Dorothy Sucher Collection
Abstract
Publications, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, course syllabi, and reports collected by Dorothy Sucher, an active member of local women's organizations, documenting the women's movement of the mid-to-late 1970s in Maryland. Local organizations represented include the Washington Area Women's Center, the Women's Equity Action League, the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, Marylanders for the Right to Choose, and the National Abortion Rights League (NARAL). Topics covered include feminist press, feminist theater, women in business, women in sports, abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Important Information for Users of the Collection
This collection is open for research.
Dorothy Sucher Collection, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
This collection is PROCESSED.
Historical Note
Dorothy Sucher was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. She attended Brooklyn College, receiving a B. A. in English in 1954, and continued her studies at Columbia University from 1955 through 1956. She received an M. M. H. (Master of Mental Health) from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1975. Sucher worked as a psychotherapist from 1975 through 1985 and was very active in the women's movement in Maryland in the 1970s. She established and led the Consciousness Raising Program of the Northern Prince George's County Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1977 to 1980. In 1978 she became NOW's Maryland Consciousness Raising Coordinator and expanded the program to other counties in the state. She led consciousness raising (CR) groups, trained CR leaders, and developed a packet of readings for CR leaders that was used throughout the Mid-Atlantic region of NOW. She and her husband, Joseph Sucher, a physics professor at the University of Maryland, whom she married in 1952, served jointly as delegates to the NOW State Council for several years.
A mystery writer, Sucher served four years in the late 1980s as treasurer of Sisters in Crime, an international organization formed to gain recognition for women mystery writers. She also founded the group's Mid-Atlantic chapter. Sucher taught creative writing at Georgetown University, Duke University, and the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Her published works include the mystery novels Dead Men Don't Give Seminars and Dead Men Don't Marry and a book of personal essays entitled The Invisible Garden.
From 1957 to 2001, Sucher lived in Greenbelt, Maryland, where she raised four children and was active in many community organizations. She was the "founding mother" of the Greenbelt Writers Group and spearheaded the formation of the Greenbelt Museum. She also served as editor, reporter, and columnist for the Greenbelt News Review for 50 years.
In 1984, she and her husband began spending six months each year in Cabot, Vermont, where she renovated an old farmhouse and created the garden described in her book, The Invisible Garden. At the age of seventy, she returned to an early love, art, which she had studied in her youth, becoming an accomplished watercolorist who exhibited and sold her landscapes and flower paintings. Dorothy Sucher continues to spend the remaining half of the year in College Park, Maryland.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Dorothy Sucher Collection consists of publications, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, course syllabi, and reports collected by Dorothy Sucher, an active member of local women's organizations, documenting the women's movement of the mid to late 1970s in Maryland. The collection spans the years 1970 through 1980, with the bulk of the material dating between 1977 through 1980. Local organizations represented include the Washington Area Women's Center, the Women's Equity Action League, the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, Marylanders for the Right to Choose, and the National Abortion Rights League (NARAL). Topics covered include feminist press, feminist theater, women in business, women in sports, abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Custodial History and Acquisition Information
Dorothy Sucher donated her collection of women's movement materials to the University of Maryland Libraries in 1996 and 1999. Sucher donated memorabilia and additional documents in 2005.
Processing Information
Processed by Jennie A. Levine, May 2004. Addendum Processed by Lauren Benè, March 2005.
Newsletters and other publications were grouped together and placed in chronological order. The subject files had previously been separated from the publication materials. Newsprint clippings were photocopied, and oversized publications were unfolded and placed in an oversized box. Other materials were placed in acid-free folders in acid-free boxes.
EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Jennie A. Levine.
Arrangement of Collection
The Dorothy Sucher Collection is arranged in two series:
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series 1: Publications, 1974-1980 (2.75 linear feet)
This series consists of newsletters and journals pertaining to women's issues. Publications originate from national organizations, such as the National Women's Political Caucus and the National Abortion Rights League (NARAL), and local groups, such as the Washington Area Women's Center, the Maryland Commission for Women, and Marylanders Right to Choose. In addition, issues of several feminist newspapers appear in the collection, including Majority Report: The Women's Newspaper and the Women's Political Times.
Arrangement is alphabetical by organization/title of publication and then chronological.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interdepartmental Task Force on Women -- White House News on Women, 1979-1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Maryland Commission for Women -- Maryland Women, 1979-1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
| Marylanders for the Right to Choose -- MRC Newsletter, January 1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| National Abortion Rights League (NARAL) -- Newsletter, 1978 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| National Abortion Rights League (NARAL) -- Newsletter, January 1979-February 1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
| National Women's Political Caucus -- Quarterly Reports, 1977 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 6 | |
| Paid My Dues: Journal of Women and Music, 1977-1978 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 7 | |
| Prince George's Community College Women's Education Exchange -- WE [Newsletter], 1978-1979 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 8 | |
| Prince George's Women's Political Caucus (PGWPC) -- The Single Standard, 1976-1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 9 | |
| Washington Area Women's Center -- In Our Own Write, 1977-1978 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 10 | |
| Washington Area Women's Center -- In Our Own Write, 1979-1980 | series 1 | box 1 | folder 11 | |
| Washington Women's Arts Center -- WMAC News, 1978-1979 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 1 | |
| Washington Area Women's Studies -- From the Apple to the Archive, 1976-1980 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 2 | |
| Washington Women's News Service -- Spokeswoman, December 1976-December 1978 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 3 | |
| Washington Women's News Service -- Spokeswoman, 1979 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 4 | |
| Washington Women's News Service -- Spokeswoman, 1980 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 5 | |
| Women in German, 1974-1975 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 6 | |
| Women Letter Carrier's Report, 1977 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 7 | |
| Women's Center and Referral Service -- [Newsletter], 1979-1980 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 8 | |
| Women's Equity Action League (WEAL) -- Newsletter, 1974-1978 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 9 | |
| Women's Equity Action League (WEAL) -- Washington Report, 1974-1981 | series 1 | box 2 | folder 10 | |
| Women's Equity Action League (WEAL) Educational and Legal Defense Fund -- In the Running, 1978-1980 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 1 | |
| Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press -- Media Report to Women, 1977-1978 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 2 | |
| Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press -- Media Report to Women, 1979 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 3 | |
| Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press -- Media Report to Women, 1980 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 4 | |
| Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press -- Media Report to Women -- Index/Directory, 1979 | series 1 | box 3 | folder 5 | |
| YWCA Women's Center -- Opus, undated | series 1 | box 3 | folder 6 | |
| Majority Report: The Women's Newspaper (Oversize), 1976-1977 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 1 | |
| Off Our Backs (Oversize), 1977-1979 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 2 | |
| Women's Political Times (Oversize), 1977-1979 | series 1 | box 4 | folder 3 | |
Series 2: Subject Files, 1971-1980 (1.25 linear feet)
This series consists of files pertaining to a variety of topics of interest to women, including abortion, education, athletics and Title IX, the Equal Rights Amendment, and feminist press and theater. Included in the files are pamphlets, newspaper and magazine clippings, mailings, essays, and ephemera documenting the women's movement in the 1970s. The majority of the material is from local sources in the Washington, D. C., suburban area. Also included are files relating to activities of specific organizations, such as the Washington Women's Art Center and the Women's Equity Action League, both of whose newsletters are located in Series I.
Arrangement is alphabetical by folder heading.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Abortion], 1979-1980 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 1 | |
| Alexandria Commission on the Status of Women, July 1976 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 2 | |
| D. C. Feminist Writers' Guild, 1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 3 | |
| Education, 1977 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 4 | |
| [ERA - Equal Rights Amendment], 1977-1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 5 | |
| Feminism and Business, 1978-1980 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 6 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- Guidelines to Feminist Consciousness Raising , 1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 7 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- PG-CR Committee, 1977-1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 8 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- [expenses], 1977-1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 9 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- CR Maryland, 1977-1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 10 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- [CR chapters], 1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 11 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- Leadership Training , 1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 12 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- Lectures, Demos, Ideas, 1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 13 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- [contact information, confidential telephone encounters], 1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 14 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- Waiting list, 1977-1979 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 15 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- CR Groups, 1978 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 16 | |
| Feminist Consciousness Raising, National Organization of Women (NOW) -- NPG NOW Task Forces, 1970-1980 and undated | series 2 | box 1 | folder 17 | |
| Feminist Pamphlets, 1970-1980 and undated | series 2 | box 1 | folder 18 | |
| Feminist Pamphlets, 1970-1980 and undated | series 2 | box 1 | folder 19 | |
| Feminist Pamphlets, 1977-1980 | series 2 | box 1 | folder 20 | |
| Feminist Presses, 1977-1979 and undated | series 2 | box 1 | folder 21 | |
| Feminist Theater, 1974-1978 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 1 | |
| Magazines, 1979-1980 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 2 | |
| Maryland Commission for Women, June 1977 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 3 | |
| Maryland Women's Conference, Johns Hopkins, 1976, 1979 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 4 | |
| Paid My Dues: Journal of Women and Music, 1971 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 5 | |
| Position of Women in the Social Order (Syllabus), 1975 and undated | series 2 | box 2 | folder 6 | |
| Prince George's County, 1975 and undated | series 2 | box 2 | folder 7 | |
| Prince George's County Community College, Syllabus, Women in Literature, 1979 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 8 | |
| Project on the Status and Education of Women: A Survey of Research Concerns on Women's Issues, 1975 | series 2 | box 2 | folder 9 | |
| Title IX, undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 1 | |
| University of Wisconsin Women's Studies Program, 1977 and undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 2 | |
| Washington Women's Art Center, 1977-1978 and undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 3 | |
| Women and Medicine, 1978-1980 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 4 | |
| Women's Campaign Fund, 1977 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 5 | |
| Women's Equity Action League (WEAL), 1977-1978 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 6 | |
| Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press, 1978-1980 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 7 | |
| Women's Movement -- [Index to Article Collection ], Udated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 8 | |
| Women's Movement -- Psychology, 1968-1979 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 9 | |
| Women's Movement -- Marriage, 1968-1971 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 10 | |
| Women's Movement -- Women as a Minority Group, 1951-1972 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 11 | |
| Women's Movement -- Men's Lib, 1970 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 12 | |
| Women's Movement -- Legal, Undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 13 | |
| Women's Movement -- Politics of the Women's Movement, 1970-1973 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 14 | |
| Women's Movement -- Black Women, 1971 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 15 | |
| Women's Movement -- [Women and Sports], 1974 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 16 | |
| Women's Movement -- Professional Women, 1969-1972 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 17 | |
| Women's Movement -- Religion, 1971 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 18 | |
| Women's Movement -- Utopia, 1970 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 19 | |
| Women's Movement -- [Women and Men], 1972 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 20 | |
| Women's Movement -- General, 1969, undated | series 2 | box 3 | folder 21 | |
| Women's Music, 1977-1978 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 22 | |
| Women's Sports, 1977-1979 | series 2 | box 3 | folder 23 | |
Series 3: Memorabilia, 1978 and undated (36 items)
This series consists of 36 pieces of memorabilia Dorothy Sucher collected from various women's movement marches and gatherings, including the ERA March on Washington and NOW. Included in the series are sashes from marches, pins, pendants, nametags, and slogan buttons. The items were divided into eleven groupings and transferred to the Memorabilia Collection and are filed under Memorabilia #1800-1810.
| Description | Series | Box / Reel | Folder / Frame | Item | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memorabilia, 1978 and undated | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | ||
| Gold ribbon sashes from ERA March on Washington. Purple text; "National ERA March '78". (2 items), 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1800 | |
| Gold colored metal lapel pins. 2 have the text, "NOW". One is small and one is large. Third pin has the text, "ERA". (3 items), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1801 | |
| Pewter colored pendant on a chain. Pendant is oval with text, "Failure is Impossible 1923-1979" and the symbol of a woman in a toga and laurel wreath holding an American flag and a scroll with "ERA" on it. (1 item ), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1802 | |
| Pewter colored pendant without a chain. Pendant is the symbol of Equal Rights for Women. It contains no text. (1 item ), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1803 | |
| Laminated black and white name tag with text, "NOW National Organization for Women Dorothy Sucher". Has a pin on the back. (1 item ), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1804 | |
| Buttons connected with ERA. Three buttons are green with white text, "ERA YES". Two are the same size with one slightly smaller. Fourth button is white with a green map of the United States depicting certain states. It contains the text, "We're All From an Unratified Country ERA YES". (4 items), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1805 | |
| Buttons connected with Equal Rights for Women. Button 1 contains symbol of Equal Rights for Women (the equals sign in the symbol for women/female) in red on a white background. Button 2 contains the symbol of Equal Rights for Women in black on a white background. Button 3 contains the symbol of a fist in the symbol of women/female in red on a white background. (3 items), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1806 | |
| Button connected with ERA March on Washington. Purple text, "ERA March on Washington July 9, 1978", on a white background. (1 item ), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1807 | |
| Buttons with slogans dealing with women's rights. Button 1 text; "Certified Role Model". Button 2 text; "it's a Mitzvah to be a Jewish Mother". Button 3 text; "Good Women Improve with Age". Button 4 text; "Have you thanked a Woman Today?" Button 5 text; "Mothers Need Love too". Button 6 text; "Libber Lover", also contains symbol of a heart with an arrow through it. Button 7 text; "mom is ON STRIKE today". Button 8 text; Bed & Board is not Enough". Button 9 text; "today is MOM's DAY OFF". Button 10 text; "Managerial Woman". (10 items), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1808 | |
| Buttons connected with NOW. Button 1 text; "NOW Economic Campaign Boycott Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, S. Carolina, Oklahoma, S. Carolina, Utah, Virginia." Green and black text on white background. Button 2 text; "Ellie" in black on green background. "Ellie" is Eleanor Smeal then running for NOW president. Button 3 text; "Maryland NOW National Organization for Women" in black text on yellow background. (3 items), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1809 | |
| Random buttons without obvious group affiliation. Button 1 text; "CR Groupie." Button 2 has the picture of a coat hanger. Button 3 text; "Adam was a Ruff Draft." Button 4 text; "Keep your Laws off my Body." Button 5 text; "W76 Win With Women." Button 6 text; "How Dare You Presume I'd Rather Be thin?" Button 7 text;" Read...Women: A Feminist Perspective." Has a picture of a woman's face and a doll. (7 items ), circa 1978 | series 3 | box 1 | folder 1 | item 1810 | |
Related Material
The Archives and Manuscripts Department of the University of Maryland Libraries holds a number of collections relating to women in suburban Washington, D. C. A select listing follows:
- Archives of the American Association of University Women, Maryland Division
- Archives of the American Association of University Women, College Park Branch
- Papers of Georgia K. Benjamin
- Papers of Mary Boergers
- Papers of Esther P. Gelman
- Papers of Ann R. Hull
- Archives of the League of Women Voters of Maryland
- Archives of the League of Women Voters of Prince George's County
- Archives of the Maryland Extension Homemakers Council
- Archives of the Maryland Federation of Business and Professional Women, Inc.
- Archives of the Maryland Home Economics Association
- Papers of Pauline Menes
- Papers of Constance A. Morella
- Archives of the National Organization for Women, Maryland Chapter
- Archives of the National Women's Studies Association
- Papers of Jo-Ann Orlinsky
- Archives of the Women's Action Coalition of Prince George's County
- Women's Studies Pamphlet Collection
In addition, the University of Maryland maintains a Women's Studies Database, which may be located at http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/(May 2004). The University of Maryland Libraries also holds Majority Report: The Women's Newspaper on microfilm (location UMCP McKeldin Library Periodicals Rm - Microfilm AN3.A1 U53 roll 302) and Off Our Backs (location UMCP McKeldin Library Periodicals Rm - Microfilm AN3.A1 U53 reels 64, 84, 110, 139, 166).
For other related archival and manuscript collections, please see the following subject guides.
Selected Search Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the University of Maryland Libraries' Catalog. Researchers desiring related materials about these topics, names, or places may search the Catalog using these headings.
Subjects
- Businesswomen -- Archival resources
- Feminism -- Archival resources
- Feminists -- Maryland -- Archives
- Feminist theater -- Archival resources
- Pro-choice movement -- Archival resources
- Women's rights -- Archival resources
Names (Added Entries)
- Marylanders for the Right to Choose
- National Abortion Rights Action League
- Sucher, Dorothy
- Washington Area Women's Center
- Women's Equity Action League
- Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press