Historical/Biographical Note
Asian Women United (AWU) is a New York City based organization, formed in 1978 when the Asian American Women’s Caucus split into two groups. AWU worked “towards a society free from race and sex discrimination through the development of women as community leaders with an understanding of the Asian woman’s issues and concerns” (“Statement of Purpose”). The organization held regular meetings and produced a monthly newsletter, entitled In Touch. AWU organized many events including a concert, fundraising events, a mother/daughter social, and various workshops. AWU also participated in International Women’s Day, the Women Working Together conference, the Coalition of Asian Women’s Groups, and Asian/Pacific American Heritage festivals. Leftist and feminist in its ideological roots, AWU also took official stands on issues such as abortion rights, immigration and refugee policy, discrimination against Asian Americans and distorted images in the mass media, and the Silver Palace Restaurant strike, ILGWU Local 23-25 organizing and other labor struggles.
AWU’s first president, Goldie Chu, was active at the local, state and national levels; she was a delegate to the First International Women’s Year gathering in Houston, Texas in 1977 and became vice-chair of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Other AWU activists included vice-president Angie Cruz, Liz Young, Jacqueline (Jackie) Huey, Joyce Wong, Ginger Chih, Lolita Lacson, Ruby Tsang and Grace Lyu-Volckausen.
In 1982 Wing Productions made a documentary film called, Ourselves, which was both a portrait of key members of AWU and a celebration and examination of several generations of Asian American women’s experience. It was shown on PBS stations and in screenings in a number of cities.
In 1986 the organization adopted a less formal structure; in place of regular business meetings it proposed to convene occasional reunions and maintain less formal networks of communication.
Return to topScope and Content Note
Series I: General Files, 1977-2004. The materials in this collection include: the Asian Women United newsletter (In Touch), flyers from events hosted by Asian Women United, flyers from events done in coalition with other groups, workshop notes, meeting notes, administrative files, correspondence, and newspaper articles. The collection also the collected notes that would be put into IKON #9: The AWU Anthology. There are also select pamphlets about Asian-American and women’s issues, collected by AWU members.
Series II: Audiotapes, 1984. Consists of two audiotape cassettes labeled, “Older Women in Community Politics – at Laura’s.”
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Arrangement |
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| Folders are arranged alphabetically. | ||
| Organized into two series: | ||
| I, General Files, 1977-2004 | ||
| II, Audiotapes, 1984. | ||
Related Material at the Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, Local 64 Records. (Wagner #242)
Asian Women United Photograph Collection. (Photo #217)
Return to topSeparated Material
Photographs have been separated into a separate collection titled “Asian Women United Photographs (PHOTOS 217).” One set of the newsletter, In Touch, was separated into the library catalogue.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu
Access Points |
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| Subject Names: | ||
| Chu, Goldie. | ||
| Subject Organizations: | ||
| Asian Women United. | ||
| Subject Topics: | ||
| Asian American women -- Health. | ||
| Asian American women -- Social conditions. | ||
| Asian American women -- United States. | ||
| Asian American women. | ||
| Subject Places: | ||
| New York (State)—New York. | ||
| Document Types: | ||
| Articles. | ||
| Correspondence. | ||
| Flyers. | ||
| Newsletter. | ||
Administrative Information
Provenance
The Asian Women United Records were gathered during an AWU reunion in 2004, which was hosted by the New York University Asian/Pacific/American Institute and later donated to the Tamiment Library, NYU.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Asian Women United Records; Tamiment #320; box number; folder number; New York University Libraries ;New York University Libraries
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
Return to the Top of Page| Series II: Audiotapes, 1984. |
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| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| 2 | 16 | Audiotapes: “Older Women in Community Politics – at Laura’s” (2 tape cassettes) | 1984 |
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