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Linda Yanney papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0413

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Scope and Contents

The Linda Yanney papers date from 1948 to 2000 and measure 3.5 linear feet. The records are arranged in the following series: Academic files; Feminist activism; Gay, LGBTQ Activism; and Politics.

The Academic files series (1948-1991) includes program files, scholarly articles, and newsletters from several programs at the University of Iowa, including the Action Studies Program, the Afro-American Studies Program, and the Women's Studies Program, from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s. The records of the UI Daycare Commission, which include minutes, newspaper clippings, and correspondence, complete this series.

The Feminist activism series (1974-1992) consists of organizational and academic materials. It includes the agendas, minutes, correspondence, and newspaper clippings of organizations including the Women's Resource and Action Council and the Rape Victim Advocacy Program. The series includes a 1989 interview conducted by Linda Yanney with Leona Durham, who served as an editor of the Daily Iowan in the early 1970s; Durham recounts being fired as editor because she was a feminist activist. Durham also describes a demonstration held on the Pentacrest in the early 1970s to convince Student Health to supply birth control. The interview also includes topics ranging from daycare at the University to the feminist movement in Iowa City. Yanney's scholarly analyses of the Iowa City feminist movement, including her PhD Dissertation, complete this series.

The LGBTQ Activism series (1972-2000) includes newsletters, newspaper clippings, and flyers from statewide and national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender organizations. The "Des Moines and Jonathan Wilson" folder includes information about a prominent Des Moines school board member who publicly acknowledged his homosexual identity in 1995. Several small GLBT publications, most of which were published in Iowa City, complete the series.

The Politics series (1980-1992) consists of newsletters, flyers, and newspaper clippings that pertain to progressive politics in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Dates

  • Creation: 1948-2000

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The records are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Linda Yanney attended Iowa Central Community College in Eagle Grove, Iowa, from 1972 to 1973 and Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa from 1973 to 1975. In 1978, she received a BA in English from the University of Iowa, where she received an MA in American Studies in 1984. Yanney's scholarly, activist, and volunteer interests coalesced around issues of equality, social justice, and advocacy. While pursuing her PhD at the University of Iowa in the 1980s, Yanney designed and taught courses in American studies and women's studies, including courses on women in American culture and the history of farming in the United States. She also worked as a graduate assistant at the Labor Center, where she conducted research and taught continuing education programs. Yanney's research interests included social history and political movements. Her dissertation was titled, "The Practical Revolution: An Oral History of the Iowa City Feminist Community, 1965-1975." Yanney received a PhD in American Studies in 1991.

Yanney later worked as an advisor for several public interest organizations, including a statewide gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) AIDS policy group, the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women, and the Jean Lloyd-Jones for Senate campaign. While in graduate school, Yanney had worked on Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign. During the mid-1990s, Yanney worked as a co-director and HIV program coordinator at the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic. She recruited volunteers, trained staff, and organized community outreach for the clinic. From 1999 until 2001, Yanney directed the University Oral History Project at the University of Iowa.

Since the l970s, Linda Yanney championed GLBT and women's rights. In 1976, she lobbied the Iowa City Council to pass the first Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance, which included sexual orientation protections. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she served on the advisory board for the Women's Resource and Action Center at the University of Iowa. In 1980, she was the co-chair of Citizens for Lighting and Safe Streets in Iowa City. She later served on the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee. In 1989, Yanney co-founded the Iowa Lesbian and Gay Political Caucus. Throughout this period, she was a member of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 716, AFL-CIO.

Extent

3.50 Linear Feet

1 audiocassette [AC1326] boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Iowa City feminist and champion of LGBT rights.

Method of Acquisition

The papers (donor no. 597) were donated by Linda Yanney in 1999.

Related Materials

The Women's Resource and Action Council (WRAC) records (IWA): Women's center established in 1970 to serve the university and community. Yanney served on WRAC's advisory board in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Jean Lloyd-Jones papers (IWA): Yanney worked on Lloyd-Jones's unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1992.

The University Archives Oral History Project Records (Special Collections, University of Iowa Libraries): Linda Yanney conducted or supervised interviews with forty-two people at the University of Iowa between 1999 and 2001.

Records of the New Wave Party (Special Collections, University of Iowa Libraries): Yanney was active in the New Wave Party, a progressive activist organization at the University of Iowa during the 1980s.

Author
Karissa Haugeberg, 2008.
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

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)