The Stella Religa Collection contains material relating to politics, civil rights and helping victims of domestic violence. The collection concentrates on Stella Religa's participation in local city government, activism, organizations for equality, women's rights, and shelters for battered women and children. This includes several decades of Stella Religa's participation as an activist in Whittier, CA and Chicago, IL. The memorabilia spans several decades of involvement with the Democratic Party, The Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A., and the National Organization of Women (N.O.W.). Included in the collection are books and periodicals, campaign material, manuscripts for television, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, newsletters, photographs, film, and audio cassettes.

Stella Religa was born Stella Gertrude Pavlis on April 8, 1919 in Aberdeen, Washington to Christine Marie Cerny and Frank Pavlis. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia at the onset of World War I. When Stella was old enough she began work as a stenographer for the telephone company (the Western Electric Division of AT&T) in Chicago, IL. A year later Stella met John Religa who shipped off in 1942 to work with the Army as a Radar Mechanic in Hawaii. John was a Sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942, until 1946. In 1946, Stella and John married and moved to California. In 1951, the couple had their first son, adding another son to their home on September 1953. Their last and final child Sharilyn Jean was born in December 1957.

4 Linear Feet (8 unprocessed boxes)

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Collection is unprocessed and requires advance notice for research access.