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Zoya Zeman Freedom Summer Collection

 Collection
Identifier: M320

Scope and Contents

This collection consists primarily of materials that document Zoya Zeman's activities as a student volunteer in Clarksdale, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer. The majority of the items in the collection date from 1964 and after.

This well-rounded and comprehensive collection should be of benefit to any researcher interested in Freedom Summer and the struggle for civil rights in Mississippi.

Dates

  • circa 1962-2002

Conditions Governing Access

Non-circulating; available for research.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U. S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.

Biographical / Historical

Zoya Zeman was born on June 27, 1943, in Charlottesville, Virginia, to Dr. Erwin D. and Inez M. Hansen Zeman. The Zemans lived in Virginia and Utah before settling in Lincoln, Nebraska, where Dr. Zeman worked as a pathologist at St. Elizabeth Hospital. The oldest of four children, Zeman has three younger brothers -- William, Albert, and Michael. Before graduating from high school in 1961, she spent some time in New Zealand as an exchange student.

Zeman received her education at Scripps College in Claremont, California, earning a degree in psychology-sociology in 1965. In February 1964, Zeman attended a conference at Pomona College and learned of plans for the Mississippi Summer Project. She made the decision to volunteer her time and services in Mississippi for the summer. Several months later, she attended another conference at Stanford University, which served as the western headquarters for coordinating student volunteers for the project. At the conference, Zeman had the opportunity to meet and talk with Robert Moses about the summer project.

Before going to Mississippi, Zeman attended the training sessions held at Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, from June 22-27, 1964. The Mississippi Summer Project had four areas of focus: voter registration, freedom schools, community centers, and special projects. Zeman chose to participate in the community center project, and received training primarily in the areas of health education and adult literacy. She was assigned to Clarksdale, and her role there was to inspire community members and help set up various programs that would enable the community to provide for itself after the summer workers had gone. She was in Clarksdale from June 28 to July 11, and August 11 through early September. During her three-week absence from the project, Zeman was in Copenhagen, Denmark, attending her brother's wedding and visiting family members who were traveling in Europe.

Zeman received a master's degree in social work, studying her first year at San Francisco State University in 1969, and completing her second year and earning the degree at the University of Nebraska in 1973. She specialized in medical social work of terminally ill patients. Her career took her to a number of cities throughout the West between 1965 and 1996, including San Francisco, California; Los Angeles, California; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. One of Zeman's greatest accomplishments is her development and administration of three international and intercultural programs at the University of Nebraska between 1970 and 1974. These programs, which are still in operation today, were designed as a means of enabling people to live in other cultures.

Although Zeman retired in 1995 because of health problems, she remains concerned with social justice and equality. She is a member of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, which was started as a result of the Mississippi Summer Project. She also pursues her interest in creativity and arts, comparative religions, and the psychology of radical personal, social and political change. Ms. Zeman currently lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sources:

Contents of the Collection

Zeman, Zoya. Freedom Summer Interviews Vol. 626, Hattiesburg: The University of Southern Mississippi, 1996.

Extent

2 Cubic Feet : MC2/D11

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Materials documenting Zeman's activities as a Freedom Summer 1964 volunteer in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Arrangement

Box 1: Folders 1-5 consist of correspondence between Zeman and her family, friends, other summer volunteers, and Clarksdale community members.

Folders 6-7 contain materials from the Mississippi Freedom Summer training sessions in Oxford, Ohio, in June 1964.

Folders 8-15 include information about the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), and several issues of The Student Voice.

Folders 16-29 are comprised of various documents related to Freedom Summer, including photographs and Zeman's personal notes. While most of the items document the Clarksdale area, there are some from Hattiesburg and Meridian. Of particular interest is Zeman's senior thesis entitled "Mississippi Summer Project - 1964: Report by a Student Volunteer," written for Scripps College in 1965. Also of interest are Zeman's diary of the Clarksdale project, and the diary of Hattiesburg/Palmer's Crossing student volunteer Jinny Glass.

Box 2: Folders 1-13 consist of materials related to Freedom Summer, such as photographs, articles, and maps of Freedom Summer sites in Clarksdale.

Folders 14-20 hold items from the Queen's College 25th anniversary reunion of Freedom Summer participants held in 1989, including correspondence, notes, and photographs.

Folders 21-31 are comprised of numerous articles, pamphlets and other items that document the Civil Rights Movement and black history at both the state and national levels. Noteworthy among these items is the diary of a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Dean Hay, of Lincoln, Nebraska, who spent a week in Hattiesburg in February 1964, working on a voter registration campaign.

Box 3: Folders 1-2 contain newspaper clippings and pamphlets concerning the Civil Rights Movement and black history.

Folders 3-11 contain miscellaneous items not directly related to Mississippi Freedom Summer. These items include two sermons from the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska, two journals, and an assortment of other materials.

Folders 12-20 consist of biographical files regarding Zoya Zeman, including her birth announcement, newspaper clippings, photographs and poems.

Folders 21-23 contain videocassettes related to African-American history.

Box 4: Folders 1-4 contain videocassettes related to African-American history and the Civil Rights Movement, plus a film on pain management.

Box 5: Folder 1 holds videocassettes about Bob Moses, and Folders 2-3 contain a book titled Silver Rights and a postcard book featuring notable African Americans.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials in this collection were donated by Zoya Zeman in several increments between 1999 and 2003.

Existence and Location of Copies

For Digitized Materials from this collection, see: External Documents link at bottom of page.

Related Materials

M359 Margaret Hazelton Freedom Summer Collection

Zoya Zeman Oral History Interview, transcript call number F341.5.M57 vol. 626 (McCain Library)

M336 Matthew Zwerling Freedom Summer Collection

Photograph Log

M320-1 Zoya Zeman and Others 7 x 10, B & W, Summer 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-2 James Silver and Zoya Zeman 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder1)

M320-3 Clarksdale Community Center 3 x 3, Color, September 1964 Exterior of Center before it was cleaned up. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-4 Margaret Hazelton and Zoya Zeman 2.5 x 2.5, Color, June 1964 Hazelton and Zeman after they learned they would be roommates in Clarksdale. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-5 Cleaning the Community Center 3 x 3, Color, Summer 1964 Several unidentified children help clean the building donated for the Community Center. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-6 Cleaning the Community Center 3 x 3, Color, Summer 1964 Margaret Hazelton and several unidentified children help clean the building donated for the Community Center. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-7 Evening Picnic 3 x 3, Color, Summer 1964 A group of people eating watermelon at a party in Dr. Aaron Henry's back yard. Photo Features: Matt Zwerling, Yvonne, Doris Newman, James Jones (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-8 Evening Picnic 3 x 3, Color, Summer 1964 A group of people eating watermelon at a party in Dr. Aaron Henry's back yard. Photo Features: Yvonne, Zoya Zeman, Matt Zwerling, Joe Youngerman, Lafyette Surney (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-9 Dr. Erwin D. Zeman and Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Dr. Zeman, a visiting member of the medical team traveling with Dr. Leo Orris of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, is taking Mrs. Hamer's pulse outside her home in Ruleville, MS. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-10 Heidi Dole and Zoya Zeman 8 x 10, B & W, Spring 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-11 Unidentified Man, Jimmie Lou Tolbert, and Zoya Zeman 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-12 Zoya Zeman and Etrula Trotter 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-13 Zoya Zeman, Carolyn Lane, and Friends 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964) (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-14 Freedom Summer Worker and an Unidentified Child 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-15 Freedom Summer Worker and an Unidentified Child 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964) (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-16 Carolyn Lane and Others 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-17 Three Unidentified People in Front of the Community Center 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-18 Three Children at the Community Center 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-19 Carolyn Lane and Six Unidentified Children 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-20 Carolyn Lane and Six Unidentified Children 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-21 Two Unidentified Freedom Workers 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Workers in the office of the Freedom House. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-22 Zoya Zeman and Two Unidentified Freedom Workers 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Workers in the office of the Freedom House. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-23 Freedom House Library 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Three unidentified men using the library at the Freedom House. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-24 Freedom House Library 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Five unidentified people using the library at the Freedom House. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-25 Group of Unidentified People 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Four men and one young boy in front of a house. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-26 Group of Unidentified People 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Five men and two young boys in front of a house. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-27 Unidentified Man and Lafayette Surney 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-28 Carolyn Lane, RN, and Dr. Leo Orris 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Ms. Lane and Dr. Orris are outside a tin-covered house. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-29 Unidentified Baby 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 The baby is on its knees in a doorway. (Box 2, Folder 1)

M320-30 Unidentified Baby 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Same image as M320-29, except that this image is blurred. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-31 Freedom House in Clarksdale, MS 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 One-story brick building. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-32 Freedom House Library 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Small room with shelves of books along one wall. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-33 Community Center 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Front door of center, with car parked at curb. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-34 Unidentified House 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Side view of dilapidated house. A child appears to be climbing on something in the background. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-35 Unidentified House 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Frontal view of small "shotgun-style" house. A woman is on the front porch and a toddler is in the yard. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-36 Medical Supplies at the Community Center 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Supplies are on shelves. This image is very blurred. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-37 Fifth Street Grocery 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Wooden structure at corner of street. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-38 George Peabody Building 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Psychology Building at Ole Miss. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-39 First Baptist Church in Clarksdale, MS 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Two-story brick church. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-40 Clarksdale (MS) Court House 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-41 Tolbert Residence 8 x 10, B & W, September One-story brick residence with sign on lamp post in front yard saying, "The Doctors Tolbert." (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-42 Tolbert Residence 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Side or back view of home. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-43 Coahoma County Hospital 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-44 A Park in Clarksdale, MS 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-45 Cotton Field 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 People picking cotton. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-46 Cotton Field 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 Wagon being loaded with cotton. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-47 Cotton Field 8 x 10, B & W, September 1964 People picking cotton. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-48 People Working in Freedom House Office Slide (Color) & Negative, (B & W), September 1964 Three people in office. Left half of image is blurred. (Box 2, Folder 2)

M320-49 Etrula Trotter 2 x 3, B & W, July 1964 Head and shoulders portrait. Ms. Trotter was a teenager from Memphis, TN, who spent the summer of 1964 with a relative in Clarksdale, MS, so that she could participate in Freedom Summer. She assisted Zoya Zeman and Margie Hazelton in developing the Clarksdale Community Center. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-50 Training Session at Oxford, Ohio 3 x 3, B & W, June 1964 Instructor demonstrating self-defense techniques to Freedom Summer volunteers on the campus of Western College. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-51 Training Session at Oxford, Ohio 3 x 3, B & W, June 1964 Group of volunteers seated on the ground. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-52 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 3 x 3, B & W, June 1964 Group listening to Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer speaking in an auditorium. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-53 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 3 x 3, B & W, June 1964 Photo of volunteers taken from inside a bus, as it was leaving for Mississippi. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-54 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 3 x 3, B & W, June 1964 Instructor demonstrating self-defense techniques to Freedom Summer volunteers. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-55 Ed Bauer 2 x 3, B & W, circa 1964 Head and shoulders portrait of Mr. Bauer, a Cal Tech student and Freedom Summer volunteer in Greenwood, MS. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-56 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7, B & W, June 1964 Heidi Dole and Zoya Zeman with three unidentified Freedom Summer volunteers. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-57 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7, B & W, June 1964 Zoya Zeman (foreground) and three unidentified individuals. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-58 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7, B & W, June 1964 Heidi Dole (2nd from left) with a group of Freedom Summer volunteers. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-59 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7, B & W, June 1964 Unidentified group. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-60 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7, B & W, June 1964 Gentleman (possibly Bayard Rustin) addressing an orientation group. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-61 Oxford, Ohio Training Session 5 x 7; 8 x 8, B & W, 1964 Freedom Summer volunteers at Oxford, Ohio. The gentleman second from the left (seated on a stone wall) is photographer, Herbert Randall. (Box 2, Folder 3)

M320-62 Dr. Leo and Trudy Orris 4 x 6, Color, June 1989 The occasion is the 25th anniversary of Freedom Summer held at Queen's College. (Box 2, Folder 18)

M320-63 Zoya Zeman, Dr. Aaron Henry and Friends 4 x 6, Color, June 1989 Martha Davis, Stan Boyd, Susan Gladstone, Lew Sitzer, Aaron Henry, Joe Youngerman and Zoya Zeman at 25th anniversary of Freedom Summer held at Queen's College. (Box 2, Folder 18)

M320-64 25th Anniversary of Freedom Summer 5 x 6 Computer Scan, Color, June 1989 Joe Youngerman, Zoya Zeman, Lew Sitzer and Martha Davis at Queen's College Reunion. (Box 2, Folder 18)

M320-65 Dr. Aaron Henry and Others 5 x 6 Computer Scan, Color, June 1989 Dr. Henry is speaking at Queen's College, 25th anniversary of Freedom Summer. (Box 2, Folder 18)

M320-66 Mrs. Rosa Parks and Others 5 x 6 Computer Scan, Color, June 1989 Mrs. Parks, a guest at the 25th anniversary of Freedom Summer, is seated at a dining table with several other people. (Box 2, Folder 18)

M320-67 Neg. #1: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman seated in an office. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-68 Neg. #2: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman seated in an office. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-69 Neg. #3: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified man, seated. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-70 Neg. #4: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman, seated. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-71 Neg. #5: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman, seated. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-72 Neg. #6: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified man. The same man is in Neg. #3. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-73 Neg. #7: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified group of three. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-74 Neg. #8: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified group of three. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-75 Neg. #9: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman and man, standing. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-76 Neg. #10 & 11: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified man (seated) and woman (standing). (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-77 Neg. #12: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified man, seated. The same man appears in negatives 3, 6, 10 & 11. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-78 Neg. #13: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Joe Youngerman. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-79 Neg. #14: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Unidentified woman and cat on sofa. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-80 Neg. #17: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Dr. Aaron Henry and Martha Davis. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-81 Neg. #18: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Large group of people with backs to camera. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-82 Neg. #24A: Queen's College Reunion Negative only, Color, June 1989 Two unidentified women. (Box 2, Folder 19)

M320-83 Zoya Zeman and an African American Woman 2.5 x 2.5, B & W, 1943 Zoya Zeman, age 12 weeks, being held by an African American woman who took care of her briefly in 1943. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-84 Zoya Zeman and Friends 3 x 3, B & W, June 17, 1964 Heidi Dole, Zoya Zeman, and an unidentified friend at the home of Zoya's parents in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-85 Zoya Zeman 2 x 3, B & W, 1977 Head and Shoulders portrait. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-86 Lillian and William Frederick Zeman I 3 x 4, B & W, undated Zoya Zeman's paternal grandparents, born in Vienna, Austria. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-87 The Zeman Family 2 x 3, Color, 1953 or 1954 Snapshot of Zoya, her parents, and three brothers on Easter Sunday. Photo features: 1st row, Michael Zeman, 2nd row, Albert Zeman, William Zeman, Zoya Zeman, 3rd row, Inez Zeman, Erwin Zeman (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-88 Zoya Zeman 4 x 6, Color, 1999 Zoya at the home of her brother William "Bill" Zeman in Eugene, Oregon, Christmas 1999. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-89 Zoya Zeman and Family 3 x 7, Color, Nov. 8, 1997 Group photo of Zoya with her mother and brothers, William, Albert and Rev. Michael Zeman, taken at the wedding of William's son in Washington, D. C. Rev. Michael Zeman officiated at the wedding. Photo features: 1st row, Inez Zeman, Zoya Zeman, Re. Michael Zeman, 2nd row, William Zeman, Albert Zeman (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-90 Mr. & Mrs. H. L. Frisken Mr. & Mrs. Frisken were Zoya Zeman's host family when she visited Thames, New Zealand as an exchange student in 1960. The Friskens are standing in front of a sofa. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-91 Albert and Hulda Hansen 5 x 7, B & W, 1964 Mr. & Mrs. Hansen were Zoya Zeman's maternal grandparents. The photo was taken on their 65th wedding anniversary. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-92 Zeman Family Home in Lincoln, Nebraska 3 x 3, Color, 1975 Located at 2401 Van Dorn Street, the Zeman home became a "Way Station" for Freedom Summer volunteers such as Heidi Dole, Lew Sitzer, Ed Bauer and Mat Zwerling. (Box 3, Folder 17)

M320-93 Toll Hall 5 x 7, Color, Undated Mediterranean-style dormitory at Scripps College in Claremont, California, where Zoya Zeman and Heidi Dole lived prior to Freedom Summer.

Subjects

Related Names

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Zoya Zeman Freedom Summer Collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

External Documents

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository

Contact:
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345

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