Paula Giddings papers (MS.2023.008)

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Paula J. Giddings, notable American writer, editor, and chronicler of African American women's history. She is the Elizabeth A. Woodson 1922 Professor Emerita of Africana Studies at Smith College and the author of four critically acclaimed books: When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America; In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement; Burning All Illusions: Writings from The Nation on Race 1866-2002 (Editor); and Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching, the leading biography of anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells. While at Smith, Giddings was the editor of Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, a peer- reviewed journal featuring cutting-edge scholarship by and about women of color in the United States and internationally.

Prior to teaching in the academy, Giddings was a free-lance journalist reporting on national and international issues, a book editor at Howard University Press and an associate editor and Paris Bureau Chief for Encore American & Worldwide News.

The collection includes family photographs and memorabilia, personal and professional correspondence, book drafts, research materials, and print materials, and electronic records dating from 1918 to 2023.

The collection is arranged into 9 series. Original folders titles are listed in quotations. All other folder titles were created by the processors.

Series 1, PERSONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL, 1918 – 2019, includes awards, clippings about Giddings, diplomas, funeral materials, and genealogical material from Gidding's mother's lineage, the McGee family. Of particular note are press passes and reference books from Giddings' time in the American press corps that accompanied United States President Jimmy Carter on his first multi-nation trip abroad in 1977-1978. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 2, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1936 – 2013, contains black and white and color photographs. Subjects include Delta Sigma Theta Sorority events, Virginia Stokes Giddings and the Stokes family, professional headshots of Paula Giddings, and vacation photos. Of particular note is a 1978 White House press photo of Giddings sitting with Zbigniew Brzeziński, President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series 3, CORRESPONDENCE, 1939 – 2023, includes personal and professional correspondence. Correspondents include Arthur Ashe, Edwidge Danticat, Curtis and Virginia Giddings, Toni Morrison, and Gloria Steinem. Topics include professional appointments and invitations to speak. This series is arranged chronologically then alphabetically.

Series 4, TEACHING MATERIALS, 1992 – 2003, includes syllabi and teaching evaluations. Some of these materials were contained in a binder related to the African and African American Studies and Women's Studies programs at Duke University, others were contained in a binder related to Giddings' reappointment review. Courses include "Black Women and the Civil Rights Movement," "Introduction to Womanist and Feminist Thought," and "Women, Life-writing, and the Black Experience in America." This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by subject.

Series 5, WRITINGS, 1964 – 2021, includes clippings, correspondence, chapter drafts, proofs, reviews, and typed and handwritten notes for articles, books, and talks, written by Giddings. Materials primarily relate to Ida: A Sword Among Lions, but other titles include "Education, Race, and Reality: A Legacy of the 60's," When and Where I Enter, Burning All Illusions, and "Encore American and Worldwide News." There is a series of folders titled "compiled chapter drafts" that contain various typed chapter drafts that were grouped together by Giddings in binders and preserved in their original order by the processors. The remaining chapter drafts that are individually listed were originally loose in boxes and thus foldered individually by the processors. This series is arranged alphabetically by writing format then by title then by record type.

Series 6, RESEARCH, 1980 – 2006, is arranged into 2 subseries.

Series 6, subseries 1, RESEARCH BY SUBJECT'S NAME, 1993 – 1994, includes photocopied materials from various archives, readings, and typed notes, about people significant to Giddings' writings. Subjects include Jane Addams, Laura Ormiston Chant, Hugh Price Hughes, John Douglas Sutherland, and Ida B. Wells. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject's last name.

Series 6, subseries 2, RESEARCH BY TOPIC, 1980 – 2006, includes photocopied materials from various archives, readings, and typed and handwritten notes about various topics related to Giddings' writings. Topics include "Black press," Chicago, churches, "education," "Lynching," Memphis, "Nineteenth Century women," and "social conditions." Note that listed topics were typically grouped together in folders and labeled by Giddings. The series of materials related to "various topics" were typically loose items that were neither grouped nor assigned specific topics. They often speak to multiple topics, thus the processors did not assign specific topics. This series is arranged alphabetically by topic then by record type.

Series 7, PRINT MATERIAL, 1962 – 2023, includes books, booklets, journals, magazines, newspapers, and programs. Titles include A Poetic Equation by Nikki Giovanni and Margaret Walker, Poems from Black Africa edited by Langston Hughes, The Black Scholar, Meridians, Encore, and various programs for Delta Sigma Theta events. Note that several books have inscriptions from the author, including Beloved by Toni Morrison. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title.

Series 8, EPHEMERA, 1990, n.d., contains an Ida B. Wells Barbie doll, bookmarks, buttons, envelopes, and pencils all related to Ida B. Wells events. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.

Series 9, ELECTRONIC RECORDS ON REMOVABLE CARRIERS, 1974 – 2017, includes 3.5" floppy disks, audio cassettes, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, and vinyl records. The floppy disks primarily relate to Ida: A Sword Among Lions. Other titles include Black women in America, "Soundings from the National Humanities Center from Protest to Power," "Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas and Black Frontline," and Roses and Revolutions by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type then by title written on the carrier.

Advance notice is required to view any audiovisual media or born-digital records that exist in this collection. Audiovisual media and born-digital records in this collection may not have been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical audiovisual or born-digital media is restricted.