Papers of Betsy Warrior, 1966-1996 (inclusive), 1968-1982 (bulk)
Overview
Writings, flyers and pamphlets, graphics, drawings, photographs, and correspondence of feminist activist Betsy Warrior.
Dates
- Creation: 1966-1996
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1968-1982
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by Betsy Warrior is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.83 linear feet ((2 file boxes) plus 1 folio+ folder and 1 photograph folder)This collection documents Warrior's role as activist, feminist, and graphic artist. Warrior was involved in many different feminist and women's rights groups. The collection reflects these groups and the varying degrees of Warrior's involvement. The papers include feminist writings, flyers and pamphlets, graphics, drawings, photographs, and partial drafts of the Battered Women's Directory. Folder headings were created by the archivist; folder titles by Warrior are in quotes.
Series I, ACTIVISM, 1966-1996, n.d. (#1.1-2.12), includes papers related to Warrior's work with the Battered Women's Directory; various feminist organizations; feminist writings by Warrior and others; and topical folders on subjects of interest to Warrior. Organizations Warrior was involved in include Cell 16 and the Women's Educational Center in Cambridge. This series includes a significant number of writings by Warrior on feminist issues and drafts of some articles she wrote for No More Fun and Games; including one draft Warrior wrote as B. Luthuli. Folders are arranged in chronological order within groupings.
Series II, PHOTOGRAPHS AND GRAPHICS, 1971-1976, n.d. (#2.13-2.16, PD.1, F+D.1), contains photographs of the takeover of a Harvard building after the Women's Day march in 1971 and Warrior's graphic work related to projects and events.
Most of the photographs in this collection are digitized and available online.
BIOGRAPHY
Betsy Warrior, a Boston-area feminist, author, and graphic artist, was born in 1940. Warrior has dedicated her life to women's rights and helping battered women. In 1968 she became a founding member of Cell 16, an organization that advocated for female liberation. Warrior wrote and edited for No More Fun and Games: A Journal of Female Liberation, a periodical created by Cell 16. Warrior initially adopted the name of Betsy Luthuli for the first issue of No More Fun and Games before changing to Betsy Warrior. Warrior had a particular interest in issues of marriage and domestic abuse.
Betsy Warrior participated in a march on International Women's Day in 1971 in which women walked from Boston to Cambridge in a demonstration to demand a women's center. Some of the participants seized a Harvard University building in protest, occupying the building for 10 days. Warrior has worked with the Women's Center (Women's Educational Center) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since its founding, to provide resources for women and build the center's library. Through her work, Warrior and others saw a need for a directory of resources for battered women. In 1975 Warrior wrote, edited, and published the first international directory of resources and places for women suffering from abuse, Working on Wife Abuse (later Battered Women's Directory). Betsy Warrior continues to work with the Women's Educational Center.
Other works by Betsy Warrior include Housework: Slavery or a Labor of Love (1969); The Source of Leisure Time (1969); and Houseworker's Handbook (1971, with Lisa Leghorn).
ARRANGEMENT
The collection is arranged in two series:
- Series I. Activism, 1966-1996, n.d. (#1.1-2.12)
- Series II. Photographs and graphics, 1971-1976, n.d. (#2.13-2.16, PD.1, F+D.1)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 2007-M31, 2012-M181
The papers of Betsy Warrior were given to the Schlesinger Library in February 2007 and October 2012 by Betsy Warrior.
Related Material:
There is related material at the Schlesinger Library: see Records of the Battered Women's Directory Project, 1975-1985 (MC 816).
SEPARATION RECORD
Donor: Betsy Warrior
Accession number: 2007-M31
Processed by: Lillianne Germain
The following items have been transferred to the Schlesinger Library books and printed materials collection (pending review by curator):
- Blood of the Flower. Black Rose Bulletin, Number 1
- Breakthrough. Political journal of Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, Volume III, Number 1 (Spring 1979)
- Feminism Lives!. Publication of the Radical Feminist Organizing Committee, Number 3 (March 25, 1981); Number 4 (June 5, 1981); Number 6 (December 15, 1981); Number 7 (after March 1982); Number 8 (December 15, 1982); Number 9 (July 15, 1983); November 1983; Number 10 (March 1984); July 1984; November 1984; Housework [1984]; March 22, 1985; May 1986
- Manushi. A journal about women and society, Number 34 (1986)
- NCADV Voice, n.d. [1983?]; Fall/Winter 1984
- Power of Women. Journal of the power of women collective, Volume 1, Number 4 (Summer 1975)
- Themis. A newsletter of the new Women's Religion, 1980
- Will the women's movement survive? by Naomi Weisstein and Heather Booth
Processing Information
Processed: March 2016
By: Lillianne Germain
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Warrior, Betsy. Papers of Betsy Warrior, 1966-1996 (inclusive), 1968-1982 (bulk): A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by a Hidden Collections grant from the Harvard University Library.
- EAD ID
- sch01511
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.