Maxine Waters was elected to the California Assembly in 1976. She represented the 48th Assembly District, which included a portion of south central Los Angeles and the suburbs of Lynwood and South Gate. The Maxine Waters Papers consist of 19 cubic feet of textual and photographic records. These materials document Waters' activities in the California State Assembly from 1976-1990. They are organized into seven series: Bill Files, Subject Files, South Africa Files, Hearing Files, Correspondence Files, Press Releases and Photographs.

Maxine Waters, Democrat, was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 15, 1938, to Remus and Velma Lee Carr Moore. Waters moved to California in 1960 with her husband, Sidney Williams, and two children, Karen and Edward. Waters received her Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Los Angeles, where she majored in sociology. Before being elected to the State Assembly, Waters worked in a variety of jobs, including a garment factory when she first moved to Los Angeles. She helped to organize the first Head Start program in the Nickerson Gardens-Watts Housing Project. She later went onto become a teacher and superintendent of parent education for Watts, Wilmington and San Pedro. She was a partner in a groundbreaking public relations firm, which paved the way for minority public relations firms to do business in the competitive commercial world. Also prior to being elected, Maxine helped to raise money for a number of non-profits including the Black Congress, the Mothers of Watts and Dollars for Scholars.

19 cubic feet

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While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.