Pam Elam papers
Abstract
This collection consists of paper materials, artifacts, photographic prints, a slide, a cassette tape, and a reel-to-reel audiotape formerly belonging to Pamela Elam. Elam is a feminist organizer who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1972 and a Juris Doctor degree from the UK College of Law in 1975.
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Pam Elam papers
- Date
- 1962 - 2004, bulk 1972 - 1978
- Extent
- 17.0 Cubic feet
- Preferred Citation
- 2004UA003: [identification of item], Pam Elam papers, University of Kentucky Archives.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Born and raised in Kentucky, Pam Elam started her public career as a feminist organizer at the age of 13 in the 1964 Kentucky State Speech festival, speaking on A Woman's Place in the United States. She has been organizing since that event.
- In Kentucky from 1970 - 1978, Pam organized a wide variety of feminist activities and helped found a number of women's groups. She helped coordinate legislative campaigns in the Kentucky General Assembly which resulted in the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, the creation of legal protections for battered women and rape victims, and the development of a Displaced Homemakers Program. She was honored to be selected to lead the slate of Kentucky Delegates to the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, and in 1978, she received an award for Dedicated Service to the Women of Kentucky from the Kentucky Women's Agenda Coalition. While in Kentucky, Pam was also employed as the only staff member of the Kentucky Commission on Women, a Staff Assistant to the Kentucky General Assembly's Interim Committee on Cities, and Executive Director of the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union.
- After obtaining a B.A. Degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law, Pam came to New York in 1978 to enter the Masters Program in Women's History at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville. While working as a teaching assistant for the Sarah Lawrence College Summer Institute on Women's History in 1979, Pam met Molly MacGregor, one of the Institute participants, and joined efforts to promote Women's History Week, later Month, recognized by federal and state governments. She has been a supporter of and volunteer for the National Women's History Project, a group founded by Ms. MacGregor.
- In 1980, Pam helped found the Congressional Union, Inc. (CU), an organization of historians and activists named in honor of the militant woman suffrage group created by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns in 1914. The new CU sought to revive the spirit of the suffragists in order to advance feminist issues and sponsored a series of non-violently militant acts of civil disobedience primarily at the White House. Scores of CU members were arrested during 1981 and 1982 while protesting the nation's failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Pam was arrested at the White House after one such demonstration in which CU members burned President Reagan in effigy for his opposition to women's equality just as in 1919 militant suffragists had burned President Wilson in effigy for his failure to support woman suffrage.
- After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1980, Pam went to work as a Legislative Aide to the New York City (NYC) Council where, among other tasks, she organized over one hundred hearings for the Committee on Women on issues ranging from the Feminization of Poverty, Teenage Pregnancy, and Sexual Harassment to Child Care, the Legal Needs of Battered Women, and Sex Equity in the Schools. She worked for the NYC Council for nine years.
- While at Sarah Lawrence College, Pam came out as a lesbian and soon started to focus her organizing work on issues of lesbian rights and lesbian visibility. She was active in the fight for the adoption of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Bill in the New York City Council. In 1984, she helped found Lesbians in Government, a group of women employed by federal, state, and municipal government. In 1986, she revived the National Organization for Women (NOW) - NYC Lesbian Rights Committee and in 1987 helped organize the first major conference on Lesbian Identity and Empowerment to be held in New York City in a number of years. Also in 1987, as a member of the Board of Directors of Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats, Pam organized forums on lesbian history and on the need for lesbians to define their own issues and political agenda. In addition, she helped found Lesbians United, a coalition of approximately 40 lesbian rights-related organizations.
- Pam has continued her organizing efforts for feminist causes by working with a wide variety of New York women's groups over the years, including the NOW, New York Women Against Rape and the New York State Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), to name only a few. A highlight of her organizing efforts was the creation of the first ever Presidential Candidates Forum on Women's Issues (attended in 1988 by Governor Michael Dukakis, Senator Albert Gore, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson) when she was Director of Special Projects for the New York State (NYS) - NWPC. In 1988, Pam was also honored by NYC-NOW with the Susan B. Anthony Award. In addition, she has been recognized in Who's Who of American Women. Pam has been active in many political campaigns, including those to elect Deborah Glick to the NYS Assembly and Tom Duane to the NYC Council.
- From 1989 to 1994, Pam worked as a political consultant and Deputy Campaign Manager for the campaigns of Elizabeth Holtzman and Andrew Stein and was Assistant Comptroller and Director of Community Relations for Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman. Since 1994, she has been employed as Associate Commissioner for Intergovernmental Relations and External Affairs at the New York City Department of Employment. She also helped with plans for a 1998 nationwide celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott in 1848.
- Pam has held many positions in the New York area of which here are a few: New York City Human Resources Administration, Deputy Commissioner for Intergovernmental Affairs - 1997 - 98; NYC Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Coordinator - 1998; New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane's office - Chief of Staff - 2004 - 2006. She continues to work for women's rights.
- Scope and Content
- This collection consists of paper materials, artifacts, photographic prints, a slide, a cassette tape, and a reel-to-reel audiotape formerly belonging to Pamela Elam. Elam is a feminist organizer who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 1972 and a Juris Doctor degree from the UK College of Law in 1975. The collection is divided into 79 series and 88 sub-series.
- The series are: Alliance for Displaced Homemakers; Artifacts; Biographies; Bumper Stickers; Business Cards; Bylaws; Catalogs; Central Kentucky Women's Political Caucus; Charts; Clippings; Committees; Conferences; Constitutions; Correspondence, General; Correspondence, Personal; Democratic National Convention; Directions; Directories; Envelopes; Equal Rights Amendment; Essays; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Guidelines; Handbooks; International Women's Year; Interviews; Invitations; Kentucky Civil Liberties Union; Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; Kentucky Commission on Women; Kentucky General Assembly; Kentucky Student Public Interest Research Group; Kentucky Women's Agenda Coalition; Kentucky Women's Political Caucus; Lexington Women's Center; Lexington Women's Political Caucus; Lists; Mailing Lists; Maps; Metropolitan Louisville Women's Political Caucus; National Organization for Women; National Women's Agenda Coalition; National Women's Political Caucus; Newsletters; Notes; Oversize; Pamphlets; Parliamentary Procedures; Petitions; Photographic Prints; Poems; Polls; Press Releases; Proposals; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Questionnaires; Rape Crisis Center; Rape Research; Regulations; Reports; Republican National Convention; Resources; Resumes; Rules; Slides; Southern Women's Conference; Speeches; Statements; Stickers; Talking Points; Testimonies; University of Kentucky Council on Women's Concerns; University of Kentucky Free University; University of Kentucky Students for McGovern; University of Kentucky Women's Law Caucus; and Women's Studies.
- The Alliance for Displaced Homemakers series is divided into nine sub-series: Biographies; Clippings; Correspondence; Fact Sheets; Mailing Lists; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Publications, Legal; and Resolutions.
- The Artifacts series has no sub-series but General.
- The Biographies series has no sub-series but General.
- The Bumper Stickers series has no sub-series but General.
- The Business Cards series has no sub-series but General.
- The Bylaws series has no sub-series but General.
- The Catalogs series has no sub-series but General.
- The Central Kentucky Women's Political Caucus series is divided into four sub-series: Bylaws, Correspondence, Flyers, and Newsletters.
- The Charts series has no sub-series but General.
- The Clippings series is divided into three sub-series: General, Elizabeth Holtzman, and Jean(ne) Little.
- The Committees series has no sub-series but General.
- The Conferences series has no sub-series but General.
- The Constitutions series has no sub-series but General.
- The General Correspondence series has no sub-series but General.
- The Personal Correspondence series has no sub-series but General.
- The Democratic National Convention series is divided into 40 sub-series: Agendas; Binders; Biographies; Books; Bylaws; Calendars; Charts; Checklists; Clippings; Correspondence; Envelopes; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Guidelines; Guides; Invitations; Lists; Lyrics; Mailing Lists; Maps; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Platforms; Polls; Programs; Proposals; Publications, General; Questionnaires; Reports; Resolutions; Roll-Calls; Rules; Speeches; Statements; Stickers; Talking Points; and Tickets.
- The Directions series has no sub-series but General.
- The Directories series has no sub-series but General.
- The Envelopes series has no sub-series but General.
- The Equal Rights Amendment series is divided into 21 sub-series: Appendices; Clippings; Conferences; Correspondence; Fact Sheets; Flyers; Guidelines; Lists; Mailing Lists; Miscellaneous; Newsletters; Pamphlets; Petitions; Press Releases; Proposals; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Roll-Calls; Speeches; Statements; and Stickers.
- The Essays series has no sub-series but General.
- The Fact Sheets series has no sub-series but General.
- The Financial Records series has no sub-series but General.
- The Flyers series has no sub-series but General.
- The Guidelines series has no sub-series but General.
- The Handbooks series has no sub-series but General.
- The International Women's Year series is divided into 36 sub-series: Biographies; Calendars; Catalogs; Clippings; Committee Assignments; Conferences; Correspondence; Envelopes; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Folders; Guidelines; Mailing Lists; Manuals; Maps; Meeting Agendas; Meeting Minutes; Meeting Roll-Calls; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Plans of Action; Press Releases; Programs; Proposals; Publications, General; Reports; Resolutions; Resources; Rules; Scripts; Speeches; Statements; Stationery; Stickers; and Workshops.
- The Interviews series has no sub-series but General.
- The Invitations series has no sub-series but General.
- The Kentucky Civil Liberties Union series is divided into seventeen sub-series: Correspondence; Directories; Flyers; Job Descriptions; Lists; Mailing Lists; Meeting Agendas; Newsletters; Notes; Personnel; Press Releases; Publications, General; Reports; Resources; Speeches; Stationery; and Workshops.
- The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights series is divided into thirteen sub-series: Clippings; Complaints; Correspondence; Fact Sheets; Guidelines; Manuals; Newsletters; Pamphlets; Press Releases; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Reports; and Statements.
- The Kentucky Commission on Women series is divided into seventeen sub-series: Bylaws; Clippings; Correspondence; Directories; Envelopes; Executive Orders; Guidelines; Membership Lists; Newsletters; Notes; Personnel; Press Releases; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Reports; Statements; and Stationery.
- The Kentucky General Assembly series is divided into fifteen sub-series: Amendments; Biographies; Clippings; Committee Assignments; Directories; Manuals; Maps; Notes; Proposals; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Reports; Roll-Calls; Speeches; and Visitors' Passes.
- The Kentucky Student Public Interest Research Group series has no sub-series but Fact Sheets.
- The Kentucky Women's Agenda Coalition series is divided into 37 sub-series: Awards; Bylaws; Clippings; Committee Assignments; Correspondence; Envelopes; Essays; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Job Descriptions; Lists; Logos; Mailing Lists; Maps; Meeting Agendas; Meeting Minutes; Meeting Roll-Calls; Membership Lists; Name Tags; Newsletters; Notes; Petitions; Poems; Press Releases; Proposals; Publications, Legal; Reservation Lists; Resolutions; Sign-up Sheets; Speeches; Statements; Stationery; Talking Points; Tally Sheets; Testimonies; and Tickets.
- The Kentucky Women's Political Caucus series is divided into 36 sub-series: Biographies; Bumper Stickers; Bylaws; Charts; Clippings; Committee Assignments; Conferences; Conventions; Correspondence; Envelopes; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Folders; Guidelines; Invitations; Job Descriptions; Mailing Lists; Maps; Meeting Agendas; Meeting Minutes; Meeting Roll-Calls; Membership Cards; Miscellaneous; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Proposals; Reports; Resolutions; Rules; Speeches; Statements; Stationery; Talking Points; and Tally Sheets.
- The Lexington Women's Center series is divided into nineteen sub-series: Biographies, Bumper Stickers, Bylaws, Charts, Clippings, Committee Assignments, Conferences, Conventions, Correspondence, Envelopes, Fact Sheets, Financial Records, Flyers, Folders, Guidelines, Invitations, Job Descriptions, Mailing Lists, Maps, Meeting Agendas, Meeting Minutes, Meeting Roll-Calls, Membership Cards, Miscellaneous, Newsletters, Notes, Pamphlets, Proposals, Reports, Resolutions, Rules, Speeches, Statements, Stationery, Talking Points, and Tally Sheets.
- The Lexington Women's Political Caucus series is divided into eighteen sub-series: Bylaws, Clippings, Committee Assignments, Correspondence, Envelopes, Fact Sheets, Financial Records, Flyers, Folders, Guidelines, Lists, Mailing Lists, Newsletters, Notes, Press Releases, Proposals, Reports, and Workshops.
- The Lists series has no sub-series but General.
- The Mailing Lists series has no sub-series but General.
- The Maps series has no sub-series but General.
- The Metropolitan Louisville Women's Political Caucus series is divided into seven sub-series: Correspondence, Invitations, Mailing Lists, Newsletters, Pamphlets, Resolutions, and Statements.
- The National Organization for Women series is divided into six sub-series: Correspondence, Invitations, Mailing Lists, Newsletters, Pamphlets, Resolutions, and Statements.
- The National Women's Agenda Coalition series is divided into seventeen sub-series: Bylaws, Conferences, Correspondence, Fact Sheets, Guidelines, Handbooks, Meeting Minutes, Membership Lists, Newsletters, Organizational Packets, Pamphlets, Plans of Action, Press Releases, Proclamations, Questionnaires, Resources, and Statements.
- The National Women's Political Caucus series is divided into 34 sub-series: Binders; Bylaws; Catalogs; Charts; Clippings; Committee Assignments; Conferences; Conventions; Correspondence; Envelopes; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Guidelines; Handbooks; Lists; Mailing Lists; Maps; Meeting Agendas; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Planks; Press Releases; Programs; Proposals; Publications, General; Reports; Resolutions; Rules; Statements; Tickets; and Workshops.
- The Newsletters series has no sub-series but General.
- The Notes series has no sub-series but General.
- The Oversize series is divided into two sub-series: Broadsides and Miscellaneous.
- The Pamphlets series has no sub-series but General.
- The Parliamentary Procedures series has no sub-series but General.
- The Petitions series has no sub-series but General.
- The Photographic Prints series has no sub-series but General.
- The Poems series has no sub-series but General.
- The Polls series has no sub-series but General.
- The Press Releases series has no sub-series but General.
- The Proposals series has no sub-series but General.
- The General Publications series has no sub-series but General.
- The Legal Publications series has no sub-series but General.
- The Questionnaires series has no sub-series but General.
- The Rape Crisis Center series is divided into eight sub-series: Calendars, Cassette Tapes, Clippings, Fact Sheets, Newsletters, Pamphlets, Press Releases, and Questionnaires.
- The Rape Research series is divided into fourteen sub-series: Appendices; Clippings; Correspondence; Envelopes; Essays; Flyers; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Proposals; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; and Reports.
- The Regulations series has no sub-series but General.
- The Reports series has no sub-series but General.
- The Republican National Convention series is divided into six sub-series: Clippings; Guidelines; Newsletters; Publications, General; Reports; and Rules.
- The Resources series has no sub-series but General.
- The Resumes series has no sub-series but General.
- The Rules series has no sub-series but General.
- The Slides series has no sub-series but General.
- The Southern Women's Conference series is divided into nine sub-series: Agendas, Binders, Directories, Envelopes, Guidelines, Miscellaneous, Name Tags, Notes, and Stationery.
- The Speeches series has no sub-series but General.
- The Statements series has no sub-series but General.
- The Stickers series has no sub-series but General.
- The Talking Points series has no sub-series but General.
- The Testimonies series has no sub-series but General.
- The University of Kentucky Council on Women's Concerns series is divided into 24 sub-series: Bylaws; Calendars; Clippings; Complaints; Conferences; Correspondence; Essays; Financial Records; Flyers; Guides; Mailing Lists; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Pamphlets; Petitions; Press Releases; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Radio Program; Reports; Speeches; Statements; Stickers; and Workshops.
- The University of Kentucky Free University series is divided into two sub-series: Clippings and Flyers.
- The University of Kentucky Students for McGovern series is divided into 24 sub-series: Awards; Biographies; Bumper Stickers; Clippings; Constitutions; Correspondence; Envelopes; Fact Sheets; Financial Records; Flyers; Mailing Lists; Manuals; Meeting Minutes; Newsletters; Notes; Pamphlets; Press Releases; Publications, General; Publications, Legal; Speeches; Statements; Talking Points; Volunteer Applications; and Workshops.
- The University of Kentucky Women's Law Caucus series is divided into six sub-series: Clippings, Conferences, Correspondence, Flyers, Invitations, and Notes.
- The Women's Studies series is divided into six sub-series: Clippings, Conferences, Correspondence, Flyers, Invitations, and Notes.
- The date span of the collection is 1962 - 2004, bulk 1972 - 1978. Approximate dates are denoted by square brackets, and items not dated are marked "n.d".
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- This collection is comprised of paper materials, artifacts, photographic prints, a slide, a cassette tape, and a reel-to-reel audio tape which were donated to the University Archives and Records Program. Materials are entirely in English. It is open for research in accordance with the Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870-884).
- Use Restrictions
- Copyright has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky.