Walter J. Lear papers, 1923-2008.

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

Lear, Walter J. (Walter Jay), creator.

Language:

Chinese

English

French

German

Subjects (All):

Walter J. Lear U.S. Health Activism History Collection.

Pennsylvania. Department of Health.

Philadelphia (Pa.). Department of Public Health.

Public health.

Public health--History.

Public health--History--United States.

Gay activists.

Activism.

Genre:

Manuscripts, American -- 20th century.

Penn Provenance:

Gift of Walter Lear, 2004.

Physical Description:

55 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

Organized into 12 series: I. Personal life and family, 1923-2008; II. Education, 1932-2008; III. Military Service, 1943-1952; IV. Work, 1945-1996; V. New York City: Work & Involvements, 1945-1969; VI. Activism and Organizational Involvement, 1947-2005; VII. Writings; VIII. Reading files, 1951-2002; IX. Diaries (appointment books), 1963-2002; X. Bibliographies, 1948-1994; XI. Directories [contacts], 1963-1995; XII. Miscellaneous material, 1944-1993.

Place of Publication:

1923-2008.

Language Note:

eng

Biography/History:

Walter Jay Lear (1923-2010) was an American physician, public health official, and activist for healthcare reform, LGBTQ+ and gay rights, and numerous other causes. During his career, Lear worked as an intern at Permanente Hospital; a consultant in the Division of Industrial Hygiene of the United States Public Health Service; the Assistant Director of Montefiore Hospital in New York; the associate medical director for the Health Insurance Plan (HIP); a community health consultant with the Community Council of Greater New York; the First Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health; the Executive Director of the Philadelphia General Hospital; the Chair of the Philadelphia Human Relations Committee; and the Commissioner for the Southeastern Region of the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Public Welfare. During his time as Commissioner, Walter Lear publicly came out as gay in the January 1976 edition of the Philadelphia gay news. He was the founder and president of the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health (ISMCH). Lear was heavily involved with, or had leadership roles in the American Friends Service Committee, Bread & Roses, The Bridge, The People's Fund, Black Artists' Gallery, Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Physicians Forum, SANE, the Medical Committee for Human Rights, Maternity Care Coalition, Lavender Left, Health/PAC, National Urban League, Physicians for Social Responsibility, National Gay Health Coalition, and Philadelphia Health For All. One of the early causes Lear actively fought for was civil rights. He was a co-founder and officer in the Medical Committee for Human Rights, served as a health care consultant for the National Urban League, and was a founder of the Philadelphia Committee for Black Medical Student Admissions. Lear was heavily involved in LQBTQ+ activism and the Gay Rights Movement. He was a founder of the American Public Health Association's (APHA) Caucus of Gay Public Health Workers, an organizer of the first National Gay Health Conference, a founder of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Philadelphia (now the William Way Community Center), a founder and board member of the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force, and a co-chair for the first national conference on AIDS in 1982. He created and served as the director for the U.S. Health Left History Center, was a founding member of the Sigerist Circle, and was active in APHA's Spirit of 1848 Caucus. Walter Lear died on May 29, 2010.

Summary:

The Walter Lear papers consist primarily of material relating to Lear's career and activism. Lear's work as the Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Health Department and Commissioner of the Southeastern Region of the Pennsylvania Health Department comprise the bulk of the collection, but there is also significant material relating to his other professional roles, activism, organizational involvement, and personal life and family. Health initiatives in Philadelphia and the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area are very well documented, both from within a traditional institutional framework and from the perspective of grassroots organizing. The most substantial portion of the collection documents project and topic-related work with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Organizing and social change from the 1960s through the 1980s is represented throughout Lear's work, activism, and organizational involvement. The first six series came with very little original order. Series seven through eleven, however, were separated out and grouped together by Walter Lear. With that in mind, there is overlap in the material that was not arranged and the material that was intentionally grouped together by Walter Lear. Researchers seeking information about Walter Lear's career, organizational involvement, and activism, are advised to search the inventory for series four through series eleven to ensure they see all relevant entries. It is important to note that the Walter J. Lear papers are inextricably connected to the other collections under the umbrella of the Walter J. Lear U.S. Health Activism History Collection. The Walter J. Lear papers document Walter Lear's work and personal life, but his collected material is found in the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health (ISMCH) collection (which is in the Kislak Center processing queue). With that in mind, Lear's collected research material documenting various individuals in the health field, organizations, and health and activism-related topics will be found in the ISMCH collection.

OCLC:

1417233335