Sherry Suttles Papers, 1930-2019, bulk 1963-2000

Collection context

Creator:
Suttles, Sherry A.
Abstract:
This collection consists of the personal papers of Barnard College alum Sherry Suttles.
Extent:
13.75 Linear Feet 27 full size document boxes, 2 half size document boxes, 2 custom size boxes
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

The Sherry Suttles Papers documents Suttles' personal and professional life, as well as family history, and consists of letters and postcards with family and friends, correspondence with Barnard College and other organizations, fliers, newspaper clippings, class notes, travel materials, programs and other reunion materials, manuscripts and drafts, documentaries and other audiovisual materials, resumes, job application materials, city manager reports and memos, diaries, funeral programs, scrapbooks, photographs, and audio cassettes.

Series 1, General Correspondence, includes letters Sherry Suttles sent to her mother, Ann Suttles, as well as letters Ann Suttles sent to Sherry Suttles. Additionally, the correspondence series includes letters received from her father, her sister Billye, and letters and post cards from friends. The series also includes letters from Suttles' 1968 trip to Africa.

Series 2, Barnard Activities and Social Activism, highlights Suttles' involvement with student organizations and her social activism during her time at Barnard College and after her graduation as an alum. Suttles was involved with multiple student organizations including: Students Afro-American Society, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Africa Crossroads program in which Suttles traveled to the Ivory Coast and the Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters (B.O.S.S., now known as the Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity). Further, materials include Suttles' post-graduation fellowship with the Urban Fellowship Program, a New York program designed to give college students the opportunity to work in research and administrative positions with top government officials for one year. Finally, this series includes Suttles' course materials as a student at Barnard and materials created and received as an alum, particularly in relation to reunion and celebrations of the history of B.O.S.S.

Series 3, Publication and Writings, is further divided into three series: Subseries 3.1, Written by Suttles; Subseries 3.2, Materials Related to documentary film projects; and Subseries 3.3, Collected by Suttles. The materials include manuscripts and drafts authored by Suttles (often drawn from her own experiences), materials related to documentary film productions, and items collected by Suttles (often related to her own work). Additionally, this series also contains a book co-authored by Suttles. This series relates to and overlaps with Series 4, City Manager Papers and Professional Life; archivists attempted to group personal writings in Series 3.1 and include professional writings by Suttles in Series 4.

Series 4, City Manager Papers and Professional Life includes materials related to Suttles' career as a city manager and related positions in Lawrence Township, New Jersey; Oberlin, Ohio, and Menlo Park, California. City manager materials include reports, memos, coverage of Suttles' work in local newspapers and national professional media, resumes, applications to jobs, and records of participation in professional conferences, training, and travel. Also included in this series are materials related to Suttles' work for the Olatunji International School for Life Learning, her career as an author (including of Fielding's travel guides), and her management consultancy work.

Series 5, Personal Life, Journals, and Ephemera, covers Suttles' family history, in particular the life of her mother Ann E. Suttles, personal travel, and diaries, along with other personal ephemera and records of Suttles' experiences.

Series 6, Photographs, contains photographs of Suttles, friends, and fellow students at Barnard; family photographs (including photographs of family before Suttles' birth) depicting celebrations, gathering, and travel; and images from Barnard reunions.

Biographical / historical:

Sherry Suttles (1945-) was born in Chicago, Illinois to Ann E. and Nathaniel Suttles and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Suttles joined Barnard College in 1966 as one of few Black students on Barnard's campus. At Barnard she pursued a degree in Government, graduating in 1969. Suttles' time at Barnard was divided between her courses, student organizations, and being a socially active community member. She showed interest in the Community Schools program, which worked towards the development of schools in Harlem, as well as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1968 Sherry went on a trip to the Ivory Coast with the Africa Crossroads program. She also took part in the Student Afro-American Society and within her last year at Barnard was a founding member of the newly formed Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters, now the Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity (B.O.S.S.). While at Barnard, Suttles also formed lifelong bonds with drummer and educator Babatunde Olatunji and his family.

After graduation in 1969, Suttles went on to participate in New York's Urban Fellowship Program. She completed a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Michigan in 1971 and held several positions within city government across the United States, including becoming the first Black female city manager in the country in Oberlin, Ohio (in 1979). She also built historical collections to preserve Black history in the Gullah-Geechee region of the southeast United States and established the Atlantic Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic Beach Historical Society in Horry County, South Carolina.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Box 2, Folders 4 and 8 are restricted due to the Archive's policy and FERPA guidelines.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes.

Preferred citation:

Sherry Suttles Papers, 1930-2019; Box and Folder; Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library, Barnard College.

Location of this collection:
Milstein Center for Teaching and Learning 423
Barnard College
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Please contact archives@barnard.edu with research requests or to schedule a visit; see our website for more information.
Contact:
archives@barnard.edu