Edith R. White Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
Old Dominion University
3023 Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library
Old Dominion University
4427 Hampton Blvd
Norfolk, VA 23529
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Jessica Ritchie
Phone: (757) 683-4483
Fax: (757) 683-5954
Restrictions:

Open to researchers without restrictions.

Terms of access:

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Edith R. White Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
4.80 Linear Feet and 3 Holinger document cases and 3 oversize boxes boxes
Creator:
White, Edith R. (1923-)
Abstract:
This collection contains of a variety of documents relating to women's activism and educational activity in the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], Edith R. White Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The Edith R. White collection contains of a variety of documents relating to women's activism and educational activity in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. Some of the organizational materials contained in the collection include the Fortnightly Study Club, Women's Council for Interracial Cooperation, and the Norfolk Story League.

An oral history interview with Edith R. White can be fournd in the Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections.

Biographical / historical:

Edith R. White was born in New Jersey in November 4, 1923. Upon graduating from Vassar College, she became a member of the U.S. Navy's WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. For her first operation with WAVES, she trained in cryptography, specifically breaking Japanese codes, and worked in Washington DC. Her second appointment was at Sampson Hospital, a tuberculosis hospital in New York, where she met her husband, Forrest. Shortly after their marriage, they moved first to California for some time, bringing their first child into the world, then to Richmond where Edith gave birth to another child, thenceforth moving to, and settling in Norfolk until this day.

Norfolk had a vastly different political setting than Edith's previous residences. There were on-going issues not only involving racial segregation, but also women's rights. Edith previously had black officers in the Navy and black friends in college, and she believed that this was no way for anyone to live, let alone her children. Being the natural born fighter for civil rights that she was, Edith decided to get involved with as many activist groups that she could. Such groups were the League of Women Voters, Women's Interracial Council, American Association of University Women, and the Norfolk Committee for Public Schools, the latter of which Forrest White would become president.

Note written by James Detterman

Acquisition information:

Edith R. White

Gift. Accession #A2010-20

Processing information:

The finding aid was created by James Detterman in February 2014.

Arrangement:

The collection is organized into four series: Series I: The Fortnightly Study Club; Series II: Women of Norfolk; Series III: Norfolk Story League; and Series IV: Other Organizations.

Accruals:

An addition to the collection was received in January 2016.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard