, Susie Ann Cunningham; and a church anniversary
bulletin. The newspaper clippings
included in the collection pertain to the death of Reed’s two sisters, Reed’s
retirement, and her involvement in Club Les Dames. The church bulletin commemorates the anniversary of Antioch
Baptist Church in Waterloo, Iowa, and includes a photographic memorial to
Reed’s parents. A separate memorial
essay is also part of the collection.