Havlic, Martha. Papers. 1914-2014. 7.25 linear inches. A strong advocate for lesbian and disability rights. In particular, she advocated for safe and accessible spaces for LGBTQ+ and disabled people, as well as more available outdoor spaces for disabled people. She was a poet and a musician, as well as a mailer for the lesbian newsletter The "L" Word.

Hoit, Judy Herron. Papers. 1950-1998. 0.25 linear inches. Winner of the "Handicapped Woman of Iowa 1991" pageant and Ms. Wheelchair Iowa of 1996. Newspaper articles detail her many awards and accomplishments for the disabled community in Iowa, and an autobiography that details her life after contracting polio. 

Hoyt, Adelia M. Papers. 1915-2011. 0.25 linear inches. A visually impaired woman who attended the Iowa School for the Blind. She helped establish the Iowa Home for Sightless Women, which provided housing and income for blind women. Her papers contain her memoir, "Unfolding Years."

Kern, Bonnie. Papers. 1945-2014. 2.5 linear feet. Box 2. A disability rights investigator for Iowa Protection and Advocacy, author, and speaker. Started the non-profit organization, Assessing Disability Barriers (ADB). 

Sarah and Elizabeth Riesz. Riesz, Elizabeth D. Papers. 1966-2015. 2 linear feet. Mother of Sarah Riesz, a young woman with Down syndrome. She raised Sarah at home during a time when many parents would have institutionalized their child. Sarah would be among the first disabled children integrated into the Iowa City public school system. Sarah's personal materials are located in Box 1 of the collection. Elizabeth Riesz advocated for disabled people and disability services in both Iowa City and Osaka, Japan.

"Disability Rag." Second Wave Feminism Periodicals. Publications. 1950-2000. 12.5 linear feet. Box 8. The periodical "Disability Rag," contains essays and letters about disability by and from individuals with disabilities. Located in Box 8 of the Second Wave Feminism Periodicals.

Shut-In Society. Records. 1884-1897. 5 linear inches. A national organization consisting of disabled individuals that connected with one another via mail and the Society's newspaper publication. Together, the Society created an afghan made up of hand-knitted squares from several members. 

Southall, Geneva. Papers. 1960-2004. 3 linear inches. Box 1. A Civil Rights activist and professor of Afro-American and Caribbean studies with a Ph.D. in piano performance. Her collection includes her research and writings on African American musician Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins along with an audiocassette tape of Southall playing Blind Tom's music.

Proceedings of the First Public Health Institute. Whitehead, Floy Eugenia. Papers. 1958. 3 linear feet. Box 6. The working papers of the First Public Health Institute include a few verbatim interviews with disabled persons. A particularly rare transcript of a verbatim interview conducted with a child with muscular dystrophy illuminates medical and psychological attitudes toward children with disabilities. Located in Box 5 of the Floy Eugenia Whitehead papers. Researchers can also find pervasive commentary on the "normal" body, particularly in discussions of obesity within Whitehead's papers. 

Martha Havlic, 1980s.                         The "L" Word, Vol. 4, No. 12, August 1, 1992.

"Iowa Home for Sightless Women" postcard, 1915.

Advertisement for the University Theatre's "Wonderchild," 2002.

Afghan hand-knit by the Shut-In Society, 1884.

First Years of a Down's Syndrome Child by Elizabeth D. Riesz, 1978.