Kathie Reilly papers
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the papers collected by Kathleen Reilly, a women's rights activist and one of the seven women dubbed by the media as the "Rochester Topfree Seven" in 1986. The materials date between 1984 and 1991. The materials consist of news articles, newspapers, newsletters, notes, photographs, brochures legal documents, publicity, membership information and reference for C.L.A.W. (Challenging Laws and Attitudes against Women), and reference for the Topfree movement. The materials document the fight for women to be able to remove their shirts in the same way that men are legally allowed. It also documents the reasoning for why the women decided to protest the way that they did. The collection documents the public opinion on the movement at that time and the legal ramifications of the Topfree Seven’s actions.
The bulk of the materials are news articles and newspapers regarding the Topfree movement. The articles consist of letters to the editor, coverage of the Topfree picnics, the trial of the “Rochester Topfree 7”, and opinion pieces.
The materials also contain legal documents from the trial in 1986 and the appeal. The legal documents consist of briefs, decisions, and motions. Any legal documentation that contains correspondence to or from the Topfree 7’s attorneys as well as, any trial preparation have been removed from their original location and placed in a restricted folder due to attorney-client privilege. These files will be restricted until 75 years after the creation date.
Dates
- Creation: 1984-1991
Conditions Governing Access
Access to the restricted folders in this collection have been restricted by the Local History and Genealogy Division of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County N.Y. in order to protect attorney-client privilege for 75 years after the document creation date. Contact the Local History and Genealogy Division for information on access to the restricted folders of this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use in any current or future manifestations must be obtained in writing from the Rochester Public Library Local History and Genealogy Division.
Biographical / Historical
Kathleen Reilly was born on April 29, 1946. Reilly is a women’s rights activist and part of the “Topfree 7”, the group of women arrested for "exposure of a person" in 1986.
Topfree 7On June 21, 1986, seven women removed their tops and bared their breasts in public during a picnic at Rochester, New York’s Cobb Hill Park. They did so as an act of civil disobedience in protest against the state law that requires women to wear tops in public. The women felt the law was discriminatory since men can go topless in public. The 50 year old penal law 245.01, or “exposure of a person” law stated that women in New York State could breastfeed infants in public, but could only go topless in public in very specific circumstances that were deemed entertainment. It was illegal for women to show below the top of the areola. The law did not restrict men from doing this. The seven women – Nikki Craft, Kathleen Reilly, Ramona Santorelli, Mary Lou Schloss, Deborah Seymour, Elsie Joe Tooley, and Lynn Zicari were arrested at Cobbs Hill Park and charged with violating the law. They appealed. Six years later, on July 7, 1992, the seven were acquitted when the state’s highest court reversed penal law 245.01. The court declared in unconstitutional and ruled that women have the right to go topless anywhere in public that men can.
C.L.A.W. was founded in 1990. Challenging Laws and Attitudes against Women was originally part of the Coalition for Topfree Equality. C.L.A.W. was formed because they wanted to focus on Topfree Equality as a feminist issue and to have women making the decisions on actions, legal defense, and publicity.
Extent
1.0 Cubic Feet (2 clam shell document boxes, 1 over sized box.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection consists of the papers collected by Kathleen Reilly, a women's rights activist and one of the seven women dubbed the "Rochester Topfree Seven" in 1986. The materials date between 1986 and 1991. The materials consist of news articles, newspapers, newsletters, notes, photographs, brochures, legal documents, publicity, membership information and reference for C.L.A.W. (Challenging Laws and Attitudes against Women), and reference for the Topfree movement.
Arrangement
This collection consists of three boxes.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated by the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, 100 College Avenue, Suite 100, Rochester, New York 14607 on August 11, 2016 [Acquisition number 2017.020].
Bibliography
Smith, Merril D. Cultural Encyclopedia of the Breast. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Processing Information
This project was made possible by a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a program of the State Education Department.
Processing Information
This collection contained many duplicate newspaper articles. The archivist retained three copies of duplicate articles. All other duplicates will be returned to the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley as per the deed of gift form. All metal fasteners were removed from the collection. The archivist left the collection in the original order in which it was donated. The folders that were unlabeled had a title imposed by the archivist. There are two restricted folders in the collection. These folders contain materials prepared in anticipation of litgation such as attorney-client notes and correspondence, and testimony preparation and therefore will be resrticted for 75 years from the creation date. The restricted files also contains a prisoner data report and bank statements. The prisoner data report and bank statements are restricted due to the personal information on them such as, social security numbers and bank account information.
Processing Information
According to deed of gift, any duplicates or items found unsuitable to the RPL collections and not retained should be returned to the donor. Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, 100 College Ave., Suite 100, Rochester, New York 14607.
- Title
- Guide to the Kathie Reilly Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Stephanie Ball
- Date
- 2017-10-02
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Local History & Genealogy Division Repository
115 South Ave.
Rochester 14604 USA
585-428-8370
585-428-8353 (Fax)
lochistref@libraryweb.org