Photographs from Harlem funeral of Babatunde Olatunji, 2003

The Sherry Suttles Papers documents Suttles' personal and professional life, as well as family history, and consists of letters and postcards with family and friends, correspondence with Barnard College and other organizations, fliers, newspaper clippings, class notes, travel materials, programs and other reunion materials, manuscripts and drafts, documentaries and other audiovisual materials, resumes, job application materials, city manager reports and memos, diaries, funeral programs, scrapbooks, photographs, and audio cassettes.


Series 1, General Correspondence, includes letters Sherry Suttles sent to her mother, Ann Suttles, as well as letters Ann Suttles sent to Sherry Suttles. Additionally, the correspondence series includes letters received from her father, her sister Billye, and letters and post cards from friends. The series also includes letters from Suttles' 1968 trip to Africa.


Series 2, Barnard Activities and Social Activism, highlights Suttles’ involvement with student organizations and her social activism during her time at Barnard College and after her graduation as an alum. Suttles was involved with multiple student organizations including: Students Afro-American Society, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Africa Crossroads program in which Suttles traveled to the Ivory Coast and the Barnard Organization of Soul Sisters (B.O.S.S., now known as the Barnard Organization of Soul and Solidarity). Further, materials include Suttles’ post-graduation fellowship with the Urban Fellowship Program, a New York program designed to give college students the opportunity to work in research and administrative positions with top government officials for one year. Finally, this series includes Suttles’ course materials as a student at Barnard and materials created and received as an alum, particularly in relation to reunion and celebrations of the history of B.O.S.S.


Series 3, Publication and Writings, is further divided into three series: Subseries 3.1, Written by Suttles; Subseries 3.2, Materials Related to documentary film projects; and Subseries 3.3, Collected by Suttles. The materials include manuscripts and drafts authored by Suttles (often drawn from her own experiences), materials related to documentary film productions, and items collected by Suttles (often related to her own work). Additionally, this series also contains a book co-authored by Suttles. This series relates to and overlaps with Series 4, City Manager Papers and Professional Life; archivists attempted to group personal writings in Series 3.1 and include professional writings by Suttles in Series 4.


Series 4, City Manager Papers and Professional Life includes materials related to Suttles' career as a city manager and related positions in Lawrence Township, New Jersey; Oberlin, Ohio, and Menlo Park, California. City manager materials include reports, memos, coverage of Suttles' work in local newspapers and national professional media, resumes, applications to jobs, and records of participation in professional conferences, training, and travel. Also included in this series are materials related to Suttles' work for the Olatunji International School for Life Learning, her career as an author (including of Fielding's travel guides), and her management consultancy work.


Series 5, Personal Life, Journals, and Ephemera, covers Suttles' family history, in particular the life of her mother Ann E. Suttles, personal travel, and diaries, along with other personal ephemera and records of Suttles' experiences.


Series 6, Photographs, contains photographs of Suttles, friends, and fellow students at Barnard; family photographs (including photographs of family before Suttles' birth) depicting celebrations, gathering, and travel; and images from Barnard reunions.