Patricia Williams Lessane papers

Collection

Identifier: AMN 1175

Staff Only

Collection Overview

The papers of Patricia Williams Lessane consist of four series. The personal papers in the first series consist of childhood report cards, correspondence, papers related to her family, awards and certificates, and a magazine profiling her.

The second series focuses on her education and scholarship with a heavy emphasis on essays, exams, and class notes.

The third series features a few records from her career, mostly at College of Charleston. They reflect the various capacities in which she served including on the Friends of the Library Board, the HistoryMakers advisory board, and President's Commission on Diversity, Access, Equity, and Inclusion. There are also business cards, an evaluation, and a few records pertaining to the classes she taught.

The largest series consists of her writings. Some are in the original notebooks, others are handwritten or typed. They serve as both journals and commonplace books. Her other writings range from poetry and plays to novels and newspaper articles. Oversize original clippings are stored in the flat box.

Dates

Creation: 1976-2019

Creator

Williams Lessane, Patricia (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the Avery Research Center's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Avery Research Center claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

Born and raised in Chicago, Patricia Williams Lessane is a cultural anthropologist, scholar, and executive in higher education. From 2010 through 2019, she served as Executive Director of Avery Research Center for African American History & Culture; during this time, she also served as associate dean for strategic planning and community engagement and as a tenured faculty member.

Dr. Lessane holds a bachelor's degree from Fisk University, a master's degree from Dartmouth College, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and served as a Fulbright specialist at the University of Málaga in Spain. She has worked at the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. An author, researcher, documentary producer and , she frequently educator, she frequently writes about the intersection of race, gender and class in black life in the U.S. Her writings have been published in both scholarly journals and in local newspapers, and she is also a writer of fiction, plays, and poetry.

Extent

4.55 linear feet (6 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 1 flat box)

Additional Description

Abstract

The papers of Patricia Williams Lessane, Executive Director of Avery Research Center for African American History & Culture from 2010-2019.

Arrangement

Original order was retained when present; the rest of the series are processed in chronological order by first date and further by alphabetical order within year.