Gay rights movement. Series 2, Gay Activists Alliance, 1970-1983.

Format:

Book

Series:

Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940.

Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mattachine Society of New York.

Gay rights--New York (State).

Gay rights.

New York (State).

Homosexuality--New York (State).

Homosexuality.

Gay Activists Alliance.

Gay liberation movement.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (25,200 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1970-1983.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This collection of records gives an overview of the militant American homophile movement (the gay rights movement including gay people and their allies) from 1970 to 1983, particularly in New York, taken from the now-disbanded Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). The GAA was founded in response to the Stonewall riots of 1969, and it was intended to be a militant yet nonviolent organization advancing civil and social rights for gay people. It focused on attaining fair employment and housing, fought against laws specifically targeted at gays, and attempted to reduce police harassment. Members of the GAA also hoped to create a new gay culture, free from societal constraints. The collection itself is composed of four distinct categories: committee files, topical files, printed ephemera, and international lists of gay organizations and publications. The committee files are composed of records from various committees working within the Gay Activists Alliance. This includes correspondence from the News and Media Relations Committee, which worked on public relations issues, and the Executive Committee, which oversaw all of the organization's various other committees. The topical files include miscellaneous documents of internal record, such as meeting minutes, by-laws, and election questionnaires, as well as documents related to the GAA's gay studies research project. The printed ephemera is comprised of articles and press releases issued by the GAA and other homophile organizations. These records document a key period in the gay community's attempts to obtain better civil and social rights. Because the GAA was formed as a direct consequence of the Stonewall riots, the collection of these materials offers essential documentation of the homophile movement's shift away from the passive education espoused by such preexisting organizations as the Mattachine Society.

Notes:

Date range: 1970-1983.

Source Institution: New York Public Library.

Local Notes:

Images from the source libraries are selected contents of the original collection materials as representative of their value and pertinence to the digital product.

OCLC:

952384756

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.