Activism, Music, and the Rosetta Reitz Archive (2025-2026)

Background 

In 1979, the writer, activist and record producer Rosetta Reitz started Rosetta Records, the first and only record label specializing in women’s jazz and blues music, dedicated to re-releasing forgotten and underappreciated recordings. Active into the 1990s, Rosetta Records released 19 albums with songs performed by over 90 women.

Reitz selected the music for the albums, wrote deeply researched liner notes and designed album covers. Then, much like the musical foremothers she sought to bring back from obscurity, Rosetta Records also disappeared, left out of streaming platforms and male-dominated narratives of the music.

Analysis of Reitz’s personal and business pursuits from the margins of the 1970s and ’80s music world serves as a case study for understanding both the past and the present, as racism and sexism in the music industry continue to perpetuate systems that prioritize the voices of established music industry “stars” over opportunities and compensation for artists and writers whose identities, experiences and points of view challenge the status quo.

What can the legacy of the charismatic and multi-faceted Rosetta Reitz teach us about archival care, feminist advocacy, research as creative process, the visibility of labor and patterns of erasure in the music industry?

Project Description 

This multiyear project team has been exploring the legacy of Reitz and Rosetta Records by researching the Rosetta Reitz papers, a rich archive of materials housed in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Building on the work of the 2024-2025 project team, this team will examine contracts, promotional posters, marginal notes and letters to and from Rosetta Reitz to better understand Reitz as a music professional, activist and individual. This research will serve as the foundation for what will become a book on the legacy of Rosetta Reitz, primarily focusing on her background and work as an activist. 

The team will explore and practice visual storytelling techniques, close reading and archival analysis to build the historical context for further understanding Reitz’s life and work. Team members will analyze Reitz’s personal and professional networks to explore the power relationships, privileges and constraints in the music industry. They will also develop, curate and commission descriptive, interpretive, analytical and poetic texts to include in the publication. 

 Anticipated Outputs 

Survey guide of the Rosetta Reitz archive; recorded and transcribed interviews with key members of Rosetta’s circle; essay curation on Reitz’s legacy; production of high-quality images of archival documents; mock-ups of book page designs; public events featuring work in progress; completed book manuscript; archival exhibit 

Student Opportunities 

Ideally, this project team will include 2 graduate students and 6 undergraduate students with interests in art and music history, photography, graphic design, writing, editing, storytelling, legal research, business research, the history of race and racism in the United States, feminist studies, queer studies, music, policy work and/or technology studies. 

Team members will gain experience in archival and historical research; legal rights and usage research; textual, music and visual analysis; writing for a public audience; interviewing; event production and management; creation of digital or physical exhibits; development of print and digital advocacy campaigns; and preparation of multimedia research presentations. They will have the opportunity to collaborate with music industry professionals, legal researchers and leading scholars and activists involved in music archival research. All team members will engage with professional editors and book designers and gain experience in the book publication process. 

A graduate team member will be selected to serve as project manager. The project manager will have opportunities to develop leadership and project management skills, including workflow, multimedia data management, team building and management, budget management, conflict mediation and communication. As appropriate, they will also have the opportunity to develop instructional modules in their areas of expertise.

This project will include an optional summer research opportunity during which team members will complete archival research and outreach over approximately 8 weeks from mid-May to mid-July (10 hours per week). 

Timing 

Summer 2025 – Spring 2026 

• Summer 2025 (optional): Test and help tweak legal rights research flow; conduct outreach to potential essay contributors; research comparable books; maintain communications with team leadership and incoming team members towards project continuity 
• Fall 2025: Participate in team building; perform literature review; review project work to date; develop familiarity with Reitz archive and contribute to team repository; create album listening notes; perform legal research; engage with scholars and music professionals; add to digital timeline; conduct sessions with publishing professionals 
• Spring 2026: Continue of activities from fall; carry out writing, editing, interviewing and design work; perform market research; prepare presentations  

Crediting

Academic credit available for fall and spring semesters; summer funding available

See earlier related team, Archives and Creative Process: Blues Women and Rosetta Records (2024-2025).

 

_{Image: Mean Mothers Vinyl Album, Rosetta Records, 1980, from Duke University Libraries}