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LaMetta Wynn papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA1369

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The LaMetta Wynn papers date from 1988 to 2021 and measure 7.5 linear inches. The biographical materials include the orientation agenda of the Clinton city council and a brochure for the Iowa Board of Education, on which Wynn served. Correspondence primarily consists of short notes thanking Wynn for her speech or presence at a community event. Constituent correspondence provides a snapshot of matters of public concern in Clinton in the 1990s and 2000s. The collection also includes a variety of Wynn campaign materials and ephemera, as well as photographs of Wynn at public events and with friends. The subject file contains press clippings about Wynn compiled by the archivist. The audiovisual materials primarily document Wynn's political career via speeches and television press coverage, but also include a family message to Wynn on her retirement and a nursing training video in which Wynn is featured.

Dates

  • Creation: 1980 - 2010

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research. Names and addresses of correspondents in the constituent correspondence file have been redacted at the request of the donor for privacy reasons. The unredacted originals are closed.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Biographical / Historical

LaMetta Karen Wynn (Johnson) was born August 4, 1933 in Galena, Illinois to Garret Dey Johnson and Mossie Lee Clark. She graduated from Galena High School and St. Luke’s College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with a degree in nursing. She married Thomas Wynn Sr. in 1955; the couple had ten children. Wynn was a nurse at Mercy Hospital in Clinton, Iowa for more than 30 years, frequently working nights. She later became president of Mercy’s board of directors. She served on the Clinton school board for 12 years, helping to implement a new alternative school in the district to provide a supportive environment for students who struggled in traditional high school. In 1992, Wynn ran unsuccessfully for mayor of the city of Clinton; two years later, she ran again and won, becoming the first Black woman in Iowa elected to a mayoralty. In 1999, she initiated a series of visits to Washington, D.C. to lobby for federal aid, which eventually succeeded in bringing for than $50 million in funding to Clinton. In 2006, Wynn won the Republican nomination for Iowa Senate district 13, then representing Jackson and parts of Clinton and Dubuque counties, but lost to Roger Stewart. She stepped down as Clinton’s mayor in 2007. In the late 2000s and 2010s, she was appointed by governors from both parties to several statewide boards, including Vision Iowa, the Commission on the Status of African-Americans, and the Board of Education. When Wynn passed away in 2021, Governor Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-mast in her honor.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Nurse, school board member, and the first Black woman elected to a mayoralty in Iowa.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 1720) were donated by Kathryn Calvin in 2024.

Existence and Location of Copies

Material in this collection has been digitized but is not yet available online. Please contact the Iowa Women's Archives to request access to digital copies.

Author
Kate Orazem
Date
2024
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)