A Guide to the Steve Russell and Donna Mobley Papers, 1959-1992

Biographical Note

Born in Bristow, Oklahoma, Steve Russell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, completed both his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and 1975, respectively. In addition to serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, Russell was a trial court judge in Austin, Texas, from 1978 to 1994. Having taught as a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Indiana University-Bloomington, Russell has researched legal and social issues of Native American communities and transnational corporate crime.

Russell’s wife Donna Mobley (1941-1994) also received her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. A civil rights activist and union organizer in New York City, Mobley worked for the AFL-CIO (1974-1975) and also taught Trade Union Women’s Studies courses at Cornell University’s New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations (1975-1977). In addition, she worked as the Assistant Education Director for the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. During her time in Texas, Mobley served as the Executive Director of Common Cause, the Public Servant Standards of Conduct Advisory Committee, and the Central Texas Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. She also was the Election Administrator for the Travis County Democratic Party (1983-1984).

Source:

"Steve Russell." Department of Criminal Justice Faculty, Indiana University-Bloomington. Accessed January 31, 2011. http://www.indiana.edu/~crimjust/faculty_russell.php?nav=people.

Scope and Contents

Comprised of correspondence, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, teaching materials, campaign brochures, printed materials, and notes, the Steve Russell and Donna Mobley Papers, 1959-1992, document Russell’s career as a lawyer, activist, and trial court judge as well as Mobley’s career as a union organizer and activist. Newspaper clippings, printed materials, and notes relating to Mobley concern women’s rights issues, women’s labor issues, workshops, and unions, and shed light on her involvement in the AFL-CIO, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, the Manhattan Women’s Political Caucus, and other non-profit organizations in New York City and Austin, Texas. Items pertaining to Mobley’s work at Cornell University’s State School of Industrial and Labor Relations include teaching materials on course development and teaching techniques, while correspondence discusses Mobley’s move from New York to Texas. In addition, the collection contains Mobley’s meeting minutes from the Ethics Review Commission in Austin.

Russell’s articles and notes discuss Native American rights, family violence issues, especially the Texas Council on Family Violence; and politics in Texas. Also included are Russell’s poetry, short stories, and political writing; newspaper clippings on Russell’s promotion to trial court judge; applications for the bar exam and practice in the district court; election materials for his Justice of the Peace campaign; and personal and business correspondence. Other election materials relate to Senator Paul Simon’s presidential campaign and the Travis County Democratic party.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Financial and personnel records are restricted.

Separated Material

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Steve Russell and Donna Mobley Papers, 1959-1992, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Processing Information

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.

Detailed Description of the Papers