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Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History

Smith Digital Collections

lock, restricted access Access to some of the Smith Digital Collections is limited to the Smith College community because of copyright and licensing restrictions. The lock icon indicates limited access. Read more...

Black Women's Health ImperativeBlack Women’s Health Imperativelock, restricted access

A health advocacy organization that addresses the health disparities that are a reality for black women. Videos from their collection include workshops, conferences, educational videos, and television broadcasts, circa 1987-2004.

 

Camp Bonnie Brae FilmsCamp Bonnie Brae Films

Collection of short film clips portraying camp activities at Camp Bonnie Brae, circa 1930s-40s. It is the oldest continuously operating Girl Scout camp in the United States located in East Otis, Massachusetts.

 

Dyke TVDyke TV

Dyke TV was a half-hour weekly, nation-wide cable tv show featuring five-minute segments covering issues relevant to lesbian lives from a lesbian perspective.

 

Films of Phyllis BirkbyFilms of Phyllis Birkby

Selection of films and video created by amateur filmmaker Phyllis Birkby, documenting the women’s and gay rights movements and lesbian culture in New York, circa 1970s.

 

Florence R. Sabin PapersFlorence R. Sabin Papers

A selection from the papers of Florence Rena Sabin (1871-1953), American anatomist and medical researcher. Her excellent and innovative work on the origins of the lymphatic system, blood cells, immune system cells and on the pathology of tuberculosis was well-recognized during her lifetime. She was a recognized trailblazer for women in science.

 

Grant Family PapersGrant Family Papers: Correspondence of Zilpah P. Grant Banister [Internet Archive]

Selections from the Grant family papers, including genealogical materials and the letters of Zilpah Grant Banister (1794-1874), a resident of Newburyport, MA, and former teacher at Ipswich Female Seminary with Mary Lyon. The letters to and from various family members are dated 1846-74.

 

Helen Gurley Brown: audio recordingsHelen Gurley Brown: audio recordingslock, restricted access

Audiotaped recordings from the Helen Gurley Brown Papers, editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. Includes a lecture by Brown (1964) and a series of interviews in which she discusses her life and the making of the biographical musical, Helen, with co-writer Lyn Tornabene in 1972.

 

History of WomenHistory of Womenlock, restricted access

Selected primary source materials on women dating from the 1600s to 1920s. Contributed by numerous archival repositories, including the Sophia Smith Collection, the website includes 8,500 books, 2,000 pamphlets, 117 periodical titles, 80,000 manuscript pages and 800 photographic images.

 

Joan A. Biren: Look to the Women for CourageJoan E. Biren: Look To the Women for Courage

A slideshow of still images with narration depicting the first summer of nonviolent direct actions in upstate New York in 1983 to protest the deployment of first-strike nuclear weapons. The show consists of 140 slides with audio narration by Joan E. Biren (JEB).

 

Loretta Ross PapersLoretta Ross Papers: audio and video

Audio and video from the papers of Loretta Ross, grassroots organizer and activist for racial and economic justice and women's rights. Selections include speeches, conference panels, TV appearances, workshops, protests and documentaries, circa 1986-2001.

 

March for Women's Lives, Washington DC, 2004March for Women's Lives, Washington, DC, 2004lock, restricted access

Video footage used for the documentary "Listen Up! New Voices for Reproductive Justice" by N’Dieye Gray Danavall, depicting events leading up to, during, and after the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C., 2004. From the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective Records.

 

Nancy Hamilton: Helen Keller in Her StoryNancy Hamilton: Helen Keller in Her Story

Selections of digitized film footage from the Oscar-winning documentary "Helen Keller in Her Story" (1955) produced by Nancy Hamilton (Smith Class 1930). Included are original outtakes, trims and soundtrack, as well as documentary and newsreel footage depicting Helen Keller at home, in her daily activities and in international travels.

 

National Congress of Neighborhood Women videoNational Congress of Neighborhood Women: video

Videos from the 1970s documenting early activities of a grassroots support network founded in Brooklyn, N.Y. to empower, and provide a voice for, poor and working-class women who are working to improve their communities. The videos document conferences, workshops, meetings, demonstrations and documentary footage, circa 1974-77.

 

New England Learning Center for Women in Transition videoNew England Learning Center for Women in Transition: videolock, restricted access

Videos from the NELCWIT Records document the organization’s efforts to address the needs of women and children in Franklin County, Mass., who have experienced domestic or sexual abuse. Events depicted include rallies, retreats, discussions, performances and television appearances, circa 1986-2012.

 

Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association RecordsPan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association Recordslock, restricted access

The collection documents the organization’s work to strengthen international understanding to promote cooperation between women of Asia and the Pacific and women of the U.S.A. Documents include minutes, reports, correspondence, conference materials, newsletters and scrapbooks, dating from 1938 to 2006.

 

Pauline Frederick: audio recordings and filmsPauline Frederick: audio recordings and filmslock, restricted access

Broadcast sound recordings and home movies from the Pauline Frederick Papers. Frederick was a broadcast journalist for ABC, NBC and BBC radio and a World War II news correspondent. These recordings include radio and television broadcasts, speeches and miscellaneous events.

 

Reproductive Justice for All conferenceReproductive Justice for All Conferencelock, restricted access

Video footage from the conference held in 2005 at Smith College to examine and discuss issues pertaining to women's rights in the realm of sexuality, reproductive health, assisted reproduction and genetic technologies.

 

Slavery and Anti-Slavery: A transnational archiveSlavery & Anti-Slavery: A Transnational Archivelock, restricted access

Selected primary source materials from various collections:--“How can I help to abolish slavery? Counsels to the newly converted" by Maria Weston Chapman--Kentucky jurisprudence. "A history of the trial of Miss Delia A. Webster …written by herself”--Tuckey, Mary B. “The Wrongs of Africa: a tribute to the anti-slavery cause”--Ellen Wright Garrison diaries, 1854-1921.

 

Women of Rock Oral History Project PanelSophia Smith Collection of Women’s History Streaming Media & Eventslock, restricted access

A small representation of audiovisual materials housed within the Sophia Smith Collection of Women’s History. We also encourage you to visit the Special Collections to browse our audiovisual collections or contact us for more information about our AV holdings.

 

Women and Social Movements in the United StatesWomen and Social Movements in the United Stateslock, restricted access

This database features selected documents, images, and audiovisual materials from the Sophia Smith Collection under the themes: Abolitionist Women (Garrison Family Papers) and Working-Class Feminists, 1974-2006 (National Congress of Neighborhood Women Records).

 

Women and Social Movements InternationalWomen and Social Movements Internationallock, restricted access

The site documents the history of 20th-century women's global activities and features hundreds of primary sources from the Sophia Smith Collection including YWCA leaders, influential international activists and central women’s organizations.

 

Women Organizing Transnationally: The Committee of Correspondence, 1952-1969Women Organizing Transnationally: The Committee of Correspondence, 1952-1969lock, restricted access

The complete collection was digitized for the Archives Unbound site as “Women Organizing Transnationally: The Committee of Correspondence, 1952-69.” The records include extensive official correspondence as well as hundreds of letters to and from correspondents throughout the world documenting the work of the organization. In addition there are official records; minutes; complete files of multi- lingual publications entitled "Community Action Series" and "Meeting...