Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Lenora Little scrapbook must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lenora Little scrapbook, C0326, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Caroliniana Rare Books in July 2019.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Christopher Babbitt in February 2020. EAD markup completed by Christopher Babbitt in February 2020. EAD markup edited by Amanda Brent in July 2020.

Historical Note

During the Second World War, women were thrust into the workforce worldwide with varying degrees of involvement, whether it was commercial sewing or making war materials in factories and homes. In the United States, jobs for women trended towards the former. Lenora Little, an African American woman, worked as a typist in Washington, D.C. while her boyfriend, and later husband, Bill was drafted into the Army in 1943. African Americans in the military were largely assigned to noncombat roles in segregated units prior to D-Day, performing duties then deemed "menial," such as logistics. African American military members would enter into combat in places like the Battle of the Bulge, and the Army would be desegregated in 1948.

Scope and Content

The scrapbook contains correspondence from Lenora Little to her boyfriend, and later husband, Bill, as well as a few letters written to friends and family. All letters within the scrapbook are hers. Due to cenorship requiring all information about Army activity to be kept out of correspondence from servicemen, information about Bill, his rank, and his life in the Army are left undiscussed. Lenora mostly discusses their relationship and her life during the war. The scrapbook flows chronologically in two parts: the first part contains letters from January-December 1944, and the second contains letters from September-December 1943.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Personal correspondence
• Scrapbooks
• World War, 1939-1945
• World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, African American