Sister Deborah Humphreys Papers
About this Collection
Sister Deborah Humphreys, a social worker and Catholic nun, devoted her life to helping Puerto Rican workers and their families. She worked in public health assisting farm workers poisoned with pesticides and families threatened with eviction by misleading developers. Sister Humphreys is a founding member of El Club del Barrio (St. Columba Neighborhood Club) in Newark. It was established in 1975 by local neighborhood leaders concerned with providing a stable living environment to one of Newark’s poorest and most neglected communities. El Club del Barrio has been a provider of services, information, and referrals to neighborhood residents. It sponsors programs that respond to the needs of the community, primarily Latinos from youth to senior citizens. The collection includes photos, documents, newspaper clippings pertaining to El Club del Barrio, and a 1978 Annual Report of the Schumann Foundation. Additionally, this collection contains souvenir items of clothing from El Club del Barrio and contacts and documents pertaining to the 1970s agricultural community of Southern New Jersey.
Portions of this collection have been digitized. For more information, please visit the collection's Archival Description. An interview of Sister Deborah Humphreys is also available in the Latino Oral History Collection: Latino Life Stories.
