Constance Timberlake Papers, 1950-2004

Summary

Creator:
Timberlake, Constance Hector, 1930-2019.
Abstract:
Articles, reports, correspondence, and other materials collected or composed by Constance Timberlake, professor of human development at Syracuse University
Extent:
8.25 linear ft.
Language:
English, Spanish
Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Constance Timberlake Papers,

Background

Scope and content:

The Constance Timberlake Papers consist of articles, reports, correspondence and other materials collected or written by Constance Timberlake from 1950 to 2004. The collection contains materials primarily from Timberlake's time as a professor at Syracuse University, though there are also some materials from her life before and after that time, as well as some from her tenure as a commissioner on the Syracuse Board of Education. The collection is divided into the following series:

Activism and community involvement consists of correspondence, clippings, and other printed materials related to Timberlake's involvement in the Central New York, Camden, New Jersey and Saint John, New Brunswick communities as well as activism she had undertaken for civil rights and women's rights causes. The Central New York section of the series exhibits how deeply involved Timberlake was in Syracuse and the surrounding areas and how much time she devoted to the community. This series also contains two audiocassettes of an interview Timberlake gave for a book about human rights in Syracuse.

Board and committee service contains correspondence and informational materials from Timberlake's service on various state- and national-level committees, boards, and councils. Most of these committees were related to education or family sciences.

Consulting work includes correspondence, reports, and proposals from Timberlake's work as a consultant for the Human Development Council of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada and Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez, a university in Caracas, Venezuela. She assisted the university in creating a baccalaureate degree program in human development.

Personal materials consists of correspondence, clippings, curricula vitae, and other papers from Timberlake's personal life outside of her work or political careers. For example, this series has letters from her family and friends and various awards and certificates she received.

Political career contains reports, correspondence, clippings, and publicity materials from Timberlake's time as a commissioner on the Syracuse Board of Education and the campaigns she ran for that position. There are also materials from an unsuccessful campaign for Syracuse councilor-at-large in 1981. The bulk of the correspondence in this series is either congratulations on her successful campaigns or complaints from the community about a plan for the mandatory busing of students to desegregate the city's schools. This series also contains an audio reel tape of one of the radio spots used during one of her campaigns in the late 1970s and materials from Timberlake's time as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in 1976.

Rowan University materials consists of correspondence and a position announcement from Rowan University, where Timberlake worked as the associate director of their Camden campus following her retirement from Syracuse University.

Speeches and writings contains speeches, articles, and handbook entries written by Timberlake. These writings cover topics such as sex education in Black communities, Black students and equality in education, and the history of women's rights, among others.

Syracuse University materials consists of correspondence, reports, and other printed materials collected or prepared by Timberlake while she was a student and professor at Syracuse University. Some materials of note in this series are planning documents for the first Coming Back Together (a reunion for Black alumni of Syracuse University, later expanded to include Latinx alumni) and research materials from Timberlake's intense study of teenage pregnancy in Black communities. This series also contains correspondence between Timberlake and members of the Student Afro-American Society at Syracuse University, primarily about appearances she made at two events the organization hosted, Black Professional Week in 1979 and the first annual Black Student Leadership Conference in 1980.

Washington Irving School materials contains correspondence, reports, and photographs from when Timberlake worked as a counselor for the adult education program at the Syracuse City School District, which was hosted at the Washington Irving School. The correspondence contains petitions to local and state politicians for renewed funding for adult education after they cut financial support for these programs in the mid-1960s.

Biographical / historical:

Photograph of Constance Timberlake

Constance Timberlake (1930-2019) was a civil rights activist, local politician, and professor of human development at Syracuse University. Timberlake was born and raised in Saint John, Canada. After graduating high school, she worked in Canada for a few years before moving to the United States. She joined the Kansas City chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in many civil rights events like the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In 1964, Timberlake moved to Syracuse, New York and worked as a counselor for the adult basic education program at the Syracuse City School District. At that time, Timberlake decided that she wanted to continue her own education and started to attend classes at Syracuse University. She received a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in urban education and sociology in the late 1960s and was hired as a lecturer by the School of Education in 1970. In 1971, Timberlake started teaching as an instructor and director of the Family and Community Services Program (which soon after became the Family and Community Services Department) in the College for Human Development. During her time as an assistant professor, she took courses to attain her PhD in educational administration as well. Timberlake served as a professor and chair of her department for more than twenty years. Timberlake retired from Syracuse University in 1993 as a professor emeritus.

Timberlake published extensively on a variety of topics, mostly relating to Black women and girls in education, sex education for Black and indigenous families and communities, and adult education. Her research into teenage pregnancy in Black communities resulted in the formation of the Central New York Council on Adolescent Pregnancy and education programs in various churches across Syracuse. She made many appearances on panels and at conferences and universities, and she testified before the United States Congress on the value of sex education in schools.

Timberlake's influence in the Syracuse community was larger than just her work as a professor. She was the first Black woman elected to the Syracuse Board of Education, for which she served two terms and in various leadership positions. She was an active member of the Syracuse chapters of the NAACP, CORE, National Organization for Women (NOW), YWCA, Human Rights Commission, and multiple other community activist groups. On the state level, Timberlake was a member of the New York State School Boards Association and the Advisory Council on Occupational Education. She was also appointed to the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education by Presidents Carter and Reagan.

Timberlake received much recognition and many awards for her activism and work in the field of education. For example, she received the Post Standard Women of Achievement Award in Education in 1973 and the Unsung Heroine Award from the Central New York chapter of NOW in 1982.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Constance Timberlake in 2002 and 2004.
Processing information:

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Some materials were removed from binders and placed in acid-free folders. Photographs and negatives were housed in mylar sleeves.

Arrangement:

The materials are arranged alphabetically within their series.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Access to audiovisual material requires advance notice to produce a use copy.

Terms of access:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Preferred citation:

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Constance Timberlake Papers,

Location of this collection:
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Bird Library, Room 600
Syracuse, NY 13244, United States
Link to repository site
Contact:
315.443.2697
scrc@syr.edu