A new collection of documents and artifacts from Oregon State Senator Jacqueline “Jackie” Winters is now open for research and viewing at Linfield University’s Jereld R. Nicholson Library.
First elected to office in 1998, Winters became the first African American Republican to serve in the Oregon Legislative Assembly. She was re-elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2000, and then served in the Oregon State Senate from 2002 until her death in 2019. She was elected Senate minority leader in 2017, becoming the first black Republican Caucus leader in Oregon.
The Jackie Winters Collection, which is currently on loan to Linfield’s Archives and Special Collections, contains records and articles pertaining to her professional and personal life. This includes political campaign documentation, speeches, event programs, correspondence, and press clippings. Additionally, select documentation regarding charitable activities, pre-legislative work, and personal activities are included. The collection provides researchers an insider’s perspective of the Senator’s work and life, particularly during select periods of time, notably 1970–1989 and 1995–2019.
“Senator Winters led a fascinating life and broke a number of barriers in her political career,” said Rich Schmidt, director of archives and resource sharing at Linfield. “The materials gathered here shine a light on her political perspectives and accomplishments, and help tell the story of her life, career and legacy. We’re excited to be able to share this collection with people interested in learning more about her and her role in Oregon history.”
An event to showcase the collection is scheduled from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23 at Nicholson Library. The program will include a brief talk from Schmidt about the collection at 4:30 p.m. with a reception to follow on the library’s front patio.
Schmidt and Christina Friesen, an archives intern working on her Master of Library and Information Science at IUPUI, prepared the collection for research and viewing. Individuals interested in viewing the collection should contact archives@linfield.edu to make an appointment. A description of the collection is available online at https://www.linfield.edu/assets/files/library/jackie-winters-finding-aid.pdf.
The Linfield University Archives and Special Collections collects, protects and promotes materials that document the history of the institution and regional community, including American Baptist history, Oregon wine history and collections featuring Linfield’s faculty, students, staff and alumni. Its growing digital collections include photographs and oral history interviews with past presidents, alumni and longtime faculty and staff. More information on Linfield’s Archives and Special Collections is available at https://www.linfield.edu/linfield-libraries/archives/index.html.
