Guide to the Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection
Jennifer Pickens
African American Museum & Library at Oakland
659 14th Street
Oakland, California 94612
Phone: (510) 637-0198
Fax: (510) 637-0204
Email: aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org
URL: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland
© 2013
African American Museum & Library at Oakland. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection
Collection number: MS 152
African American Museum & Library at Oakland
Oakland, California
- Processed by:
- Jennifer Pickens
- Date Completed:
- 2014-05-28
- Encoded by:
- Jennifer Pickens
© 2013 African American Museum & Library at Oakland. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection
Dates: 1982-1997
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1994-1997)
Collection number: MS 152
Creator:
Black Women Stirring the Waters (Oakland, Calif.)
Creator:
Butler, Mary Ellen, 1940-
Collection Size:
.75 linear feet
(2 boxes)
Repository:
African American Museum & Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Abstract: The Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection includes contributing authors’ manuscripts and correspondence, history and
records of the group, and audio recordings. The collection documents the creation of the organization’s 1997 publication,
Black Women Stirring the Waters .
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Access Restrictions
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Publication Rights
Permission to publish from the Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection must be obtained from the African American Museum
& Library at Oakland.
Preferred Citation
Black Women Stirring the Waters collection, MS 152, African American Museum & Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library.
Oakland, California.
Acquisition Information
The collection was donated to the African American Museum & Library at Oakland on February 23, 2004 by Mary Ellen Butler.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennifer Pickens, May 21, 2014.
Biography / Administrative History
Black Women Stirring the Waters is a black women’s discussion group founded in 1984 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The group
was conceived by Clara Stanton Jones, the first African American to head the public library of a major city and the first
African American president of the American Library Association, and Aileen Clarke Hernandez, activist, and former President
of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The group was organized with no formal structure, no taboo subjects, and no
requirements for membership other than an interest in the dialog. Black Women Stirring the Waters takes its name from a quote
attributed to the 19th century abolitionist, Sojourner Truth. The group has a large roster of members from six Bay Area counties
ranging in age from mid-twenties to mid-nineties; bi-monthly meetings are held to discuss the perspectives of black women
on a multitude of subjects. In 1997, forty-four members of the group published a collection of autobiographical memoirs discussing
ways they have dealt with obstacles and have grown in their lives and careers.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Black Women Stirring the Waters Collection includes contributing authors’ manuscripts and correspondence, history and
records of the group, and audio recordings. The collection documents the creation of the organization’s 1997 publication,
Black Women Stirring the Waters . Records include each author’s original manuscript and drafts for the publication, including any correspondence between the
authors and Mary Ellen Butler, compiler and editor of the book. Documents include a conference agenda from the group’s inception
and newspaper clippings publicizing the book’s release. The collection is arranged into four series: 1) Author manuscripts
and correspondence, 2) organization history and records, 3) audiocassettes, and 4) published material.
Arrangement
Series I. Author manuscripts and correspondence
Series II. Organization history and records
Series III. Audiocassettes
Series IV. Published material
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
African American women--California--History.
African American women--Societies and clubs.
African Americans--California--History.
African American authors--Biography.
African American women--Biography.
Butler, Mary Ellen. 1997.
Black Women Stirring the Waters. Oakland, Calif: Marcus Books.
Authors manuscripts and correspondence
Physical Description: 43 folders
Series Scope and Content Summary
Includes manuscripts and drafts, Permission to Publish forms, correspondence, and biographical information.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Box 1:1
Alexander, Gaynelle
1996-1997
Box 1:2
Bennett, Celestine C. T.
1994-1997
Box 1:3
Broussard, Maybelle
1994-1997
Box 1:4
Butler, Mary Ellen
1994-1997
Box 1:5
Cannon, Barbara E. M.
1994-1997
Box 1:6
Catlett, Frances Dunham
1985, 1996-1997
Box 1:7
Crossley, Elaine Sherman
1994-1997
Box 1:11
French, Barbara Louis Carlisle
1997
Box 1:12
Furlow, Julia Savage
1994-1997
Box 1:13
Green, Phyllis Strong
1996-1997
Box 1:14
Goddard, Nettye
1989, 1997
Box 1:15
Hernandez, Aileen Clarke
1994-1997
Box 1:17
Johnson, Eloise McKinney
1997
Box 1:19
Jones, Clara Stanton
1996-1997
Box 1:20
Lampley, Norma Mosley
1994-1997
Box 1:21
Ludlow, Susie Nickens
1994-1997
Box 1:22
Martin, Morrelle Lyles
1994-1997
Box 1:24
Morris, Effie Lee
1992, 1996-1997
Box 1:25
O’Brien, Thelma V.
1995-1997
Box 1:26
Patterson, Dorothy
1994-1997
Box 1:27
Patterson, Tracy
1994-1997
Box 1:28
Payne, Zenobia K.
1995-1997
Box 1:29
Pierce, Marie Turner
1994-1997
Box 1:30
Pitts, Dorothy Waller
1994-1997
Box 1:31
Roberson, Ruby Jean
1996-1997
Box 1:33
Robinson, Josephine
1994-1997
Box 1:34
Rose, Virginia Craft
1994-1997
Box 1:36
Semmons, Dena Hurst
1994-1997
Box 1:37
Thornton, Dr. Shirley A.
1997
Box 1:38
Traylor, Margaret
1994-1997
Box 1:39
Washington, Alice
1994-1997
Box 1:40
Washington, Mary Parks
1997
Box 1:42
Williams, Valena Minor
1997
Organizational history and records
Physical Description: Five folders + diskettes
Series Scope and Content Summary
Historical documentation of the creation of
Black Women Stirring the Waters , including a written manuscript of the book’s front matter, newspaper clippings, correspondence, conference agenda, ephemera,
and diskettes.
Arrangement
Arranged by format.
Box 2:1
Manuscript and drafts of
Black Women Stirring the Waters: A Brief History
1997
Box 2:1
Blank membership survey
1995
Box 2:1
Meeting guidelines
undated
Box 2:4
Press releases
circa 1997
Box 2:4
Lists of contributors and project committee
1997
Box 2:3
Permission to publish contract
undated
Box 2:3
Letter of understanding between Mary Ellen Butler and Valena Minor Williams
1997
Box 2:1
Note from Aileen to Valena regarding edits
undated
Box 2:3
Letters about book layout
1997
Box 2:3
Letters about writing the history statement
1997
Box 2:3
Publication announcement to distributor
1997
Box 2:5
Notes and receipts
undated
Box 2:1
Promotional flyer
undated
Audiocassettes
Physical Description: Three audiocassettes
Series Scope and Content Summary
Oral history interviews of Portia Mixon and Audrey Gibson Robinson. Recording of a church service at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist
Church in Oakland, CA with a sermon by Reverend Marie Pierce.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically
Box 2
Pierce, Reverend Marie
1994
Box 2
Robinson, Audrey Gibson
1994
Box 2
Published material
1997
Physical Description: One volume
Series Scope and Content Summary
Signed copy of
Black Women Stirring the Waters
