Request Material
Sara J. González Papers
Descriptive Summary | |
| Title: Sara J. González Papers | |
| Creator: González, Sara | |
| Inclusive Dates: 1930s-2018 | |
| Bulk Dates: 1996-2008 | |
| Language(s): English | |
| Extent: 6.5 Linear Feet 1 carton and 1 flat box of manuscripts, 5 artifacts, 3 framed objects, 2 scrapbooks, and 4 DVDs | |
| Collection Number: RBRL522 | |
| Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies | |
| Abstract: Sara J. González was a Cuban exile, restauranteur, and advocate for the Latino and Hispanic business community in Atlanta from 1975-2008. Her collection includes documentation of her life, her work as president of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and numerous awards for her civic and social progress. | |
Collection Description
Historical Note
Sara Del Carmen Jofre González was born in Havana, Cuba on September 28, 1935. In her youth, she worked briefly as a model and was even selected by Christian Dior for his Havana runway shows. In 1960, the Castro regime denounced Sara's husband, who fled to New York. Sara and her two children, Luis and Ofelia de La Valette, followed later. The pressures of living as exiles in the United States caused fractures in her marriage, which ended in divorce. She and her children eventually left New York to join the Cuban exile community in Miami, where she met and later married Fernando González, then a student at Georgia Tech. The couple lived briefly in Chapel Hill, NC, where Sara's daughter, Isabel, was born, before settling permanently in Atlanta, GA in 1978.
Sara and her family opened Sarita Restaurante Cubano on Bolton Rd. across from the park that would eventually be named in Sara's honor. Though the restaurant ultimately closed, that experience led her to a new career in non-profit advocacy for the Latino and Hispanic business community in Atlanta, as both a fundraiser for the Latin American Association and the director of Hispanic Community Relations for the 1996 Olympic Games.
Her most notable activity was as president of the Atlanta Hispanic Chamber of Commerce from 1996-2008. She was responsible for growing AHCC's membership and establishing multiple satellite branches throughout the state, which led to the AHCC rebranding itself as the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She received many honors for her work, including the presigious Purpose Prize from Stanford University.
Sara González passed away on February 18, 2008 from atherosclerosis. Thousands of Atlantans, including then-Mayor Shirley Franklin, attended her funeral. Ten years later, her daughter, Isabel, worked to name a city park in her honor, making Sara J. González Memorial Park the first in Georgia to be named after a Latino/a or Hispanic person.
Scope and Content
This collection document's Sara J. González's life as a prominent Cuban-American in Atlanta, particularly her leadership of the Atlanta (later Georgia) Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other nonprofit activities on behalf of Latino and Hispanic business owners. It is primarily composed of media coverage of González's work and recognition and the Atlanta park named in her honor. It also contains some family photographs and a scrapbook documenting her restaurant, Sarita Restaurante Cubano.
Organization and Arrangement
This collection is arranged into six series: Biography and Career, Awards, Magazine and Newspaper Articles, Oversized Items, Scrapbooks, and Audiovisual. Folders within Biography and Career, Awards, and Magazine and Newspaper Articles are further arranged alphabetically.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
This collection contains digital files. To access these files, please request the folders you would like through the finding aid using your research account. An archivist will be in contact with you to explain how to access the files. Please note that not all file formats are currently supported by the library for research use.
This collection contains audiovisual materials. Reference copies of the audiovisual recordings are available upon request. Research requests will be filled as soon as possible and will be dependent upon the condition of the recordings.
Preferred Citation
Sara J. González Papers. Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
Copyright Information
Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
Finding Aid Publication
Finding Aid prepared by Robert Lay, August 2022.