Materials in this series include information packets with brochures, fact sheets, pamphlets, and guides; subject files with research materials and news clippings; memorandum and handwritten notes; meeting minutes and agendas; correspondence; event flyers and posters; press releases; directories, bylaws, and committee specific administrative documents; and conference materials. Specific information about committees and the materials have been provided, when available.
The Ad Hoc Committees consist of Artists, Writers, and Musicians; Sports; Women and Health; Women and Poverty; the Women and Volunteerism Task Force; and XYZ. Materials related to these committees consist of press releases, promotional statements, correspondence, event flyers, questionnaires, resources, fact sheets, and announcements.
Arts Committee: This committee's goal was to promote women in the fine and performing arts. The group's members were painters, sculptors, actors, poets, and artists of other media. Materials related to this committee include correspondence, minutes, schedules, posters, flyers, and a telephone tree. (See also the Non Print (NP) Collection, which includes a photo reproduction of an ink wash "Babbling Brook" (1966) by Zalmar, the first committee chair, and an 8" x 10" poster for a NOW gala in 1974, featuring Alice Neel's well-known portrait of Linda Nochlin and her daughter. NP folder contains a photograph and numerous flyers and programs by and about women in the arts.)
Bicentennial Committee: The goal of this committee was to celebrate the history of women and their contributions to American history during America's bicentennial in 1975. Materials related to this committee include correspondence, notes, and research materials.
Bylaws Committee: This committee was formed to review the bylaws amendment process. Materials related to this committee include notes, copies of NOW-NYC bylaws, proposals for amendments to the bylaws, memorandum, minutes, and draft bylaws.
Campaign 2004 Committee: This committee was anti-President George W. Bush and focused on the 2004 Presidential election. Materials related to this committee include fact sheets and event flyers.
Child Care Committee: From 1969 to 1971, this committee was run as a National Task Force and in 1971, it became the NOW-New York Child Care Committee. Materials related to this committee include correspondence, reports, event flyers, a newsletter, position statements, and speeches.
Consciousness Raising Committee: This committee organized consciousness raising groups to provide a supportive atmosphere for women to discover their common bonds; and to learn more about themselves and each other. Materials related to this committee include brochures, clippings, correspondence, descriptive literature, event flyers, meeting minutes, memorandum, reports, and members lists.
Domestic Relations Committee: Materials related to this committee include a membership directory, notes, press releases, correspondence, agendas, fact sheets, memorandums, resources, and event flyers.
Education Committee: In 1970, this committee protested gender stereotypes on the children's television show Sesame Street by threatening to boycott the show's sponsor, General Foods, and won. The bulk of the materials from 1971 consists of surveys about educational opportunities for girls and boys in the New York City junior high and high schools, which resulted in the widely-circulated "Report on Sex Bias in the Public Schools." This committee also monitored the enforcement of Title IX, outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions and reviewed the New York City school system's progress in eliminating discrimination. Most of the materials from 1972 focus on NOW-NYC's Education Action Conference. Other materials related to this committee include agendas, brochures, correspondence, legal documents, minutes, reports, speakers' lists, bibliographies, event flyers, press releases, memorandum, subject files, and surveys.
Employment Committee: In 1972, the Employment Committee charged the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Clairol, and General Mills of discriminatory hiring practices and correspondence documenting these allegations appear in this committee's folders. In 1973, this committee produced the "Report on Sex Discrimination in Employment Agencies"; and acted as an employment agency for its members and received numerous job listings from corporations. Materials related to this committee include subject files, clippings, correspondence, depositions, press releases, meeting announcements, employment resources, event flyers, fact sheets, job postings, and legislation about sex discrimination in the work place.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) Task Force: This committee began as an ad-hoc committee in 1969 and soon thereafter became a subcommittee of the Legislative and Political Affairs Committee. In 1977, it became a standing committee. Files related to this committee contain materials on NOW-NYC's assistance to the Illinois chapter in its efforts towards ratification in the state legislature; copies of the 1980 publication "ERA Impact Clearinghouse," which lists state court cases relevant to the ratification struggle. Between 1981-1982, NOW-NYC conducted two large-scale assistance efforts: the Equality Riders Campaign that sent organizers to other states and the Message Brigade Campaign, which inundated legislators with pro-ERA letters. Other materials related to this committee include agendas, meeting minutes, cartoons, clippings, correspondence, press releases, event flyers, fact sheets, resources about the ERA, pamphlets, reports, schedules, Senate hearing transcripts, and voting records. (See also the NP Collection for business-size cards with the Equal Rights Amendment on them, and an "E.R.A. YES" bumper sticker.)
Finance Committee: Materials related to this committee include annual reports, budgets, correspondence, agendas, minutes, fact sheets, policy statements, and financial resources.
Friends of NOW-NYC: This committee included women in business, advertising, the nonprofit sector, education, and the arts who experienced successes measured by their earnings and level of responsibility. Members of this group were expected to contribute a minimum yearly contribution of $100 and were expected to participate in various NOW-NYC events as sources of professional advice. Materials related to this committee include mission statements, questionnaires, blank membership forms, press releases, memorandum, event flyers, and notes.
Fundraising Committee: The flyers for many early NOW-NYC events appear in these folders including 1971's Women's Dance Project, the 5th Anniversary Christmas Party, and the NOW Boutique through which the committee sold clothing and cosmetics to raise money. Events from 1972 include the celebration of Susan B. Anthony's birthday and in 1973, NOW-NYC honored Sylvia Plath with a performance of her poetry entitled, "A Difficult Borning." Other materials related to this committee include commercial products, catalogues of cosmetics the committee used for the NOW-Boutique/Fashion Show, membership information, and promotional ideas.
Image of Women Committee: In 1971, this committee was active in its campaign to reform advertising that was deemed offensive to women. The committee corresponded with numerous advertising agencies and corporations, namely National Airlines, whose campaign, "I'm Cheryl. Fly Me," incensed NOW committee members. In 1972, this committee produced reports recommending better reporting on women in the New York Times and the New York Daily New. On February 12, 1979, this committee renamed itself the Media Reform Committee. Materials related to these committees include print advertisements, brochures, clippings, correspondence, greeting cards, press releases, surveys, subject files, event flyers, fact sheets, reports, and speeches.
Legislative Action Workers (L.A.W.) Committee: Materials related to this committee include agendas and committee goals.
Legislative and Political Affairs Committee: This committee was formed in November 1968. Topics found within these folders include the annual State Lobby Day in Albany, New York in 1979 and 1982; the 1971 report, "Women and the City: How to Use the Machinery"; and information about NOW's legal action against the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), some of which is included in the Employment Committee files. Other materials include correspondence; legal documents; policy and position statements; press kits and press releases; legislative bills and priorities; reports; transcripts; event flyers; and voting records.
Lesbian Rights Committee: Materials related to this committee include correspondence, proposed civil laws, committee proposals, memorandum, meeting minutes, press releases, reports, event flyers, legislative bills, and a consciousness-raising kit.
Lesbian Sexuality Committee: Materials related to this committee include event flyers.
Marriage and Divorce Committee: This committee was formed in 1968 and later became the Family Relations Committee in 1978. This committee offered legal advice and referrals to women experiencing divorces. The committee also worked to change existing divorce laws that placed women at a disadvantage in the courtroom. This committee organized the 1974 NOW State Conference on Marriage and Divorce; and produced the report, "The Family Court: How It Is, But Not How It Should Be." Materials related to this committee include subject files, clippings, correspondence, event flyers, annotated copies of legislative bills, press releases, legal resources, legal documents, transcriptions, and voting records.
Membership Committee: Materials include brochures, correspondence, membership forms, membership lists, fact sheets, memorandum, committee guidelines, and requests for information about NOW-NYC.
Minority Women's Issues Committee: The two main goals of this committee were to eliminate racism within the feminist movement; and to bring minority women and men into the feminist movement fighting both sexism and racism. Materials related to this committee include correspondence, meeting minutes, subject files, notes, memorandum, press releases, reports, recommendations, event flyers, and resources.
Multicultural Affairs Committee: The main goals of this committee was to work in coalition with other community organizations within the various cultures of the city; to recruit for ethnic and cultural diversity within NOW; to increase the visibility of Women of Color within NOW and in general; and to work in coalition with other committees within NOW. Materials related to this committee include committee plans and event flyers.
Newspaper Committee: This committee was responsible for writing, editing, and producing NOW-NYC's monthly chapter newspaper, The NOW York Woman. Materials related to this committee include directories, correspondence, draft articles, and memorandum.
NOW-NYC Issues Committee: Materials related to this committee include event flyers.
Over-45 Committee: In 1971, when this committee was first formed, the main focus was employment discrimination. This committee worked closely with another group, the Older Women's Liberation (OWL), and eventually, OWL published Volume 1, Number 2 of the Over-45 Committee's newsletter, "Prime Time." Although the 1972 conference, "OWL Speaks Out for Change for All Women," bears OWL's name, NOW-NYC was an active participant of the conference. The committee later changed its name to the Midlife and Older Women's Issues Committee and sponsored the conference, "A Time for Changes and Choices: A Conference for Midlife and Older Women." Materials related to these committees include brochures, correspondence, directories, fact sheets, announcements, agendas, meeting minutes, subject files, conference materials, and event flyers.
Program Committee: Materials related to this committee include minutes from a meeting of thirty black women who gathered to discuss their issues as black women in the feminist movement. At this meeting, they formed the Program Committee.
Provisional Committee on Domestic Violence: The goal of this committee was to act as an action committee responding to domestic violence impacting victims residing in New York City and NOW-NYC. Materials related to this committee include official statements, research materials, memorandums, correspondence, legislative bills, proposals, and meeting minutes.
Psychology and Psychotherapy Committee: This committee met to discuss problems of female psychotherapy (the committee's term) and to facilitate the development of feminist psychological theories. The committee operated a psychotherapy referral service for its members and certain meetings were set aside for the discussion of personal psychotherapy experiences. In 1978, this group renamed itself the Psychology Committee and published the sixteen-page booklet, "A Consumer's Guide to Nonsexist Therapy." Materials related to this committee include correspondence, mission statements, progress reports, meeting minutes, resources, and survey results.
Public Relations Committee: This committee produced press releases for committee actions, for outside press, and the NOW newsletter. Materials related to this committee include correspondence; fact sheets; press releases, press kits, and a press handbook; lists of press contacts; clippings; and layouts for brochures and flyers.
Rape Prevention Committee: In 1973, this committee successfully helped to repeal New York State's corroboration requirement under which a rape victim had to prove through third-person evidence that she was raped. On behalf of the committee, Mary Vasiliades testified before the state legislature in November 1973 and the committee sent petitions to the New York governor. Notable materials related to this committee include a ten-page report by 1974 coordinator Mary Scott Welch upon leaving her position; correspondence between the 1976 committee coordinator Luba Fineson Zimmermann and Justice Edward Greenfield of the New York State Supreme Court over his decision in the Martin Evans rape trial; the committee's newsletter, "Rape Line," which was renamed "The Rape Issue" on January 15, 1975; and the yearly typed files for this committee with commentary by Mary Scott Welch that often addressed the then-current coordinator, Yolanda Bako, in the form of suggestions. Materials related to this committee include brochures, clippings, subject files, correspondence, event flyers, legislative bills, meeting minutes, newsletters, petitions, press releases, reports, resolutions. (See also the NP Collection, which includes material on the "Focus 15" slide show, including 5 slides, a "Focus 15" name tag, and numerous cassettes of the WBAI rape conference in 1975 and other shows.)
Sex Education, Contraception, and Abortion Committee: This committee was founded in 1969 and underwent two name changes. Between 1971-1975, the committee was known as the Reproduction and Its Control Committee and in 1976, the committee changed its name to the Reproductive Rights Committee. This committee worked to repeal all abortion-related laws and make contraception widely available. Beginning in 1971, this committee began working with larger coalitions that formed to fight and repeal restrictive abortion legislation such as the Women's National Abortion Action Coalition (WONAAC). In 1973, the committee demonstrated for abortion and contraception at the annual convention of the American Medical Association. This committee continued to organize and participate in demonstrations to support abortion rights annually from 1979 to 1982. In 1981, they organized a phone bank; a petition campaign; and a public-opinion-messages campaign to send pro-choice messages to state and federal legislators. Materials related to this committee include event flyers, fact sheets, subject files, press releases, reports, correspondence, statements of legislative goals and legislative activity, clippings, legal documents, legislative bills, position statements, reports, and resolutions.
Sexism and Religion Committee: Materials related to this committee include clippings, correspondence, and press releases.
Sexuality Committee: Materials related to this committee include memorandum, event flyers, correspondence, conference materials, and project materials.
Sexuality and Lesbianism Committee: In 1971, Shere Hite sent out questionnaires on sexuality under the auspices of the "Feminist Sexuality Project." This questionnaire led to the development of an ad hoc committee in April 1973 and the creation of a standing committee in September 1974. During this time, the committee organized conferences. In 1976, the committee was renamed as the Sexuality and Interpersonal Relations Committee. Materials related to this committee include workshop materials, conference announcements, programs, and correspondence.
Structural Review Task Force: The committee was established to study the structure of NOW. Materials related to this committee include event flyers, memorandum, and fact sheets.
Women in Prison Committee: Materials related to this committee include event flyers and memorandum.
Youth NOW Committee: This committee recruited young feminists of high school and college age with the objective of teaching them about feminist issues. This committee later became the Young Women and Girls Committee. Materials related to this committee include press releases, correspondence, even flyers, and notes.
