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ACTIVISM

 Series
Identifier: 2

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Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Jill Jack papers date from 1967 to 2006 and measure 5 linear inches. The papers, arranged alphabetically by topic, document the women's and lesbian community in Iowa City during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They include materials relating to the institutions and organizations founded by women and lesbians to serve their needs, and the cultural and social events they sponsored, especially those involving music, education, theater, recreation, dance, and poetry. Most of these organizations had overlapping memberships and constituents.

About half of the collection documents the events and activities held in the early 1980s at the Women's Coffeehouse (also known as the Studio Project), a private space where lesbians could socialize without fear of ridicule or harm. The collection includes posters and flyers advertising events, notes from meetings, policies, original notes from the bulletin board, and a calendar showing events held at coffeehouse. The "Lesbians" subseries contains the article “Lesbianism in Iowa City,” based on interviews with members of the Iowa City lesbian community by Harry and Glen Epstein, published in the Iowa Defender Vol. 8 No. 8 (December 1967).

Materials also document community discussions and controversies about discrimination against lesbians ("Co-op Showdown"), violence against women and censorship (the showing of the movies Cruising, Peeping Tom, and Dressed to Kill at the Bijou Theater on the University of Iowa campus), and classism. The Grace and Rubie's materials include bylaws, guidelines, and minutes from a board meeting. The Iowa City Women's Press folder includes a call for writings on fat issues. Several T-shirts complete the collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1967-2006

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 5.00 linear inches

From the Collection: Artifacts in Box 2; Photographs in Box 1 boxes

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

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)