Lesley C. Doonan was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1943. She was the daughter of Ada L. Leavens and David W. Sullivan. Lesley Doonan was a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Rhode Island and worked professionally as a speech and language coordinator for the Cranston Schools until her retirement in 2008.
Doonan was a devoted feminist and social justice activist. She co-founded the Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center, the second such effort in the United States. She was a founding member of the Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island, which was the first Rhode Island women's rights organization of the Second Wave. She was elected a Rhode Island delegate to the National Women's Conference held in Houston, Texas in 1977. She was a founder of the Women's Center of Rhode Island, which was the first battered women's shelter in the state. She was also a founder of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Rhode Island Women's Political Caucus.
Prior to her death in 2013, Doonan was Vice Chair and Director of Humane Programs for Veterinary Assistance, Education and Legislation for Volunteer Services for Animals, Inc., a statewide humane organization formed in 1979. She was the Coordinator, since inception in 1988, of the Warwick Chapter of Volunteer Services for Animals, Inc. Doonan worked to rid the city of the gas chamber used for euthanasia of animals. She worked with the Warwick City Council and Mayor to build the new Warwick Animal Shelter after which she formed Friends of the Warwick Animal Shelter, Inc. to help care for Warwick's impounded and homeless animals. Doonan was a tireless advocate for the advancement of humane treatment and rights for all animals.
Doonan died at the age of 73. She is survived by her daughter Robyn Pothier and her children Maxwell, Kyle and Kaitlin and her brother Michael Sullivan and his sons Samuel and Patrick. She was predeceased in death by her son Robert D. Doonan. [Biography derived from the Lesley C. Doonan obituary, 2013]
This collection consists of the activist files of Lesley C. Doonan, social justice feminist and founding member of the Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island. The collection documents Doonan's participation in various feminist organizations including the National Conference on Women, the Rhode Island Abortion Counseling Service and the Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island. Materials include correspondence, conference material, clippings, legal files, and print materials, dating from 1968-2003. The collection is arranged into 4 series.
Series I, NATIONAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE FILES, 1976-1978, documents Doonan's participation as a Rhode Island delegate to the National Women's Conference held in Houston, Texas in 1978. Files include newsletters, plans of action, the conference program, and state and national reports. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Series 2, RHODE ISLAND ABORTION COUNSELING SERVICE FILES, 1970-1973, documents the lawsuit to found the organization and other establishing documents. Files include articles of incorporation, correspondence, information packets for patients, and legal files. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Series 3, WOMEN'S LIBERATION UNION OF RHODE ISLAND FILES, 1969-2003, documents the founding of the organization and political actions supported by the union.
The Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island formed in 1969 by a group of women concerned with improving the status of women in society. In the beginning, many members were affiliated with Brown University as faculty and/or staff, but over time, the organization expanded to include a diverse community of women from across Rhode Island.
The union used various means to achieve their goals, including lawsuits, organized protests, leafletting, and working with other agencies to promote women's issues. Topics for which the union fought included equal pay for equal work, maternity leave, availability of contraceptives, repeal of abortion laws, the establishment of rape crisis centers, self-defense classes, and a ban on men-only bars. The organization continued to exist until at least 2003.
Series 3 includes articles of association, charters, correspondence, political action and legal case files, and a rich collection of organizational newsletters that describe the Union's work and current events affecting women. This series is arranged alphabetically by record type.
Series 4, OTHER PRINT MATERIAL, 1968-1981, contains booklets, newsletters and other published material. Notable titles include Our Bodies Our Selves (1971); Birth Control Handbook (unknown date); Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center Newsletter (1979); Women: A Journal of Liberation (1969-1972), and New Times: Feature News Magazine containing a cover story regarding Vincent "Buddy" Cianci rape allegations. The magazine is inscribed and signed by Cianci, possibly in an act of intimidation. Series 4 is arranged alphabetically by title.
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, available on the John Hay Library website or by request, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Lesley C. Doonan activist files, Ms.2019.001, Box [#], Folder [#], Pembroke Center Archives, John Hay Library, Brown University.
This collection is arranged into 4 series.
There are no restrictions on access for analog materials, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. Advance notice is required to view any audiovisual media or born-digital records that may exist in this collection. Audiovisual media and born-digital records in this collection may not have been reformatted yet. Researchers may request access to copies by contacting the John Hay Library with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. Access to original physical audiovisual or born-digital media is restricted.
Gift of Jodi L. Glass in 2018.
This collection was part of the Pembroke Center's Christine Dunlap Farnham Archive until 2024 when collections were recataloged. All collections previously grouped under that title are now searchable under the subject headings "Women and Gender at Brown University" or "Feminist Activism in Rhode Island."
RESOURCES AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: Manuscript materials related to Doonan and the Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island in the collections of the John Hay Library include the papers of Jodi L. Glass and Anne Fausto-Sterling.
RESOURCES BEYOND BROWN UNIVERSITY: See the Women's Liberation Union of Rhode Island Records, Rhode Island Historical Society (Providence, Rhode Island).