Black & White Men Together (Series VII)

Black & White Men Together (Series VII)

In the early 1980’s, a group of men formed Black and White Men Together of Washington, DC (commonly referred to with the acronyms “BWMT” and "BWMT/DC"). It was “dedicated to principles of racial harmony” and served “as a support group for gays wishing to relate positively across racial and cultural divisions.”

The organization was focused on having its membership, “socialize comfortably” and “respect and understand each other’s cultural heritage.” Another important aspect to BWMT’s constitution said that one purpose of the organization was “to defend human and civil rights secured by law by developing and carrying out programs directed at the elimination of discrimination based on race, ethnic heritage, or sexual orientation.”

This collection contains the organizational records of the Washington, DC, chapter of Black and White Men Together. The records date from 1981-2003, with the bulk of the records falling between 1984 and 2000. The files are comprised of financial records, chapter and national organization activities, and the group’s newsletters, related to efforts to confront, and end, racism and discrimination in the gay community. Several representative documents have been scanned and posted online.

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Black and White Men Together of Washington, DC

Papers 1981-2003; bulk 1984-2000.

In 2012, Ted Mann, one of the officers of the organization at the time of its disbanding, donated all of the BWMT/DC papers which he held to the Rainbow History Project. This collection was transferred to the Historical Society of Washington (DC History Center) in 2014.