Madden (Roberta M.) Papers

ROBERTA M. MADDEN PAPERS Mss. 5022 Inventory Compiled by Bradley J. Wiles Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections Special Collections, Hill Memorial Library Louisiana State University Libraries Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University 2011 ROBERTA M. MADDEN Mss. 5022 1968-2010 (1970-1990) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, LSU LIBRARIES CONTENTS OF INVENTORY SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 3 BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE .......................................................................... 4 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE ....................................................................................... 6 LIST OF SUB-GROUPS, SERIES, AND SUBSERIES .................................................... 7 SERIES DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................................................. 8 INDEX TERMS ................................................................................................................ 11 CONTAINER LIST .......................................................................................................... 13 Use of manuscript materials. If you wish to examine items in the manuscript group, please fill out a call slip specifying the materials you wish to see. Consult the Container List for location information needed on the call slip. Photocopying. Should you wish to request photocopies, please consult a staff member. Do not remove items to be photocopied. The existing order and arrangement of unbound materials must be maintained. Reproductions must be made from surrogates (microfilm, digital scan, photocopy of original held by LSU Libraries), when available. Publication. Readers assume full responsibility for compliance with laws regarding copyright, literary property rights, and libel. Permission to examine archival materials does not constitute permission to publish. Any publication of such materials beyond the limits of fair use requires specific prior written permission. Requests for permission to publish should be addressed in writing to the Head, Public Services, Special Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803-3300. When permission to publish is granted, two copies of the publication will be requested for the LLMVC. Proper acknowledgement of LLMVC materials must be made in any resulting writing or publications. The correct form of citation for this manuscript group is given on the summary page. Copies of scholarly publications based on research in the Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections are welcomed. Page 2 of 21 ROBERTA M. MADDEN Mss. 5022 1968-2010 (1970-1990) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, LSU LIBRARIES SUMMARY Size. 11 linear ft. Geographic locations. Louisiana Inclusive dates. 1968-2010 Bulk dates. 1970-1990 Languages. English Summary. The Roberta M. Madden Papers consist of correspondence, subject files, publications, and other records related to her professional career and tenure as a leading local, state, and national advocate for women’s rights, civil rights, and other progressive social and political causes. Access restrictions. None. Reproduction note. May be reproduced. Copyright. Physical rights and copyright are retained by the LSU Libraries. Related collections. American Association of University Women. Louisiana Division, Mss. 0666. Common Cause Louisiana Records, Mss. 4469. Democratic State Central Committee of Louisiana Papers, Mss. 3760. Sylvia Roberts Papers, Mss. 3259. Roberta Madden Oral History Interview, Mss. 4700 Citation. Roberta M. Madden Papers, Mss. 5022, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La. Stack Location. 91:7-12 Page 3 of 21 ROBERTA M. MADDEN Mss. 5022 1968-2010 (1970-1990) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, LSU LIBRARIES BIOGRAPHICAL/HISTORICAL NOTE Roberta Margaret Young was born November 9, 1936 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Mary and Theodore Young of Ames, Iowa. Referred to as “Bobby” by friends and family, she was the oldest of four children including Judy (b.1937), Sherry (b. 1942), and Charles (b. 1945). Because of Theodore’s history of unsuccessful business ventures and sporadic employment as an accountant after World War II, the Young family often faced financial difficulties which required Mary to work full-time at Rushing’s Supermarket in Ames, while also raising their four children. Roberta’s parents divorced in 1951 and she began working part-time at Rushing’s to help her mother and siblings make ends meet. These early years were influential on Madden, particularly an incident when her mother was passed up for a promotion to store manager in favor of a younger and less-experienced stock clerk because he was male. In 1953, Madden received a scholarship to attend Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls (now University of Northern Iowa) to become a schoolteacher. Two years later she met Jerry David Madden, known by his middle name, at the college radio station. Madden was a senior at the University of Tennessee and an aspiring writer whose progressive thinking helped inspire her later activism. He also gave her the nickname “Robbie” instead of “Bobby,” which she would continue to use throughout her career. Within a year of meeting each other she dropped her plans to become a teacher and on September 6, 1956, she was married to Madden in Knoxville, Tenn., with her mother’s reluctant blessing. Over the next decade the Maddens relocated around the country as Jerry assumed various teaching positions, writing fellowships, and degree programs, while Roberta found work as a journalist and completed her education. David Madden finished his M.A. from San Francisco State College in 1958, taught English at Appalachian State Teacher’s College (now Appalachian State) in Boone, N.C. the following year, and then was awarded a fellowship at the Yale Drama School from 1959-1960. The Madden’s only child, Blake, was born in 1960. From 1960-1968, David Madden taught English and creative writing courses at Centre College (Danville, Ky.), the University of Louisville, Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio), and Ohio University (Athens, Ohio). During this time Roberta Madden worked as editor of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO’s Kentucky Labor News and finished her B.A. in Government from Ohio University. The Maddens relocated to Baton Rouge in 1968 after he accepted a position in the English Department at Louisiana State University. That same year Roberta Madden’s long career as an activist began in earnest with her joining the Baton Rouge Council of Human Relations. Through the late 1960s and late 1970s she became involved in a number of national, regional, and state organizations focusing on a variety of progressive causes including equal rights for women and minorities, consumer protection, and increased political and financial enfranchisement of traditionally oppressed communities, particularly gay and lesbian groups, professional women, and housewives. During this time she initiated long-standing relationships with the Association of American University Women, the Louisiana Women’s Political Page 4 of 21 ROBERTA M. MADDEN Mss. 5022 1968-2010 (1970-1990) SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, LSU LIBRARIES Caucus, the Women’s Equity Alliance League, and the Baton Rouge Mayor-President’s Commission on the Needs of Women, among others. She also developed ties to a growing network of women and civil rights leaders in Louisiana including Mary Metz, Sylvia Roberts, Pinkie Gordon Lane, and Lillian Walker. After working as a freelance writer and as a book editor at the LSU Press from 1968 to 1972, Madden became the first director of the Baton Rouge Consumer Protection Center. Over the next three years she co-founded and served as vice-president of the Baton Rouge chapter of the National Organization of Women, initially working to eliminate discriminatory credit laws and bring attention to sexism in children’s books. Madden was a Louisiana delegate to the National Women’s Conference in Houston and emerged as one of the lead organizers of statewide efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1977 she became an independent agent with Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company in Baton Rouge. As a businesswoman Madden advocated for economic independence and often held workshops and training sessions at LSU and throughout the community designed for women to sharpen financial and business skills. In 1979 Madden parlayed her growing presence in the community into a run for the Louisiana Senate. She ran on a platform that promoted the needs of older citizens, accountable and open government, strengthening the public education system, environmental protection, and citizen interests over special interests. Though she was largely outspent and ultimately unsuccessful, she received 33% of the vote and was sought out by many candidates in subsequent elections for her endorsement and support. Later that year she was hired as district manager for the 1980 U.S. Census in the greater Baton Rouge area. In 1981 she was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Louisiana State Advisory Committee, a position she held for the next 24 years including serving as chair from 1999-2005. It was also in the early 1980s that Madden began her long association with the Baton Rouge Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), initially serving as the executive director from 1980-1983 and from 1994-2009 as women’s health and public policy director. In between terms at the YWCA, Madden was field director for Common Cause in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas

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