Please Note: The bulk of the collection is closed until processed, but eleven of the interviews can be made available. Please contact us at Ask a Schlesinger Librarian for more information.
Under the auspices of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, and the Chinese Historical Society of New England, the Chinese American Women Oral History Project interviewed 22 women (most over the age of 65) living in New England. The collection consists primarily of audiotapes of the oral histories. Interview topics include life in China, emigration and settlement in the United States, family life, education, work, ethnic identity, assimilation and acculturation, and continuing ties to China.

Dworkin, radical feminist writer, speaker, and activist, was the author of several books, short stories, and novels. In addition, Dworkin lectured widely and contributed to numerous periodicals and anthologies. In 1983, with lawyer Catharine MacKinnon, Dworkin drafted a controversial civil rights ordinance defining pornography as sex discrimination. An activist working on behalf of many causes including abortion rights, she advised women and groups on issues of rape, battery, pornography, and incest in the United States and abroad. This collection consists of audiotape recordings of speeches and lectures by and interviews with Dworkin.

The author of an autobiography entitled Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem through the Islamic Revolution (1992), Sattareh Farman-Farmaian was a founder and director of the Tehran School of Social Work (1958-1979), as well as founder/director of the Community Welfare Center of Iran and the Family Planning Association of Iran. From 1980 to 1992 she worked for the County of Los Angeles Department of Social Services, Children's Services. A delegate to the Bucharest Population Conference (1974), the Tehran International Human Rights Conference (1975), and the Mexico International Conference for Women's Year (1979), Farman-Farmaian also served on the board of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. She has lectured widely worldwide and in 1997 established a website to publicize and facilitate discussion of her autobiography. This collection consists of audiotape recordings of speaking engagements by and interviews with Farman-Farmaian.

This collection consists of audiotape recordings of interviews with, and talks given by, Cynthia Rich and Barbara Macdonald, who were writers, activists in lesbian feminist politics, and partners for 26 years. In 1983 they co-authored Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging and Ageism, a groundbreaking examination of ageism from a feminist perspective, which later appeared in two expanded editions (1991, 2001). Moving west in the 1980s, Rich and Macdonald helped organize protests of the Miss California pageants, worked to end apartheid in South Africa, and supported the United Farm Workers' 1989 grape boycott. In 1987 they served on the planning committee of the First West Coast Conference of Old Lesbians and were active in the subsequent Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, a Houston-based organization.

This collection includes audio recordings by or pertaining to the research of author and sex educator Shere Hite. From 1972 to 1982, Hite directed the feminist sexuality project for the National Organization for Women, New York Chapter, and in 1976 published The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, which was based upon anonymous responses to questionnaires in which women detailed their sexual experiences. This was followed by other works based on responses to questionnaires, including The Hite Report on Male Sexuality (1981), The Hite Report on the Family: Growing Up under Patriarchy (1994), and The Hite Report on Women Loving Women (2007), among others.

June Jordan was the author of more than twenty-five major works of poetry, fiction and essays, as well as numerous children's books. Jordan wrote two opera librettos as well as lyrics, plays, and musicals. Her journalism was published widely in magazines and newspapers around the world, and she was a regular columnist for The Progressive. She was also Professor of African American Studies and Women's Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. There, Jordan developed a program called "Poetry for the People" which conducted workshops at various community groups in the Berkeley area. This collection consists of audiotape and phonograph recordings of radio appearances, speaking engagements, poetry readings, musical performances/rehearsals, and classroom lectures by Jordan.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed as a feminist organization on June 30, 1966. The Statement of Purpose declares that "the time has come to confront, with concrete action, the conditions that now prevent women from enjoying the equality of opportunity and freedom of choice which is their right, as individual Americans, and as human beings." By 1975 there were over 600 local chapters. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the organization addressed many issues, including a "war on poverty"; the Equal Rights Amendment; child care; sexual harassment; abortion rights/reproductive issues; women and religion; violence against women; eradicating racism, sexism and homophobia; and influencing judicial selection. The audiotapes include NOW national board meetings and NOW national conference proceedings, as well as the National Abortion Clinic Defense Conference (1990), the National Young Feminist Conference (1991), and three regional conferences. Miscellaneous interviews and speeches include a number featuring Eleanor Smeal and others discussing the ERA. See also National Organization for Women Additional Audiotapes

During November 18-21, 1977, twenty thousand women gathered in Houston, Texas, for the National Women's Conference, an outgrowth of International Women's Year, 1975. The conference aimed to address legal, economic, and social changes needed to ensure equality for women. Twenty-six resolutions on women's rights were proposed, voted upon by delegates, and presented to the Carter administration and Congress for adoption. This collection contains recordings of speeches, plenary sessions, and resolutions from the conference.

Edna Rankin McKinnon worked with the Margaret Sanger Research Bureau (1936-1947) establishing birth control clinics around the country, was executive director of the Planned Parenthood Association, Chicago area (1947-1957), and was a field worker for the Pathfinder Fund, a private organization for international family planning (1958-1966). In this last position she traveled throughout Asia, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and the Middle East to help establish family planning organizations and clinics. This collection includes interviews about McKinnon’s childhood, travels, and family planning outreach efforts.

This collection consists of audiotapes of talks by speakers featured in the Schlesinger Library Luncheon Series from 1979-1987. Speakers include Julia Child, Betty Friedan, Dorothy West, Grace Murray Hopper, Esther Peterson, and many others.