WOMEN at the CENTER Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University A Letter from Director Laura Micham During these challenging and disorient- environment; creating and updating collec- ing times in which we have all seen dra- tion descriptions; completing our travel matic changes to our lives, we want to send grant program selection process (see p. 3); you well wishes and let you know how the fielding remote reference requests; prepar- Sallie Bingham Center is continuing its ing an exhibition commemorating the cen- work during the COVID-19 shut down. tenary of American women’s suffrage (see We spent the week of March 16 scanning the back page); and posting a series on our hundreds of pages of collection material to Twitter feed (@binghamctr) honoring the support students, faculty, and researchers critical work being done right now to sup- who would be impacted by Duke’s closure. port vulnerable populations by activists and The Rubenstein Library, where the Bing- organizations whose records are preserved ham Center is located, officially closed on in the Bingham Center. March 20. During the intervening weeks I’m proud of all of contributions made we’ve been learning how to run a special and services provided by the creative and collections library distributed across many dedicated Bingham Center staff and interns households, without access to physical ma- during this precarious time. We thank you terials. Despite these challenges, we have for your continued support and wish you maintained close connections through vid- health and safety. eo conferencing and other technologies. Inside this issue: Some of the projects we’ve been work- ing on include supporting students and fac- A Letter from 1 ulty in classes recently shifted to an online Director Laura Micham Profiles in Research: 1, 2 Profiles in Research: In Search of Their Anti-Racist Lineage In Search of Their Anti-Racist Lineage Contributed by Amanda Mixon, PhD Can- Mab Segrest (1949-), I was especially inter- didate, Comparative Literature, University of ested in how the holdings might give voice Kate Millett Corre- 2 California, Irvine. to these women’s relationships with each spondence Open With the assistance of a Mary Lily other and the two other figures in my Mary Lily Travel 3 Travel Grant, I visited the Sallie Bingham study, Rita Mae Brown (1944-) and Lillian Grant Recipients Center in the summer of 2018 to carry out Smith (1897-1966).[i] research for my dissertation, which analyz- I knew that Smith, arguably the most Collections 3 es how a group of white southern lesbian outspoken white southern critic of Jim Highlight writers theorize whiteness and practice anti Crow segregation, had a profound impact Women’s Work in 4 -racist activism. The project is as much on Pratt and Segrest. Her lifelong partner- the Time of Pan- invested in tracing friendships and influ- ship with Paula Snelling (1899-1985) and demic ences as it is in elaborating a single individ- searing critiques of white supremacy of- ual’s political thought. Therefore, when fered Pratt and Segrest a foundation from perusing the papers of Dorothy Allison which to learn and build. However, when (1949-), Minnie Bruce Pratt (1946-), and (Continued on page 2) library.duke.edu/rubenstein/bingham Collections Profiles in Research continued from page 1 Highlight scanning Pratt’s papers, I was surprised to tice, but also an account of what those fig- find an unpublished stage play that Segrest ures emotionally do for us. In their pub- wrote about the couple in the late eighties. lished nonfiction, both Segrest and Pratt There, Segrest prioritizes Snelling’s experi- express a yearning for a Smith not bound ence, allowing her to criticize Smith for by the closet’s silence. In the play, Snelling closeting their same-sex relationship. As becomes the voice of that desire. She asks: Segrest told me in person, this centering is what would it have meant—for Smith’s an ode to the significant amount of unrec- own career and life, for Snelling, and for the ognized work that Snelling contributed to countless women inspired by their work—if Smith’s career and their collaborative pro- Smith had claimed a lesbian identity? jects. But what I found most compelling was Segrest’s creative license with the cou- [i] Rita Mae Brown is author of the ple’s relationship: that is, no primary or sec- 1973 lesbian coming of age novel Rubyfruit ondary sources confirm the dynamic that Jungle. Lillian Smith was a white civil rights Kate Millett Corre- Segrest depicts. As such, the untitled play is activist, known for her 1944 novel Strange spondence Now not only an example of how we represent Fruit, which featured an interracial couple. Open to Research historical figures in order to do them jus- In January 2020, the Kate “‘Listening to Sounds Millett correspondence Larger Than Our Own series was opened to the Heartbeat’: A Confer- public. Millett’s letters ence on Lillian Smith” cover her work as a brochure listing talks feminist writer and activ- by both Mab Segrest ist, and include many and Minnie Bruce pieces of correspond- Pratt. Georgetown Uni- ence with other promi- versity, October 7-9, nent activists, such as 1994. From the Mab Phyllis Chesler, Cynthia Segrest Papers, Box 63. McAdams, Yoko Ono, Alix Kates Shulman, and Gloria Steinem. There are a few letters from Pauli Murray, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Toni Mor- rison praising Millett for her book, Sexual Politics (1970). The series also includes personal letters about Millett's involun- tary commitment to psy- chiatric wards, the devel- opment of her sexual identity, her experiences teaching, and her rela- Featured on the Devil’s Tale Blog: blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein tionships with friends and family. (Photograph by Cynthia McAdams, 1979, Kate Millett papers) 2 WOMEN at the CENTER Mary Lily Research Grant Recipients 2020-2021 Collections Highlight We are pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Mary Lily Research Grants. These grants support the work of students, scholars, and independent researchers who will travel to Durham to use the Bingham Center’s rich collections. We gratefully acknowledge our faculty reader, Seth Le Jacq, Thompson Writing Program, who offered valuable insights during the selection process. Due to widespread travel restrictions, the timeframe for using this grant support has been extended to December 2021. Dena Aufseeser, Faculty, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Systems, University of Maryland, “Family Labor, Care, and Deservingness in the US” Elvis Bakaitis, Adjunct Reference Librarian, The Graduate Center, CUNY, “The Queer Legacy of Dyke Zines” (see illustrations on right) Sarah Heying, Ph.D. candidate, University of Serena K. Dandridge: Mississippi, “An examination of the relationship Scientific Illustrator, between reproductive politics and southern lesbian Suffragist, and Shep- literature since 1970” herd This past fall we received Emily Larned, Faculty, Art and Art History, a reference question in- University of Connecticut, “The Efemmera Reissue quiring about Serena K. Project” Dandridge (aka “Miss Violet”) and her suffrage Susan Sepulveda, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Gen- activism in the U.S. in der and Women’s Studies, University of Arizona, the early 1900s. The “Travesando Chicana punk:” examining Chicana question came from the punk identity formations through the production of Smithsonian Institution cultural texts where Dandridge had been employed as a sci- Tiana Wilson, Ph.D. candidate, University of Texas entific illustrator. We at Austin, “No Freedom Without All of Us: Recov- were intrigued to learn ering the Lasting Legacy of the Third World Wom- “Celebrate Everyday Heroes” more about this fascinat- en’s Alliance” and comic panel about suffra- ing woman through the gists from the “Homos in Her- Dandridge Family Papers. story” zine by Elvis Bakaitis Her letters document her involvement with the Harry H. Harkins Jr. T'73 Research Grants West Virginia Suffrage Association and her later These travel grants for researchers using gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history col- life on her family’s farm lections are named in honor of Harry H. Harkins, Jr. T'73 for his generous support of this called Rosebrake in program and ongoing support of LGBT history and sexuality studies collections in the West Virginia, raising Duke University Libraries. This program is separately funded from the Mary Lily Grants. sheep. The papers also tell the story of her inpa- Caitlyn Parker, Ph.D. candidate, American Studies, Purdue University, Lesbians politically tient residence at a psy- chiatric hospital in Mary- organizing against the carceral state from 1970-2000 land, offering a unique perspective on treat- Amanda Stafford, Ph.D. candidate, School of History, University of Leeds, “The Radical ment of women with Press and the New Left in Georgia, 1968-1976” mental illness during that time. Issue 37, Spring 2020 3 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Durham, NC Permit No. 60 Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Box 90185 Duke University Durham, NC 27708-0185 Laura Micham, Merle Hoffman Director Kelly Wooten, Research Services and Collection Development Librarian Megan Lewis, Technical Services Archivist 919-660-5967 • [email protected] library.duke.edu/rubenstein/bingham @binghamcenter @binghamctr Women’s Work in the Time of Pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, as in public health crises throughout history, women do essential work. Currently one in three jobs held by wom- en has been designated as essential, and women of color are more likely to be doing essential jobs than anyone else. During the 1918 flu pandemic, a worker shortage necessitated that wom- en take jobs outside the home in unprecedented numbers.