mnsss521 National Latina Health Organization Records, 1986- 2003 Finding Aid Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College Northampton, MA
2012

Sophia Smith Collection. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid exported into EAD from InMagic DB/Textworks 13.0. Encoded by Margaret Jessup. February 20, 2012 Finding aid written in English. Collection Overview National Latina Health Organization National Latina Health Organization Records1986-2003 MS 686 11 boxes (10.5 linear ft.) English Spanish Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College Northampton, MA
Latinas; Youth advocate; Women's health advocacy organization. The National Latina Health Organization Records include health education and workshop curricula, office files, surveys, conference materials, and newsletters. The NLHO's programming for Latina health issues and their teen programs are well documented. There are also some records of the Board of Directors and a few financial records. Historical Note

Inspired by the health activism of African American women, especially the 1983 Spelman conference, Luz Alvarez Martinez co-founded the National Latina Health Organization (NLHO) in 1986, the first national organization by and for Latinas working on health issues and using the Self-Help framework pioneered by the National Black Women's Health Project. Based in San Francisco, the organization was especially committed to providing young Latinas safe spaces in which to discuss health concerns and also ran workshops for teenagers on building self-esteem. In 1997 the NLHO became a charter member of a new organization, the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. In 2005, Martinez retired from the National Latina Health Organization and the organization shut down soon thereafter.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

The National Latina Health Organization Records include health education and workshop curricula, office files, surveys, conference materials, and newsletters. The NLHO's programming for Latina health issues and their teen programs are well documented. There are also some records of the Board of Directors and a few financial records.

[NOTE: The contents list for this collection is not online. Contact the Sophia Smith Collection if you would like one sent to you.]

The records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following caveats: Researchers must sign an Access Agreement Form before using this collection, agreeing to protect the confidentiality of living persons. This collection has not been fully processed and therefore may be difficult to use.

Copyright to unpublished materials in this collection produced by the NLHO is owned by the SSC. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection. Copyright to materials authored by persons other than the NLHO may be owned by those individuals or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

 Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

National Latina Health Organization Records, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.

The National Latina Health Organization Records were donated to the Sophia Smith Collection by Luz Alvarez Martinez in 2011.

Accessioned by Kathleen Banks Nutter, December 2011

AIDS (Disease) in women -- Prevention AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching Health care reform -- History -- Sources Health education of women Hispanic American women -- Health and hygiene Hispanic American women -- Sexual behavior Reproductive health -- United States Teenage girls -- Health and hygiene -- United States Teenage pregnancy -- United States -- History Teenage girls -- Services for -- United States Latina women -- Health and hygiene -- United States Youth -- Services for -- United States -- History Women's health services -- United States --History -- Sources Martinez, Luz Alvarez National Latina Health Organization SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective Martinez, Luz Alvarez

Related materials can be found in the Luz Alvarez Martinez Papers; the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective Records; and the Voices of Feminism Oral History Project (Luz Martinez).