Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections LibraryEllen Welch
The collection is open for research use.
MSS 16349, Susan Oberman papers, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Donated by Susan Oberman, 2016 and 2018)
Susan Oberman graduated from Goucher College in 1968 with a B.A. degree. She has worked as an activist in movements for social change since the mid-1960's and founded the Nassau County Women's Liberation Center in New York in 1972. She moved to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1988 and became the Program Director of the FOCUS Women's Resource Center. After working at FOCUS for ten years she founded Common Ground Negotiation Services.
Oberman was a founder and planner of the annual Days of Dialogue on Race Relations events held annually in Charlottesville from 1997 to 2002, and was a founding member of the Black Women/White Women/all Women dialogue group.
She has authored several articles including "Confidentiality in Mediation: An Application of The Right To Privacy" and "Mediation Theory vs. Practice: What Are We Really Doing? Re-Solving A Professional Conundrum."
Sources:
"Susan Oberman." LinkedIn, 21 Nov. 2017, https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-oberman-390a1413.
"Susan Oberman is by temperament and profession, a Mediator." Common Ground Negotiations, 21 Nov. 2017, http://www.commongroundnegotiation.com/index.php/bio.
Susan Oberman papers (1960's-2017, 7 cubic feet) documenting her negotiation practice (Common Ground Negotiation Services, her activism in women's issues in Nassau County, New York (1972-1989) and her support for women, social justice, and race relations in Charlottesville, Virginia (1990-2013). Of interest is information about the history of African American life in Charlottesville including questions about the racial background of Queen Charlotte.
There are also three audiocassette tapes related to the Focus Women's Resource Center program, Black Women/White Women/All Women's Day of Dialogue, a folk music album, posters, and ephemera including political buttons, suffragette armbands, and a hand-made textile banner from the Nassau County Women's Liberation Center for a protest at the United States Congress.
The papers are grouped into six series: Common Ground Negotiation Services, women's organizations, peace organizations, diversity organizations, publications, and ephemera and audiovisual materials.
This collection is arranged into six series: Series 1. Common Ground Negotiation Services, Series 2. Women's organizations, Series 3. Peace organizations, Series 4. Diversity organizations, Series 5. Publications, and Series 6. Ephemera and audio visual materials
Workshops include Negotiation Skills for Everyday Life; Using Dialogue to Make Decisions; Self and Identity: Individuality, Community & the Intersection of Systems of Domination; Sex, Gender & the Right to Privacy; Conflict as Opportunity; and Dialogue on Recognizing and Overcoming Sex and Gender Bias.
Dialogue on Recognizing and Overcoming Sex and Gender Bias in Mediation; The Intersectionality of Systems of Domination; Recognizing and Overcoming Class Bias; and Custody Mediation
Adult Incapacity Mediation Project; Creative and Destrictive Conflict; Self-Determination; The Norm-Educating Mediation Model; Negotiation Skills for Everyday Life; and Using Dialog to Make Decisions
Dialogue: Theory and Practice; Identifying Theory and Practice of Mediator Authority; and Defining Mediation Models: A Professional Conundrum
Gender Violence in the Family and the State; Confidentiality and the Right to Privacy in Family Mediation; and Self and Identity: Individuality, Community & The Intersecton of Systems of Domination.
Custody Mediation; Reframing Reality Testing (Virginia Mediation Network, Fall 2015); Conflict as Opportunity Workshop; and Ethical Standards.
The Women's organizations include the Nassau County Women's Liberation Center, Redstockings, Chicago Women's Liberation Union, Nassau County Coalition for Abused Women, in Nassau, New York and the Focus Women's Resource Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Topics include consciousness raising, radical feminism, and respect for diversity in women. Of interest is a brief mention of a libel suit involving Gloria Steinem, censorship regarding any possible work that she did for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Nassau County Women's Liberation Center (1972-1989) files containing literature, by-laws, correspondence, and notes about events relating to consciousness raising, and radical feminism. Other topics include rape, abuse, and abortion.
There are also files from the Focus Women's Resource Center (1990-2012) including procedures, a peer counseling manual, monthly reports, and information about programs such as the Day of Dialogue Black Women/White Women, a Young Women's Summer Project, and coordination with the Community for Non-Violence Education Council to teach students character and citizenship.
Folder one contains information about a lawsuit involving the Redstockings and Random House, regarding a chapter in a book about Gloria Steinem and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Also included is a personal resume and greeting cards of Susan Oberman.
Resignation letter; Days of Dialogue
Focus Women's Resource Center formed a Community Non-Violence Education Council which presented a character education and citizenship program for students to the Burnley-Moran PTO. See also Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice and CNVEC in Series 3. Peace.
This series contains the papers from the Charlottesville Peace curriculum and the Charlottesville Non-Violence Education Council to teach students life skills, character, and citizenship. (2000-2011) Also included are correspondence and newspaper clippings about a local teen suicide and psychological support for students at the school.
There are also files of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice from 1989 to 2011 containing advertisements, notes, articles, and ideas for discussion on many social, political, and economic issues on a national and local level, including the Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act, Kosovo, gun reduction, marriage laws, crime, selective service, protests on the war against Iraq, war profiteers, oil, impeachment of presidents, prayer, the Middle East, National media and elections, terrorism, immigration and the Fourteenth Amendment, taxes, Wall Street, nuclear energy, climate change, local economic development issues, and the University of Virginia living wage campaign.
see also Focus Women's Resource Center
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice was considering merging with Community Non-Violence Education Council
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice; Community Education and Outreach Committee; and the Center for Non-Violence Communication.
Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice, Community Education and Outreach Committee, and Center for Non-Violent Communcation.
This series is comprised of correspondence, meeting minutes, planning notes, and newspaper clippings related to the organization, "Citizens for a United Community" (2002-2004) which is created following an act of racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia in which ten Charlottesville High School students attack a group of students at the University of Virginia. The organization hosts a successful community event, "Many Races-One Community" on April 12, 2003 and then disbands.
There are also minutes, programs, and correspondence from the Violence Reduction Action group (2003-2004), another diversity organization established to promote diversity and continue the efforts of the CUC. Included is e-mail correspondence about President John Casteen's appointment of a Diversity Commission at the University of Virginia and comments that the City of Charlottesville feels alienated by the commission.
"Achievement Gap Forum" papers from 2004 to 2006, contain a report on how schools can close the achievement gap among students of different races and improve all student performance. Included are articles and case studies on poverty and race. The forum is sponsored by the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee. There is information regarding the Martin Luther King Celebration Committee (2004-2005) which is set up to honor Dr. King and support civil rights. Included is a mission statement, articles, event programs, meeting notes, and articles and quotes by Dr. King.
There is also correspondence and meeting notes for Charlottesville's Dialogue on Race (2010-2013), an organization with goals of teaching Charlottesville's racial history, creation of a public memorial of Vinegar Hill, closure of the achievement gap in schools, and support for the Living Wage Campaign at the University of Virginia.
Of interest is information on the history of African American life in Charlottesville, the racial background of Queen Charlotte, biographies of important educational and civil rights leaders in Charlottesville from the 18th century to the present, a timeline of Charlottesville's race relations (1700-2003), and a list of African-American businesses located on Main Street and Preston Avenue (before the razing of Vinegar Hill) an on the grounds of the University of Virginia.
There are also planning notes about upcoming panels, speeches, and articles about race and social justice presented by family members, scholars and activists including Dr. Ervin Jordan, Bob Vernon, Gayle Schulman, Shirley Parrish, Scott French, David Swanson and many others. Topics mentioned are the Civil War, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and school desegregation.
This series is composed of many publications including five by Susan Oberman (Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal, and the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution). Most of the publications address women's issues including marriage, daycare, divorce, sexual relations, abuse, Title IX, birth control, housework, family, salary, lesbianism, strikes, and leadership. Titles include "The Liberated Grapevine of the Women's Liberation Center of Nassau County", "Myth of Women's Inferiority", "Notes New York Radical Women", "Sharing", "Women, A Journal of Liberation", "Women Workers", "The Women of the Telephone Company", "Iris, A Journal about Women", "Lillith, The Jewish Women's Magazine", "The Woman's Place is at the Typewriter", "Counter planning from the Kitchen", "Marxist Approach Problems of Women's Liberation", "Sex Roles and Female Oppression", and "A Women's Touch."
Authors include Dana Densmore, Evelyn Reed, Roxanne Dunbar, Margery Davis, Alice de Rivera, Ilene Winkler, Voltairine de Cleyre, Sylvia Federici, and many others.
The Liberated Grapevine of the Women's Liberation Center is a complete set of issues for 1976. 1977 and 1978 are just missing March. 1979 is complete except for July. 1980 has all but April and November, and 1983 does not have September-December.
Susan Oberman article "Joint Custody: Does It Work?", Health Beat, March/April 2001 Volume 1/Issue 9 page 11; advertisement for Common Ground Negotiation Services, "The Tribune" 3/18/04 v. 54, no. 9; "Center Plans Historical Tour", "The Daily Progress", 8/10/04; "Happy Feet: International Folk Dancing in Charlottesville", "Echo", October 2008; "Why Bother to Vote" interview in "The Hook", 9/23/04-9/29/04 #338 page. 27.