Johanna Fernández papers (Ms.2022.008)

This collection consists of the personal and professional papers of Johanna Fernández, Dominican-American Brown University alumna, scholar of 20th Century US history and the history of social movements at Baruch College, City University of New York, author of the award-winning, The Young Lords: A Radical History (2020), and a social justice organizer, including as a notable student organizer for need blind admissions while as an undergraduate at Brown. Materials include photos, correspondence, syllabi, course readings, lecture notes, writing drafts and research, books, flyers, newspapers, and electronic records, dating from 1967 – 2022.

Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1988 – 2021, includes funeral programs, notebooks, and photos, related to Fernández's personal life and education at Brown and Columbia Universities, respectively. Of particular note are drafts of Fernández's PhD dissertation, Radicals in the Late 1960s: A History of the Young Lords Party in New York City, 1969-1974, which served as the foundation for Fernández's 2020 The Young Lords: A Radical History. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, ADMINISTRATIVE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT, 2002 – 2019, includes conference materials, professional correspondence, fellowship applications and correspondence, and meeting materials. Note exhibition materials related to "¡Presente! The Young Lords in New York" directed and co-curated by Fernández across three New York Museums in 2015. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 3, BRING MUMIA HOME, 1982 – 2021, relates to the movement to release American political activist, journalist, and prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal. The organization's website states, "The movement for Mumia Abu-Jamal is an international network that has taken to the streets for over thirty years to stop two state-sponsored executions, organized to overturn his death sentence, and recently sponsored a landmark court case that forced the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to administer treatment for his Hepatitis C." Materials from this series include correspondence, press conference and teach-in materials, and legal files related to Abu-Jamal as well as members of the Africa family who comprise MOVE, a family-based, Black liberation movement dedicated to ending police brutality, professing the values of raw foods, animal rights, and sustainable urban agriculture. Also included are correspondence, transcripts, and notes for the documentary Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, written and produced by Fernández in 2010 after she interviewed nearly every person involved in the film. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by date.

See also the Free Mumia Movement collection (Ms.2023.004) and the Mumia Abu-Jamal papers (Ms.2022.009) at Brown University.

Series 4, CORRESPONDENCE, 1987 – 2022, includes personal and professional correspondence. Of particular note is correspondence with Philip Africa and prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Robert "Sugar Bear" Lark. This series is arranged chronologically then alphabetically by sender.

Series 5, TEACHING MATERIALS, 2002 – 2020, includes syllabi, lecture notes, readings, assignment prompts, and course evaluations for various courses taught by Fernández. Courses include "America's Half Century," "From Civil Rights to Black Power," "Historical Perspectives on 9/11," and "Women and Social Protests." This series is arranged alphabetically by course title.

Series 6, WRITINGS BY FERNÁNDEZ, 1971 – 2020, is arranged into 3 sub-series.

Series 6, sub-series 1, No Easy Victories: An Anthology of Black Radicalism from 1968 to the Present, 1998 – 2001, includes bibliographies, printouts, and readings for this anthology researched by Fernández and edited by Leith Mullings and Manning Marable in 2000. This sub-series is arranged chronologically by section.

Series 6, sub-series 2, The Young Lords: A Radical History, 1971 – 2020, includes correspondence, typed chapter drafts, handwritten notes, notebooks, readings, and research materials related to various chapters and topics. All research materials relate to the Young Lords Organization generally, and more specifically their work around education, health, and sanitation. Of particular note are transcripts of oral history interviews with former members of the Young Lords Organization. Note that there may be overlap between the research materials here and the subject files in Series 8, sub-series 2. The files in this series were directly linked to Fernández's work on the book. This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 6, sub-series 3, Other writings by Fernández, 2002 – 2018, includes correspondence, typed drafts, typed and handwritten outlines, and research materials related to essays and talks by Fernández. Titles include "Between Social Service Reform and Revolutionary Politics: The Young Lords, Late Sixties Radicalism, and Community Organizing in New York City," "The Young Lords and the Postwar City: Notes on the Geographical and Structural Reconfigurations of Contemporary Urban Life," "The Handschu Files," and "Third World Transition Program at Brown University." This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by writing format then by title.

Series 7, WRITINGS BY OTHERS, 1996 – 2021, includes correspondence, printouts, photocopies, and typed drafts of writings by other scholars and friends. Authors include Mumia Abu-Jamal, Carla Guerrón-Montero, Joe Kaye, and Rhonda Y. Williams. This series is arranged alphabetically by author's last name then by title of work.

Series 8, SUBJECT FILES, 2002 – 2017, is arranged into 2 sub-series.

Series 8, sub-series 1, Subject Files by Name, 2005 – 2009, include readings, handwritten notes, and photocopied archival materials related to specific people. Subjects include Paul Guzman, George Lipsitz, Sonia Sotomayor, and Andy Warhol. This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by subject's last name.

Series 8, sub-series 2, Subject Files by Topic, 2002 – 2017, include readings, handwritten notes, clippings, and photocopied archival materials related to various topics. Topics include "9/11," "Civil rights/ Pittsburgh," MOVE, and the Young Lords. Note that there may be overlap between the subject files here and the research materials in Series 6, sub-series 2. The files in this series were not directly linked to The Young Lords: A Radical History and may have been used for courses and other work. This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by topic.

Series 9, PRINT MATERIALS, 1967 – 2019, includes books, flyers, journals, magazines, newspapers, posters, and reports. Titles include Have Black Lives Ever Mattered? by Mumia Abu-Jamal, "MOVE Activist Archive," "Puerto Rican Revolutionary Workers Organization," The Black Panther, Journal de l'Abolition, and "Annual Violations Report: Violations Against Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Detention." This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title.

Series 10, ELECTRONIC RECORDS ON REMOVABLE CARRIERS, 1994 – 2015, includes 3.5" floppy discs, cassette tapes, CDs, and zip disks. Content includes interviews with members of the Young Lords organization, interviews with Mumia Abu-Jamal, and early versions of Justice on Trial: The Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, as well as music, resume drafts, and graduate coursework. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by information on the media carrier. To submit a digitization request, complete this form.

Series 11, RESTRICTED, 1989 – 2018, contains diaries, financial files, health files, and handwritten notes. This series is closed until Fernández's death after which date this series will open without restriction.