Julie Schwam-Harris Environmental Research Collection

Collection

Identifier: Collection 83

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Julie Schwam-Harris Environmental Research Collection consists of materials pertaining to environmental issues in Louisiana ranging from 1980-2008. The collection includes newspaper clippings, newsletters, pamphlets/flyers, correspondence, written notes, reports, publications, books, and ephemera. It is largely made up of publications that Schwam-Harris collected from grassroots organizations that she was involved with, as well as correspondence, and newspaper clippings on environmental concerns.

Dates

Created: 1980-2008
Other: Majority of material found within 1988-1996

Creator

Schwam-Harris, Julie (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Physical rights are retained by the J. Edgar and Louis S. Monroe Library, Loyola University New Orleans. Copyright is retained in accordance with the U.S. Copyright Laws.

Biographical / Historical

Born in New Orleans in 1952, Julia Schwam-Harris is a longstanding grassroots organizer and advocate for environmental issues, women’s rights, and racial injustice in the state of Louisiana. Schwam-Harris is a graduate of the Newcomb College at Tulane University and a founding member of Ellevate Louisiana, an organization that seeks to empower women leaders throughout the state of Louisiana. In 2013, she co-founded the coalition LAW (Legislative Agenda for Women), which advocates for women’s rights including access to healthcare and equal pay. She was also appointed to the Louisiana Women’s Policy and Research Commission in 2016.

Through her involvement in local government, Schwam-Harris has worked to keep the public informed about racial and environmental injustices facing the South. As a former city official (1994-2010), she developed initiatives to ensure the rights of New Orleanians such as the Office of Public Advocacy, which connects residents in need to government resources. She served as a leader of Intergovernmental Relations and worked with the Justice Department on several projects including compliance with the American Disabilities Act. Schwam-Harris was also involved in lobbying efforts to rebuild the city of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Schwam-Harris' life-long commitment to environmental and social justice has been recognized through awards such as the National Council of Jewish Women’s Hannah G. Solomon Award (2015), Newcomb Alumnae Association Community Service Award (2015), and ACLU Ben Smith Civil Liberties Award (2016).

Extent

3.75 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is divided into four different series. Series I is further divided into two subseries. Within each series, the arrangement scheme is organized alphabetically. The original order of the materials in this collection was sorted by environmental topics and advocacy organizations. Because of this, the current arrangement follows this format. Additionally, due to the large amount of newspaper clippings collected with each topic, the clippings were arranged by date, following the related topic it is connected to, in a separate folder following its respective topic.