ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #1005
DATES: 1971-1983
SIZE: 4 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The North Dakota Chapter of the National Organization of Women Records was deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Carol Jean Larson, Bismarck, North Dakota, on January 4, 1985 (Acc.#85-1348).
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
OGL#289, North Dakota Coordinating Council for the Equal
Rights Amendment Records
OGL#1308, National Abortion Rights Action League–ND Chapter Records
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was established in 1966 in Washington, D.C., by women attending the Third National Conference of the Commission on the Status of Women. Among NOW's 28 founders was its first president, Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique (1963). The purpose of NOW, as stated at its organizing conference on October 29, 1966, was “to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.” NOW has over 500,000 contributing members in all 50 states.
Efforts to establish a NOW chapter in North Dakota began in the early 1970s. Chapters in Grand Forks and Fargo were created by 1973, while Bismarck-Mandan was added in 1975. Other locations in North Dakota which have hosted chapters include: Bottineau, Dickinson, Devils Lake, Jamestown and Minot.
The North Dakota Chapter has been active concerning several issues, including: poverty, reproductive rights, affirmative action and Title IX, battered women, rape, and human rights. The North Dakota Chapter was also heavily involved with the successful passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Dakota in 1975.
The North Dakota Chapter of the National Organization for Women Records consist of correspondence, membership lists, by-laws, newspaper clippings, conference proceedings, financial information, and issues statements. The collection is divided into four series:
Series I: North Dakota NOW Council
Series II:Local NOW Chapters
Series III:NOW Regional Conferences
Series IV:National level–National Organization for Women
The material dates from 1972-1983.
Sub-series A: Records of the State Coordinator
Folder 1. Correspondence and minutes: 1973-1976
2. Correspondence and minutes: January 1977-October 1, 1977
3. Correspondence and minutes: October 10, 1977-February 16, 1978
4. Correspondence and minutes: February 17, 1978-May 1, 1978
5. Correspondence and minutes: May 5, 1978-May 31, 1978
6. Correspondence and minutes: August 1, 1978-October 29, 1978
7. Correspondence and minutes: November 9, 1978-January 26, 1979
8. Correspondence and minutes: February 2, 1979-April 20, 1979
9. Correspondence and minutes: April 21, 1979-December 31, 1979
10. Correspondence and minutes: January 22, 1980-September 4, 1980
11. Correspondence and minutes: September 5, 1980-August 28, 1981
12. Correspondence and minutes: August 29, 1981-November 13, 1981
13. Correspondence and miscellaneous: Fall 1982; January-March 1983
14. Membership lists: 1977-1980
15. Personal expense reimbursement forms: 1978-1981
Sub-series B: State Newsletter
16. State newsletter: 1975-1981
Sub-series C: NOW Issues
17. Displaced homemakers: 1970-1981
18. Women and poverty: 1975-1979
19. Human Rights Bill: 1977-June 10, 1978
20. Human Rights Bill: June 12, 1978-August 1978
21. Human Rights Bill: December 1978-1980
22. ERA and Rescission: 1972-1980
23. ERA extension: 1977-August 30, 1978
24. ERA literature: 1974-1981
Folder 1. Reproductive rights and the Human Life Amendment: 1977-1981
2. Reproductive rights and the Human Life Amendment: 1981
3. Compulsory pregnancy: 1979-1981
Sub-series D: Legislative Action
4. Bills, hearings and testimony: 1973-1979
5. Bills, hearings and testimony: January-March 1979
6. Surveys: 1979
7. Bills, hearings and testimony: 1980
8. Bills, hearings and testimony: 1980
9. Surveys, bills, hearings and testimony: 1981
10. Bills, hearings and testimony: 1981
11. Bills, hearings and testimony: 1981
12. Surveys and correspondence: 1982
13. Phone bank material: 1979-1983
Sub-series E: Media
14. Press releases: 1975-1979
15. Newspaper clippings: 1974-1981
Sub-series F: Other Organizations
16. North Dakota Commission on the Status of Women: 1976-1981
17. National Abortion Rights Action League: 1976, 1978-1979
18. North Dakota Centennial Advisory Council: 1978-1979
19. General miscellaneous: 1974-1979
20. General miscellaneous: 1979-1980
Sub-series G: Miscellaneous
21. Prairie poetry
22. Bismarck: 1974-1981
23. Bottineau: 1975-1978
24. Devils Lake: 1977-1980
25. Devils Lake: newspaper clippings, 1978
26. Devils Lake: newspaper clippings, 1979
27. Dickinson: 1972-1972, 1978
28. Fargo: 1971-1981
29. Grand Forks: 1972-1981
Folder 1. Jamestown: 1977-1981
2. Minot: 1975-1981
3. Valley City: 1978-1981
4. Correspondence, minutes and agendas: 1973-1979
5. Correspondence, minutes and agendas: 1980-1981
Sub-series A: Correspondence, conferences, literature and press releases
6. Correspondence, conferences, literature, and press releases: 1969-1975
7. Correspondence, conferences, literature, and press releases: 1975-1978
8. Correspondence, conferences, literature, and press releases: 1978-1979
Folder 1. Correspondence, conferences, literature, and press releases: 1979-
October 1980
2. Correspondence, conferences, literature, and press releases: October
1980-July 1982
Sub-series B: NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
3. Correspondence, literature and lawsuits: 1975-1978
4. Correspondence, literature and lawsuits: 1978-1979
5. Judge Callister case: 1979
6. Material from other states: Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Massachusetts
| Original donation | First addition: 1972-1981 |
| Second addition: 1976-1979 |
Return to: Women's Organizational Records
| Special Collections Home Page | Contact Special Collections | Chester Fritz Library Home Page |
|---|