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Andre, Linda, 1959-

Linda Andre Papers

ca. 1970s-2009

52 boxes 78 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1251

In 1984 at the age of 24, Linda Andre was coerced into receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), an experience that turned her into an “accidental activist” in the psychiatric survivor movement. A talented photographer and writer on photographic theory before treatment, Andre suffered profound memory and cognitive loss after electroshock resulting in permanent harm. Soon after undergoing ECT, Andre connected with a psychiatric survivors resistance movement group, Project Release. She advocated for informed consent to ECT and for holding the FDA accountable in its failure to appropriately regulate electroshock devices. In 1992, when Marilyn Rice, the founder of the Committee for Truth in Psychiatry (CTIP), died Andre assumed the role of director. Her decades of activism, research, and writing about ECT culminated in the 2009 publication of her book Doctors of Deception: What They Don’t Want You to Know About Shock Treatment. Andre died by suicide in 2023 at the age of 63.

Linda Andre’s collection is a vast resource for the of study electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), its unethical promotion and use, as well as its harmful, long-term effects on individuals. Included are articles and writings related to ECT, personal stories of survivors forced hospitalization and ECT treatment, and materials related to the psychiatric survivor’s movement. Andre’s own presentations and writings related to ECT are featured along with research and drafts that resulted in her book, Doctors of Deception: What They Don’t Want You to Know About Shock Treatment. Her photographs and creative writing document her immense artistic talent, while her journals, family photos, and correspondence reveal Andre’s personal history.

Gift of Alandra Markman, 2024.

Subjects

Alternatives to psychiatric hospitalizationAntipsychiatryElectroconvulsive therapy

Contributors

Committee for Truth in Psychiatry

Types of material

ArticlesAudiovisualPhotographs

Related collections: Civil rights, Disability, Photographs, Social justice, Visual culture, Women

Blake, Ella Dot Martin

Ella Dot Martin Blake Collection

1968-1981

1 box 1.5 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1260

Ella Dot Martin was born in Waterloo, Quebec, on Dec. 22, 1889, the daughter of Carmi Arad Martin and Candace Amelia (Beach). In about 1912, she married a local farmer, Sydney Thomas Blake, in an Anglican ceremony, and together they raised two sons. For several years after the turn of the twentieth century, Carmi Martin worked as a painter in Woonsocket, though he returned to Waterloo in about 1909, and Ella and Sydney followed in about 1927, settling in Blackstone, Worcester County, Mass., where Sydney worked at different points as a painter and farmer. Sydney died in 1955 and Ella in Milton Village, Mass., in 1987.

The collection consists of Blake’s diaries and two cookbooks along with dozens of recipe clippings. Related collection is the Ella Dot Martin Blake Sheet Music Collection.

Gift of Janice Blake, February 2025.

Types of material

CookbooksDiaries

Related collections: Cookery, Massachusetts, New England, Women

Smith, Edith Renfrow

Edith Renfrow Smith Papers

ca. 1934-2024

2 boxes, 148 digital objects 1.5 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1258

Part of: Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive

Born in Grinnell, Iowa on July 14, 1914, to Eva Craig and Lee Augustus Renfrow, Edith Renfrow Smith was the first African American woman to graduate from Grinnell College in 1937. She moved to Chicago after graduation where she worked first at the YMCA and later at the University of Chicago. In 1940, Edith married Henry T. Smith; the couple welcomed two daughters: Virginia and Alice. After earning her teaching license, she taught in the Chicago school system for twenty-one years before retiring in 1976. Smith continued to serve as a volunteer well into her nineties. She is the recipient of numerous honors highlighting her activities and contributions later in life, including admittance into the Chicago Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, selection as a “superager” in a Northwestern University study, induction into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, and several distinctions awarded by Grinnell College: an honorary degree, the naming of the Smith Gallery in Joe Rosenfield Campus Center, and the naming of a new residential hall building on campus. An illustrated biography of her life, No One is Better than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother’s Words, was published in January 2024.

While the physical materials that comprise the Edith Renfrow Smith Papers are small in number, including an award, photographs, and a family tree, the collection is enhanced by nearly 150 digitized photographs scanned and posted online by Grinnell College.

Gift of Edith Renfrow Smith, 2024.

Subjects

African American women teachersGrinnell College—Students

Types of material

Photographs

Related collections: African American, African American women, Black women, Photographs, Women

McClaurin, Irma

Irma McClaurin Collection

ca. 1960-2024

Call no.: MS 897

Digital

Finding aid

Part of: Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive

Dr. Irma McClaurin is the founder of the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is an award-winning author, poet, activist, anthropologist, HipHop Mom and mentor, and CEO of Irma McClaurin Solutions. A woman of many talents, Dr. Irma is a past president of Shaw University and a former Program Officer for Education and Scholarship at the Ford Foundation. She was also the founding executive director of the University of Minnesota’s first Urban Research Outreach-Engagement Center, including a 21,000 sf renovation, and an Associate Vice President with tenure in the Anthropology Dept. Dr. Irma was also the first Black faculty member to be tenured in anthropology through the ranks at the University of Florida, where she was an affiliate of African Studies, the Center for Latin American Studies, Afro-American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies. After serving as Deputy Provost at Fisk University, while on leave from UF, she became the inaugural Mott Distinguished Chair in Women’s Studies at Bennett College for Women. She founded its Africana Women’s Studies Program. Dr. Irma also was a Senior faculty and coach at the US government’s Federal Executive Institute and was Chief Diversity Officer at Teach For America. An acclaimed Zora Neale Hurston scholar, she appears in the PBS documentary “Zora Neale Hurston: Claiming a Space.” Dr. Irma has an MFA in English and an MA and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2023, her alma mater, Grinnell College, awarded her the Honorary Doctorate of Social Studies.

Subjects

African American anthropologistsEthnology--PhilosophyFeminist anthropologyPoetryWomen--Belize--Social conditions

Contributors

McClaurin, Irma

Bush, Roderick D. & Melanie E. L.

Roderick and Melanie Bush Papers

ca. 1960-2013

Call no.: MS 1259

Part of: Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive

Bush, Roderick D. (1945-2013)

Roderick Bush, Ph.D., born in Sanford, Florida, overcame early adversity to become a distinguished scholar, activist, and community leader. A graduate of Madison High School (Rochester, NY), Howard University, and Binghamton University, he dedicated his life to pursuing justice, Black liberation, and transformative education.

Rod was deeply involved in Black radical and internationalist movements, working with organizations such as the Congress of African People, the African Liberation Support Committee, and the Black Radical Congress. His scholarship, including We Are Not What We Seem (1999) and The End of White World Supremacy (2009), examined race, nationalism, and class struggle. As a professor at Seton Hall and later St. John’s University, he mentored generations of students, inspiring them to engage critically with issues of race, democracy, and globalization.

An unwavering advocate for human rights, Rod’s work took him worldwide, fostering collaborations that bridged academic and activist communities.

Newby, Robert G. (n.d.) Roderick Douglas Bush – 1945-2013. https://rodbush.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/roderick-douglas-bush-biography-footnotes.pdf

Bush, Melanie E. L. (b. 1955)

Melanie E. L. Bush, Ph.D. is a sociologist, social justice advocate, and global scholar recognized for her pioneering research on white supremacy and racial justice. A Fulbright scholar and dedicated educator, she serves as a professor of sociology at Adelphi University, where her work focuses on race, ethnicity, class, nation, social movements, political economy, and higher education.

Bush is the author of Breaking the Code of Good Intentions: Everyday Forms of Whiteness and Everyday Forms of Whiteness: Understanding Race in a “Post-Racial” World. She also edited and co-authored Rod Bush: Lessons from a Radical Black Scholar on Liberation, Love, and Justice, honoring the legacy of her late husband, Roderick Bush.

Beyond her academic contributions, Bush is a research fellow at the University of South Africa and a senior research associate at the University of Johannesburg. Her scholarship and advocacy continue to shape critical conversations on race, power, and social transformation.

Subjects

African American intellectuals--Political activity--History--20th centuryAfrican Americans--Social conditions--20th centurUnited States--Social conditions--1980-2020White people--United States--Attitudes

Contributors

Bush, Melanie E. L., 1955-

Johnson-Simon, Deborah

Deborah Johnson-Simon Papers

ca. 1967-2015 Bulk: 1997-2010

5 Boxes 2.085 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1254

Finding aid

Part of: Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive

Dr. Deborah Johnson-Simon, PhD, is a museum anthropologist dedicated to advancing social justice and fostering community engagement through cultural heritage projects. She focuses on attracting and maintaining African American audiences and works extensively on museum outreach and development. Dr. Johnson-Simon is the co-editor of The Second Generation of African American Pioneers in Anthropology, a work that highlights significant contributions in the field.

She is the founder and CEO of the African Diaspora Museology Institute (ADMI), formerly known as the Center for the Study of African and African Diaspora Museums and Communities (CFSAADMC). The institute is committed to conducting and distributing research on the history and culture of African and African Diaspora museums and communities, furthering the understanding of their impact and significance. Dr. Johnson-Simon’s research interests center on these communities’ cultural and historical narratives, emphasizing their role in museum studies and broader cultural heritage.

Dr. Johnson-Simon received her BA from Rollins College in 1997 and her MA from Arizona State University with a certification in Museum Studies. She earned her PhD in 2007 from the University of Florida in 2007.

The Deborah Johnson-Simon Papers document Dr. Johnson-Simon’s research, travels, and professional engagements. The collection includes photographs from her research in Arizona, culminating in Culture Keepers Arizona, as well as ephemera from her time at Rollins College in Florida and her research and teaching at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida. It also highlights her extensive work with and on Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian and the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute. Additionally, the collection contains an extensive collection of cards from individuals she met at conferences, during research, and while traveling. Notably, it includes her work with industrial designer Charles “Chuck” Harrison, who revolutionized the View-Master, along with a View-Master and more than 80 accompanying slides.

Subjects

African American anthroplogistAfrican Americans--MuseumsAnthropology--United States--HistoryEthnology--United States--History

Contributors

Johnson-Simon, Deborah

Comité de Apoyo Pro Alfabetización

Rachel Wyon Comité de Apoyo Pro Alfabetización / Pro Literacy Support Committee Collection

1982-1985 Bulk: 1982-1985

1 box .2 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1253

Finding aid

Two men holding a banner that reads "U.S. Educators for Peace in El Salvador" in a crowd

Members of the U.S. Educators for Peace in El Salvador holding a sign. Photograph by Tom Mattie

The Comité de Apoyo Pro Alfabetización was formed in 1983 by Rachel Wyon and others in Estelí, Nicaragua where Lyon was living and working in solidarity with the Salvadoran popular movement in exile, including the Salvadoran Teachers Association ANDES 21 de Junio. The group continued their solidarity work from the Cambridge/Boston area, where Wyon was based.

The bulk of this small collection consists of approximately 100 photographs taken in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua between 1982-1985. One of the members of the Committee, Tom Mattie, traveled to Central America in 1985 and took photos documenting everyday life. Some of the subjects covered in the photographs include: family living conditions, group meetings, public events, rural education projects, marches, and the effects of the civil war. There is also a series of photos of Mélida Anaya Montes (aka Commander Ana María), who was a Salvadoran educator, guerrilla, and co- founder of the Popular Liberation Forces (FPL) that in 1980 merged with other organizations to form the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The photos in the collection were given to the Committee for their solidarity work in the U.S. In addition, there is a small folder of documents from the ANDES 21 de Junio, the National Association of Salvadoran Educators, an issue of The Freeze, an adult literacy pamphlet, a flier for Tom Mattie and Wendy Shaull’s exhibit of photographs, and a script for a Comité do Apoyo Pro-Alfabetización educational slideshow.

Language(s): Spanish

Subjects

Central America--Social conditions--PhotographsDocumentary photographyEl Salvador--Politics and governmentEl Salvador--Social conditions--PhotographsPacifists--Photographs

Contributors

Mattie, TomWyon, Rachel

Types of material

Photographs

Smith, William M., 1918-1970

William M. Smith Jr. Papers

1939-2014 Bulk: 1939-1940

4 boxes 1.7 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1248

Finding aid

Colonel William M Smith speaks at a podium before an assembled group of people from Argentina.

Colonel William Smith speaking at podium before a group of people from Argentina

Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell Smith Jr. was born in 1918 in Carpenter, Mississippi to William M. Smith Sr. and Fay Smith (neé Craig). The family later moved to Alabama and lived in Birmingham and Auburn, where Smith graduated from Auburn High School in 1936, then Auburn University in 1940 with high honors. After college, he enlisted in the military, and served with the 19th Artillery attached to General Sharp’s staff in France during World War II. In 1944, he was awarded a Bronze Medal for “meritorious service and gallantry in action”. Following the war, he was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany where he oversaw post-war reconstruction there, and later, Japan. He also served in the Korean War. In 1962, he commanded a ring of missile units of the Army Air Defense Command in Homestead, Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He served as a Colonel in Vietnam in 1964-1966. Smith died in late 1970 when he took his own life.

The bulk of this small collection consists of correspondence between Smith and his wife to be, Eloise Lennard, during their courtship in 1939-1940. In addition, there are letters written during Smith’s time serving in Vietnam from 1965-1966 where he discusses the tone of the war and the degree to which the war weighed on him as a commanding officer. The collection also contains clippings, military documents and ephemera related to each of his duty stations, as well as a photographic memory book from his deployment at a base in Homestead, FL during the Cuban Missile Crisis with the 13th Artillery Group. There is also correspondence from friends and family following Smith’s death.

Gift of Stephanie Cramer, 2024

Subjects

Soldiers--Germany--CorrespondenceSoldiers--Vietnam--CorrespondenceVeteransVeterans familiesVietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--United StatesWorld War, 1939-1945--Veterans--United States

Contributors

Smith, EloiseSmith, William M., 1918-1970

Types of material

CorrespondenceHoliday cardsNewspaper clippingsPhotographsPublicationsSympathy cards

Restrictions: none none

Related collections: Asia, Cold War culture, Europe, Family, Germany, Military, Vietnam, Vietnam War, World War II

Glassberg, David

David Glassberg Papers

1986-2024

13 13 linear feet

Call no.: FS 218

David Glassberg, ca. 2016

David Glassberg (1954-) taught United States cultural, public, and environmental history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst between 1986 and 2024. A native of Philadelphia, he earned a BA from the University of Chicago (1976) and PhD from The Johns Hopkins University (1982). His research examines the interrelationship of historical consciousness and environmental perception in the US as represented in politics, culture, and the landscape. Among his publications are American Historical Pageantry: The Uses of Tradition in the Early Twentieth Century (1990); Sense of History: The Place of the Past in American Life (2001); “What’s ‘American’ about American Lieux de Mémoire?” (2008); (with Robert Paynter) “Du Bois in Great Barrington: The Promises and Pitfalls of a Boyhood Historic Site” (2012); “Place, Memory, and Climate Change” (2014); “The Changing Cape: Using History to Engage Coastal Residents in Community Conversations About Climate Change” (2017); “Practicing Heritage Justice: Helping Your Community Decide Which Historic Places To Protect From The Impact Of Climate Change (and Which to Let Go)” (2022); and “Laurance S. Rockefeller and the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission: Race, Recreation, and National Parks” (2022). Glassberg has also collaborated with a number of museums and national parks, including the W.E.B. Du Bois National Historical Landmark, the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Minnesota Historical Society, Boston Children’s Museum, Pinelands (N.J.) National Reserve, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, Springfield Armory National Historical Site, and the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Box 1. Glassberg before UMASS
Box 2. Glassberg California History Notes
Box 3. Consulting and Conference notes, other papers and writing (1996-2024)
Box 4. NPS and Landscape Conservation notes
Box 5. Glassberg’s Public History Program materials and local history
Box 6. New Jersey Pinelands research
Box 7. Pageantry Notes and photocopies
Box 8. Pageantry Notes and photocopies
Box 9. Pageantry Notecards
Box 10. Slides, town character notes
Box 11. Research notes for Sense of History
Box 12. Annual Reports and Publications
Box 13. Consulting, conferences, and other writing (1986-1995)

Gift of David Glassberg, 2024

Subjects

HistoryNatural history--CaliforniaNew Jersey--Pinelands National ReserveUnited States. National Park Service.

Contributors

David Glassberg

Related collections: Environment, Social change, UMass faculty, UMass history

Boughton, Fred W.

Fred W. Boughton Collection

1970-1985

4 boxes 6 linear feet

Call no.: MS 1252

Born in 1912 in Fargo, North Dakota, Fred W. Boughton was raised in Twin Falls, Idaho. He graduated from the University of Kansas during the Great Depression with a degree in chemical engineering. Unable to find a good job closer to home, he accepted a position at the Eastman Kodak company in Rochester, New York, an up-and-coming firm specializing in photography. At Kodak, he worked with a team that invented a transformative photo paper. Over the years, he rose to the position of Vice President. His career was only half the picture, however, in his spare time, Boughton was an artist. He began taking figure drawing classes at a local gallery, then moved onto watercolors of some of his favorite landscapes. Later, he delved into larger oil paintings in the abstract expressionist mode. Finally, he did a series of portraits of his family and other people, which captured individuals’ essence. Boughton’s grave rubbings were created mostly on family vacations to New England. He thought that these images were worth preserving for ages to come. When he and his wife retired to Florida, he became active in the local art community and was a volunteer docent at an art gallery. Boughton died in 1999; he made his art a work of life, and his life a work of art.

The Fred W. Boughton Collection consists of gravestone rubbings from New England, with an emphasis on Massachusetts, slides and photographs of tombstones, and research files created and collected during the 1970s-1980s.

Gift of Otto Laske, 2024.

Subjects

Cemeteries--New EnglandSepulchral monuments—New England

Types of material

PhotographsSlides

Related collections: Gravestones, Massachusetts, New England