United Church of Christ Women's Movement Collection

Collection

Identifier: EUCH018

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

A large part of this collection is concerned with the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s and 1980s. The materials include not only the UCC’s efforts to support ERA ratification, but also the controversy surrounding it, and efforts to defeat it. Examples of materials produced by organizations that were against the ERA are included. In addition, the collection addresses issues of social justice and women’s equality such as abortion, child support, marriage, divorce, daycare, abuse of women, rape, and women’s status in the workplace. There are also materials relating to women’s role in the ministry. The collection consists of newsletters, church service programs, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, brochures, study aids, bibliographies, essays, poems, reports, information packets, and calendars.

Dates

Creation: 1973-1988

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

The Equal Right Amendment was first proposed as an amendment to the United States Constitution in 1921. It was reintroduced in 1971 and passed both houses of Congress in 1972. Despite wide support, conservative opposition over the next ten years stymied its passage, until a deadline in 1982 passed with not enough states having ratified the amendment. Thus, the ERA was never added to the Constitution.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (2 Archival Boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection of materials documents the United Church of Christ’s efforts to address inequalities for women in American society in the 1970s and 1980s. A large part of this collection is concerned with the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), as well as opposition to it. In addition, the collection addresses issues of social justice and women’s equality such as abortion, child support, marriage, divorce, daycare, abuse of women, rape, and women’s status in the workplace. There are also materials relating to women’s role in the ministry.

Arrangement

Some of the materials were in folders; these folders are in box 2. The folders are labeled as follows: Statements Policy National UCC Task Force on Women in Church and Society Bibliographies and Resources No label; folder has handwritten speeches and notes Minutes of Task Force on Women, 1975-1979 Correspondence Women’s Task Force Southern Conf. Correspondence for Southern Conference Task Force on Women Correspondence to the SOC Women’s Task Force Worship-Theology The Common Lot So. Con. News Women – SNLL, etc. ERA, Criminal Justice, Abortion Language Sexism

Physical Location

The collection is in Belk Library Archives Satellite Shelving at Elon University. Please contact the Archivist and Special Collections Librarian for further details about the location.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift.

Related Materials

EUCH010 Southern Conference Archives Collection EUCH011 Church History General Collection EUCH015 Church History United Church of Christ Collection EUCH017 Church History Pamphlet Collection