Ahrens, Lois, 2008
Scope and Contents
An Activist Life Oral History Project is a collection of life histories of women who have dedicated their lives to social and political activism. The project documents both the diversity and the persistence of women's activism, as organizers and as cultural workers, in a variety of social movements such as women's health, economic justice, LGBT liberation, peace, education, and environmental sustainability. Narrators include educators and academics, musicians, writers, and artists, as well as community and religious leaders. They come from a variety of class, ethnic, racial, social, and geographic backgrounds. Interviews cover childhood and growing up experiences; education and employment; activism and politics; family, identity, relationships and community.
Dates of Materials
- 2008
Creator
- Ahrens, Lois (Interviewee, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This interview is open for research use without restriction.
Conditions Governing Web Access
This interview may not be placed on the web because there was no formal web access agreement signed. Please consult with special collections staff at specialcollections@smith.edu to inquire about the existence of or access to digital copies.
Conditions Governing Use
The interviewer and narrator have transferred copyright of this interview to Smith College.
Biographical / Historical
Lois Ahrens has been an activist and organizer for social justice for more than forty years. In 2000 she started the Real Cost of Prisons Project which brings together justice activists, artists, justice policy researchers and people directly experiencing the impact of mass incarceration to work together to end the U.S. prison nation. The Real Cost of Prisons Project created workshops, a website which includes sections of writing and comix by prisoners, a daily news blog focused on mass incarceration, and three comic books. She lives in Western Mass with her partner.
Language of Materials
English
Creator
- Ahrens, Lois (Interviewee, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History Repository
