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Josephine Campbell papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS2237

Scope and Contents

This collection contains manuscripts, notebooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, periodicals, pamphlets, photographs, slides, negatives, microcassette tapes, floppy discs, and various digital records. The materials range in date from 1947 to 2006 and represent the history of Josephine Campbell’s career as journalist. Campbell was a writer and editor with the United State Information Agency from 1956-1986 and later founded Ecotopics International News Service. Her early work is represented, but the bulk of materials pertain to her research and writing for Ecotopics. Significant topics represented in the collection include international journalism; environmental issues; feminism; and human rights.

Dates

  • 1905-2006
  • Majority of material found within 1947 - 2006

Creator

Language

The majority of materials are in English, with some materials in Russian and Arabic.

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research.

Restrictions on Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical Note

Josephine “Jo” Campbell (1927-2006) was journalist, civil rights worker, and environmental activist. She was born Josephine Anne Conrad in Evansville, Indiana on January 31, 1927, the daughter of Owen McIntyre Conrad and Josephine Anne Greene. She was raised by her mother in Daytona Beach, Florida. She attended Seabreeze High School while working as a “cub reporter” for the Daytona Beach News Journal, and after her graduation in 1945 she moved to Washington, D.C. to further her career in journalism as a copyboy for the Washington Post.

Josephine Conrad married Donald Herman Campbell on March 15, 1946. The couple had three daughters, Kathleen, Carolyn, and Deborah Campbell.

Campbell wrote fiction for magazines under her husband's name, worked in public relations, and headed the Washington bureau of a Pakistani newspaper before beginning her 30 year career with the International Press Service, part of the Department of State’s U.S. Information Agency in 1956. As a writer and editor for IPS, she travelled in the United States and Africa and wrote for Voice of America and publications in Africa, Russia, and the Middle East until her retirement in 1986.

After her husband’s death in 1988, Campbell founded Ecotopics International News Service, a news service for environmental and human rights issues. She and her partner, chemist Hyman Rudoff, wrote for Ecotopics as well as the local Willits News in California. She was also active the National Writers Union, the National Press Club, the Dog Writers Association of America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Ukiah Gun Club.

Josephine Campbell died March 1, 2006 in Petaluma, California.

Extent

7 Linear Feet (8 document boxes, 3 flat boxes)

Abstract

This collection contains manuscripts, notebooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, photographs, slides, negatives, microcassette tapes, floppy discs, and various digital records related to the life and work of Josephine "Jo" Campbell (1927-2006), journalist, civil rights worker, and environmentalist.

Collection Arrangement

Organized into 3 series: Writings, Research, and Correspondence, Photographs, and Digital Materials.

Custodial History

Josephine Campbell's papers were intially transferred into the custody of her daughter Carolyn Campbell, who donated the collection to the George Washington University Gelman Library.

Acquisition Source

Gift of Carolyn M. Campbell, 19 November 2007 (Accession 2008.038). Addition, gift of Kathleen Campbell, 18 February 2022 (Accession 2022.005).

Title
Guide to the Josephine Campbell papers, 1905-2006
Status
Completed
Author
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
Date
2009
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository

Contact:
2130 H Street NW
Washington 20052 United States of America