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Asian American women

 Subject
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: Identity categories provide another way of understanding the lives of women documented in our collections. Identities are assigned based on information available to the Smith College Special Collections, as declared by historical actors. Terms that people may have used to describe their own identities change over time. Because of this, not all collections are categorized. If we have made a mistake in our identity classification, please contact us.

Found in 18 Collections and/or Records:

Alliance Against Women's Oppression records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00699
Abstract International women of color organization, Welfare rights activists, Reproductive rights and Women's health advocates. The Records are primarily related to the Bay Area Chapter of the Alliance and contain documents that articulate and demonstrate the challenges of developing a revolutionary mass organization through position and discussion papers, drafts, and publications produced by the Alliance. There is abundant documentation of the processes of coalition and social investigation that...
Dates of Materials: 1980-1989

Asian American Reproductive Justice Oral History Project oral histories

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00722
Abstract

The Asian American Reproductive Justice Oral History Project presents oral histories of Asian American women who have been active in the Reproductive Justice movement since the 1980s. The collection includes interviews, transcripts, photographs, published materials, author's note, and original grant proposal.

Dates of Materials: 2012-2014

Committee on Women, Population and the Environment records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00768
Abstract

The collection contains the business records of the Committee on Women, Population,& the Environment (CWPE), a multi-racial alliance that works on the local, regional, national, and international levels to oppose population control policies that blame overpopulation for poverty, hunger, environmental degradation and political volatility.

Dates of Materials: 1979 - 2012

Lora Jo Foo interviewed by Loretta J. Ross, December 16, 2006

 File — Box 18: [Barcode: 310183630031457]
Scope and Contents Foo describes a childhood in which gendered Chinese cultural norms combine with race and class discrimination to shape her emerging identity and educational options. She recounts theradicalizing effect of Asian American Studies in college and details her experiences in organizing immigrant women workers. Foo assesses the status of Asian American women’s organizations and reflects on the current state of progressive politics in the U.S. The interview concludes with a nod to the pleasure she...
Dates of Materials: December 16, 2006

Lora Jo Foo papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00561
Abstract

Lawyer; Labor organizer. Materials documenting Foo's activism in advocating for the rights of immigrant workers in the U.S., primarily via the Asian Law Caucus and Sweatshop Watch; plus published writings, speeches, and interviews.

Dates of Materials: 1940 - 2018; Majority of material found within 1973 - 2007

Mary Chung Hayashi interviewed by Loretta J. Ross, December 15, 2006

 File — Box 25: [Barcode: 310183630031465]
Scope and Contents

In this oral history Mary Chung Hayashi describes her childhood in South Korea and in the U.S. and discusses the circumstances that have led her to launch successive organizations addressing health issues in the Asian American community. She also discusses her path towards becoming the first Korean American elected to the California State Assembly. (Transcript 34 pp.)

Dates of Materials: December 15, 2006

Miriam Ching Yoon Louie papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00719
Abstract Labor organizer; Women's rights activist; Author; Activist; Poet. The papers include correspondence, organizing materials, conference materials, fliers, pamphlets, newsletters, and newspaper clippings. There is also Louie's course work as both student and instructor. Major topics include women and labor organizing, Asian American women's history, social justice activism, international women's rights, and issues surrounding race, class, immigration and poverty in the U.S. Especially...
Dates of Materials: 1970 - 2016

National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00586
Abstract Advocacy group which focuses on the rights and needs of Asian and Pacific Islander American Women. Records include administrative files, correspondence, conference and retreat materials, reports, newsletters, articles, photos, videos, and research files. Major topics include women's rights, reproductive rights, women's health, Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender rights, immigration reform, domestic violence, human trafficking, labor reform, economic justice, voter registration initiatives, and...
Dates of Materials: 1995 - 2019

Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association of the U.S.A. records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00336
Abstract International women's organization. The records of the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association of the U.S.A. consist of international conference proceedings, from the 10th, 11th, and 13th-15th conferences; correspondence; minutes of the executive board and other meetings; reports; constitution and by-laws; publications and printed material; and photographs of the national PPSEA taken between 1950-1985. The records also include two scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, and records from...
Dates of Materials: 1928 - 2009

Patsy T. Mink papers

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00105
Abstract

Lawyer, legislator, and local official. The Mink Papers focus primarily on her first tenure as a representative to the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii, 1965 to 1977. Types of materials include speeches, photographs, press releases, articles, legislative bills, and an oral history transcript. Topics include education, the status of women, women in politics, foreign relations with Vietnam and China, labor unions, the armed forces and national defense, and minority rights.

Dates of Materials: 1965-1982; Majority of material found within 1965-1975

Peggy Saika interviewed by Loretta Ross, February 20, 2006

 File — Box 49: [Barcode: 310183630031325]
Scope and Contents In this oral history, Saika underscores the lasting impact of the internment experience as a call to vigilance and action. She traces her political involvements from pan-Asian student activism in the late 1960s forward, marking her journey through various forms of organizing: direct service, civil rights, community organizing, and philanthropy. The interview offers a general outline of Saika's path as a postwar progressive who embraces her generation's challenge to build an ethnic movement...
Dates of Materials: February 20, 2006

Setsuko (Suki) Terada Ports interviewed by Loretta J. Ross, January 5, 2008

 File — Box 41: [Barcode: 310183630031168]
Scope and Contents

Ports recalls vivid stories of the impact of FBI surveillance of her family during World War II, including her mother's house arrest. She describes growing up in a Japanese American family in the postwar years. She details racial tensions in her personal life and public work, and comments on cultural norms and stereotypes that have influenced her ability to speak out. Ports summarizes her years of organizing around AIDS.(Transcript 91 pp.)

Dates of Materials: January 5, 2008

SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00550
Abstract

Reproductive rights advocacy and healthcare reform organization. Conference materials, background information, and video recordings from the SisterSong National Membership Meetings.

Dates of Materials: 1994 - 2012

Third World Women's Alliance, Bay Area chapter records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00697
Abstract Global women of color reproductive rights and social justice organization. TWWA broadened the scope of women's activism to address issues such as sterilization abuse, infant mortality, welfare rights, and low-wage work. The orientation of TWWA towards the "third world" brought the struggles, condition, and status of women in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to the forefront. The bulk of the records focus on the the West Coast and Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area Chapters of the...
Dates of Materials: 1971 - 2012; Majority of material found within 1971-1977

Undivided Rights Book Project records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00538
Abstract

Feminist; Professor, Women's Studies; Author; Reproductive rights advocate. Research files, correspondence and manuscripts related to the book Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice (2004) by Jael Miriam Silliman, Loretta Ross, Marlene Fried, and Elena Gutiérrez.

Dates of Materials: 1992 - 2003

Voices of Feminism Oral History Project oral histories

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00535
Abstract

Oral History Project documenting the persistence and diversity of organizing for women in the United States. Narrators include labor, peace, and anti-racism activists; artists and writers; lesbian rights advocates; grassroots anti-violence and anti-poverty organizers; and women of color reproductive justice leaders. Interviews cover childhood, personal life, and political work. Most oral histories consist of audiovisual recordings and transcripts, plus some background information.

Dates of Materials: 1990-2014

Women of color collection

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00439
Abstract The Women of Color Collection consists primarily of published material relating to the status of women of color in the United States. Includes printed materials, bibliographies, position papers, the Indian School Journal, unpublished position papers from the Wesleyan College Center for Research on Women, A Resource Guide of American Indian-Alaskan Native Women, and reports from conferences on the educational and occupational...
Dates of Materials: 1903-1992

Women of Color Resource Center records

 Collection
Identifier: SSC-MS-00718
Abstract

Women of color grassroots network; Welfare rights, reproductive rights, and women's health advocacy organization in Oakland, California. Records include publications, pamphlets and catalogs of the WCRC; programming materials, conference reports, background research files, and audiovisual material.

Dates of Materials: 1984 - 2011