1 25 6 https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/311c960456608559634c49d113f2c64c.pdf 79f39c0e13b803fea7e7f4017c63cac5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Genny Beemyn Queer Capital Oral History Collection Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. Sheila Alexander-Reid, September 11, 1998 Wanda Alston, September 11, 1998 Beverly F. Baker, September 10, 1998 Lawrence R. Banks, Jr., June 5, 1998 Joan E. Biren (JEB), June 2, 1998 Warren Blumenfeld, June 5, 1998 “Michael Borchert,” May 31, 1994 and June 15, 1998 Darren Buckner, June 13, 1998 Earline Budd, June 21, 1998 Donald Burch, III, June 22, 1999 Carlene Cheatam, June 4, 1998 Kwabena Rainey Cheeks, June 3, 1998 Lou Chibbaro, Jr., June 5, 1998 Countess Clarke, November 4, 2000 Tracey Conaty, May 27, 1998 Darryl Cooper, September 24, 1998 Ruby Corado, June 24, 2013 Mindy Daniels, May 22, 1998 Carol Anne Douglas, June 3, 1998 Larry Duckette, August 8, 1998 and October 5, 1999 Roy Eddey, September 6, 1998 Mary Farmer, August 6, 1998 Gideon Ferebee, Jr., October 9, 2000 Michael Ferri, June 20, 1998 “Haviland Ferris,” May 16, 1994 and May 21, 1998 Barney Frank, May 22, 1998 Jack Frey and Peter Morris, March 22, 1994 “Richard Galvin,” January 12, 1995 Gil Gerald, January 30, 2013 Theresa Gilchrist, June 15, 1999 Letitia Gomez, July 3, 1998 Jim Graham, May 26, 1998 Jaime Grant, June 2, 1998 Pat Hamilton, January 13, 1995 Reginald Harris, November 10, 2000 “Scott Harrison,” June 2, 1994 Diane Herz, June 27, 1998 Susan Hester, August 11, 1998 Leonard Hirsch, May 30, 1998 Meryl Hooker, June 2, 1998 Craig Howell, June 9, 1998 Chi Hughes, July 1, 1999 Louis Hughes, December 21, 2000 Loraine Hutchins, April 3, 1998 Sue Hyde, June 26, 1998 Edward James, May 25, 1994 Ralph Jarnagin, June 6, 1994 “Boots Johns,” July 14, 1997 Cary Alan Johnson, May 27, 1998 Sharen Shaw Johnson, August 7, 1998 ABilly S. Jones, June 15, 1999 Wayson Jones, June 27, 1998 “Andy Jordan,” May 29, 1998 Frank Kameny, March 20, 1994 and June 6, 1998 Kenneth Kero-Mentz, December 20, 2012 Thomas “Dusty” Keyes, May 30, 1994 and May 23, 1998 Kris Kleeberg, June 25, 1998 Deb Kolodny, May 26, 1998 Paul Kuntzler, August 5, 1998 Steve Langley, September 25, 1999 Barbara Lewis, June 12, 1998 Deacon Maccubbin, May 27, 1998 V. Papaya Mann, June 23, 1999 Lindsay McBride, August 7, 1998 Monique Meadows, September 1, 1998 Dennis Medina, July 8, 1998 Susan Messina, September 10, 1998 Deb Morris, September 25, 1998 Jack Nichols, May 20, 1995 and June 18, 1998 Diana Onley-Campbell, June 1, 1998 “Edith Parker,” June 9, 1994 and June 1, 1998 Michelle Parkerson, June 1, 1998 and June 29, 1999 Bruce Pennington, June 15, 1998 Isaiah J. Poole, May 31, 1998 Chris Prince, July 1, 1998 Ted Richards, May 24, 1995 and May 31, 1998 Robert Ricks, May 19, 1995 Colin Robinson, November 5, 2000 Rick Rosendall, August 8, 1998 Michael Sainte-Andress, June 21, 1999 Yolanda Santiago, June 9, 1998 Ron Simmons, June 3, 1998 Michael Singerman, June 1, 1998 Esther Smith, June 9, 1994 Sabrina Sojourner, June 12, 1998 Cheryl Ann Spector, May 26, 1998 James P. Theis, June 4, 1998 Thurlow Tibbs, May 24, 1994 “M. Tilden-Morgan,” May 23, 1994 and May 25, 1998 Jane Troxell, June 3, 1998 Nancy Tucker, June 19, 1998 Otto H. Ulrich, Jr., May 24, 1995 and May 23, 1998 Urvashi Vaid, December 17, 1998 Robert Michael Vanzant, May 25, 1998 Lilli Vincenz, June 6, 1998 Anne Vonhof, January 9, 2013 Ann Wachtel, May 30, 1998 “Ed Wallace,” May 25, 1994 and June 4, 1998 “Robert Wayne,” June 10, 1998 Courtney Williams, July 15, 1999 Jessica Xavier, April 2, 1998 and June 3, 1998 Michael Yarr, September 13, 1998 Bill Youngblood, June 1, 1994 and May 26, 1998 Amelie Zurn, May 28, 1998 Description An account of the resource Oral history interviews conducted while researching the 2014 publication "A Queer Capital: A History of Gay Life in Washington, D.C." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Genny Beemyn, Ph.D. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource No restrictions on access; no restrictions on use. Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. Interviews are digitized; some may have transcripts. Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Genny Beemyn Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Louis Hughes Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. Yes Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 46:35 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History with Louis Hughes (Queer Capital-Genny Beemyn) Subject The topic of the resource This is an Oral History interview taken by Genny Beemyn for their book "A Queer Capital: a History of Gay Life in Washington D.C." They have donated their interviews to the Rainbow History Project. Description An account of the resource Interested in listening to this audio? Email oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org for access Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/21/2000 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This interview was donated to RHP by Genny Beemyn Abstract A summary of the resource. In this interview, Louis Hughes, a native Baltimorean, recounts his experiences within DC’s African-American LGBTQ community during the 1970s and 1980s. Hughes, who came out in the mid-1970s, soon discovered Washington to be an exciting center of African-American gay life. Hughes joined many other Black Baltimoreans who were involved in gay activism and community life in DC. He routinely commuted to DC to dance at the famed ClubHouse, and discover innovative Black artists at the ENIKAlley Coffeehouse (such as Thurlow Tibbs and Essex Hemphill). He also served as co-chair of the National Black Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays, organized the 1979 Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference, and advised Howard University’s pioneering gay-rights student organization Lambda Alliance. Later, he refocused his activism within Baltimore, working on a gay rights bill at the Baltimore City Council, and serving as a peer advisor at Morgan State University. By the end of the interview, Hughes laments the loss of historic LGBTQ spots in DC, and wonders if DC culture is inherently more superficial and fleeting than the more deep-rooted community organizations that grow within Baltimore. 1970s 1980s ABilly Jones-Hennin Academic organizations Activism Advocacy groups African Americans Bachelor's Mill Baltimore MD Bars and clubs Brass Rail ClubHouse Coffee houses Conventions Drag performances Essex Hemphill Gay rights HIV/AIDS La Zambra Lost and Found Marches Melvin Boozer Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) Michelle Parkerson Music Nightlife Nob Hill Publications Religious facilities Restaurants Student groups Tracks Washington Blade https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/c2469dff75601281e9136c051590fc99.pdf d1a9b5d1e0d47e8bb4bbc81815a78d91 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource DC Trans Coalition Records Subject The topic of the resource The DC Trans Coalition (DCTC) is a volunteer-run, community-based organization that advocates for the human rights of trans and gender-diverse people in DC. DCTC works to promote liberation and gender self-determination by raising awareness and building community support, facilitating resources and information, and changing laws that impact DC's trans communities. Description An account of the resource The DC Trans Coalition collection includes a community needs assessment survey and report that address a range of issues and experiences within trans communities in DC--such as discrimination, employment, housing, education, and incarceration. This collection houses forum and roundtable agendas, as well as correspondence between DCTC and government officials, and between DCTC and local LGBTQ+ organizations. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Materials were collected by DC Trans Coalition Director Jason Terry. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://dctranscoalition.wordpress.com/about-dctc/">https://dctranscoalition.wordpress.com/about-dctc/</a> Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. Collection is available for “fair use.” Material may be protected by copyright. Please contact RHP for further information. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Queers and Allies Correspondence with Jason Terry on DC Trans Needs Assessment, 18 February 2011 Description An account of the resource A 2011 letter from American University's Queers and Allies campus organization regarding their donation to the DC Trans Needs Assessment and their support for the project. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Queers and Allies Executive Director Tonei Glavinic Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 18 February 2011 2010s Academic organizations Campus organizations Correspondence Protests Religious facilities Student groups Student life Transgender people https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/9d9c1da752da90059fdc27ad9f8931fc.pdf 320c3151057fdbf5d9cfb214115e57d2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource Eye-witness accounts of what we’ve seen and experienced provide a valuable resource to researchers and future generations to understand our past and how we arrived where we are today. Each interview in this collection has a narrator telling the story and a documenter guiding the process. Collected since the founding of the RHP, this collection is growing and is open to researchers. All interviews have been digitized and are described in the catalog; only some of them have transcripts available. None of the interviews stream online. To obtain access to an interview, you must request by contacting us directly, providing a brief description of your project and your research interests. Our email address is: info AT rainbowhistory DOT org One of our team will share the file from our Google Drive, and you can listen from home. Please be sure to have "Music Player for Google Drive" enabled on your machine to play the recording. www.driveplayer.com Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. To see all interviews in the collection, click on "Items in the Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection" link below. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rainbow History Project Various narrators per oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Anne Halbert Brooks Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Ryan Bos Location The location of the interview. Capital Pride Office at the DC Center Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. Yes, transcription available Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Yes, recording available (audio .m4a) 26 MB, 00:55:53 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Interview with Ryan Bos, 1974- Abstract A summary of the resource. Executive Director of Capital Pride Alliance, Ryan Bos discusses his experiences concerning the attendance and planning of LGBTQ pride parades. Drawing inspiration from when he was a young boy attending music festivals in Indiana or when he competed in Washington DC’s LGBTQ sports leagues, Bos shows deep appreciation for the sense of community surrounding larger pride events. Joining Capital Pride in the early 2010s, Bos works with organizations such as InterPride, NERP (Northeastern Regional Prides) and POSE (Prides of the Southeast) to orchestrate large-scale pride parades. In this discussion, Bos also tackles issues such as the No Justice No Pride protest, the necessity to promote diverse voices in the community, and the question of whether ‘Pride’ itself is still needed in the present day. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 30, 2017 Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. The interview belongs to the Rainbow History Project. The RHP release form was used and all rights belong to RHP. Description An account of the resource Want access to this audio? Email <a href="mailto:oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org">oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org</a> to request access Academic organizations AIDS remembrance Athletic clubs Badlands Baltimore MD Bars and clubs Black Capital Pride Capital Pride Alliance Community Community centers Dance clubs Frank Kameny Gay Games HIV/AIDS Latine Maryland Nightlife Pride Pride events Protests Sports Student groups Tracks Washington D.C. Youth advocacy https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/7fcd9f8c01d4477103943a630cd99ac9.pdf 93e3d6322b6679da6a7474b587b8af3c https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/fb4915df09b45f10bb313e88cc3c11f0.pdf 7316e12d8ba979e8f139c69b1bccd50f https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/ac7a39174c97382bbc2135f3fc6d9c92.jpeg c17e6a88dab176ed42e8150bf31ce668 https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/f4ec001364a5ede0cb9a0b0e83e33db5.jpeg 6bf3c8e8093ef044c6a25e487cdc038e https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/874a213afd8f352e7d491427ef873745.jpeg 184a519ed604cd1c83fa6db737a1c357 https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/abbe36f47dd305e7b01dca6abafb8a69.jpeg 8dd5c3a74cef5f1210b175385c817b55 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource Eye-witness accounts of what we’ve seen and experienced provide a valuable resource to researchers and future generations to understand our past and how we arrived where we are today. Each interview in this collection has a narrator telling the story and a documenter guiding the process. Collected since the founding of the RHP, this collection is growing and is open to researchers. All interviews have been digitized and are described in the catalog; only some of them have transcripts available. None of the interviews stream online. To obtain access to an interview, you must request by contacting us directly, providing a brief description of your project and your research interests. Our email address is: info AT rainbowhistory DOT org One of our team will share the file from our Google Drive, and you can listen from home. Please be sure to have "Music Player for Google Drive" enabled on your machine to play the recording. www.driveplayer.com Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. To see all interviews in the collection, click on "Items in the Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection" link below. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rainbow History Project Various narrators per oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Vincent E. Slatt Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Don Miguel Crisostomo Location The location of the interview. Via Zoom; Crisostomo in Albuquerque, NM; Slatt in Washington, DC. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Yes, recording available, 01:29:00. (audio .m4a, 83 MB; video .mp4, 1.1GB) Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. No, not yet transcribed. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Interview with Don M. Crisostomo, 1952- Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 6/4/2023 Description An account of the resource Don Crisostomo is a native of Bethesda, MD, who came out in high school, was active in the Gay Student Alliance, Gay Men's VD Clinic, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, the Couples Support Group and ENLACE. He founded the Suburban Maryland Gay and Lesbian Alliance and worked to get non-discrimination ordinance passed in Montgomery County. He also led the GAPIN-DC, the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Network. Relation A related resource In 2023, Crisostomo donated the GAPIN banner to RHP. The banner was created for the 1993 March on Washington and was used in the 1994 Stonewall 25 March in New York City, and at subsequent Pride events in DC. The banner was in Crisostomo's possession since the 1993 March until its donation to RHP. Photographs shown in interview (scans from originals held by Crisostomo): The first photo is me at DC Pride 1994 with the GAPIN banner. The next photo is me and friends from NYC at the Stonewall 25 March carrying the GAPIN banner. The third photo is the Gay Asian Support Network (GAPSN) Los Angeles banner carried in the Stonewall 25 March. The last photo is from the Rice Conference in NYC held during Stonewall 25, This national conference was sponsored by the Gay Asian Men of New York (GAPIMNY) group. Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. The interview belongs to the Rainbow History Project. The RHP release form was used and all rights belong to RHP. Abstract A summary of the resource. Don Miguel Crisostomo was born in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1952. His parents are Filipino (father) and Russian Jewish (mother); he was raised Catholic and practices some Judaism and also Buddhism. In 1970, during his senior year in high school, he gave a speech on gay rights and came out to his class and wrote “Legalize Homosexuality” on the chalkboard. He briefly studied dentistry in the Philippines (to avoid the Vietnam War draft), and returned to DC in 1972 to attend the University of Maryland College Park. He became active in the Gay Student Alliance and coordinated to bring Frank Kameny and Craig Howell, the then-president of the Gay Activists Alliance, to speak at UMD. He joined their efforts and traveled to New York for the 1976 Gay Pride March. He volunteered at the Gay Men’s VD Clinic on Wisconsin Avenue where he met Leonard Matlovich, the ex-military activist and a fellow volunteer. He was also active in Bet Mishpachah, a group for gay Jews. In 1980 he began a relationship with Robert Coggin and helped form the Suburban Maryland Gay and Lesbian Alliance. They worked together to pass the 1984 Montgomery County ordinance to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexuality; they also assisted with other counties and statewide efforts. Both Crisostomo and Coggin became active in the Couples Support Group, a social and support network for gay men in committed relationships. Together they marched in the 1988 Gay Pride parade, and their photograph appeared on the front of the Washington Post’s Metro Section (June 22, 1988). He volunteered with the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. He then joined ENLACE and was recording secretary. After the November 1990 murder of Ana Maria Rosales, the Walk Without Fear annual marches took place; he spoke at the peace vigil about violence against Asians as both a representative of ENLACE and the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Network (GAPIN). In conjunction with the 1993 March on Washington, he organized the first national conference for Gay Asians to coincide with the march. He coordinated many groups from across the country to participate; it included a special forum for gay Asian women. GAPIN had a banner created for the march and Crisostomo inherited the banner when the previous leader left the group. They marched in the Stonewall 25 March in New York in 1994, and used the banner at other events. There was conflict with the Asians and Friends group surrounding the Asians-only focus of GAPIN and the non-exclusive nature of AF. In 1995 he relocated to San Francisco, where he was active in gay community affairs, especially AIDS activism and Asian support networks. In 2013 he moved to Albuquerque. 1970s 1980s 1990s Academic organizations Asian Pacific Islander (API) Asians Community centers ENLACE Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) Gay men Jewish Latine Maryland Religious facilities Student groups Suburban Maryland Lesbian/Gay Alliance (SMLGA) https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/e9dbd009c136e8ab01981f67c4e0a0a1.pdf 2020b6528a054339d2f24412acc65613 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource Eye-witness accounts of what we’ve seen and experienced provide a valuable resource to researchers and future generations to understand our past and how we arrived where we are today. Each interview in this collection has a narrator telling the story and a documenter guiding the process. Collected since the founding of the RHP, this collection is growing and is open to researchers. All interviews have been digitized and are described in the catalog; only some of them have transcripts available. None of the interviews stream online. To obtain access to an interview, you must request by contacting us directly, providing a brief description of your project and your research interests. Our email address is: info AT rainbowhistory DOT org One of our team will share the file from our Google Drive, and you can listen from home. Please be sure to have "Music Player for Google Drive" enabled on your machine to play the recording. www.driveplayer.com Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. To see all interviews in the collection, click on "Items in the Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection" link below. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rainbow History Project Various narrators per oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=2&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Sarah+Welz+Geselowitz">Sarah Welz Geselowitz</a> Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=3&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Denise+Bump">Denise Bump</a> Location The location of the interview. 17th and Rhode Island Ave., Washington, D.C. Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. No. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Yes, recording available (.mp3, 45.9 MB) <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_rmd0YNI039bllxbVo2U19QMHM/view?usp=sharing">Link</a> Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 01:06:32 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History Interview With Denise Bump, 1971- Description An account of the resource Interested in listening to this audio? Email <a href="mailto:oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org">oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org</a> to get access Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 7/30/2015 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The interview belongs to the Rainbow History Project. The RHP release form was used and all rights belong to RHP. Subject The topic of the resource Denise Bump, former owner of Lammas Books and a leader of the D.C. Women's Initiative, discusses finding and sustaining LGBT community and women's spaces in D.C. and elsewhere. Abstract A summary of the resource. 1990s-2010s Denise Bump discusses her early life and coming out, her bisexual identity and Catholic faith, her move to D.C. in the early '90s, her efforts to find LGBT community in London and in D.C., her participation in a rap group through the Lesbian Services Program, her role as a volunteer at and owner of Lammas Books, the closing of Lammas, and her role in the D.C. Women's Initiative. 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Activism Black Bookstores Catholic Coming out Deaf people Feminism Lesbian Avengers Lesbians Medical facilities Poetry Publications Student groups Whitman-Walker Clinic Women Women's rights https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/c4e1afeba20b436ea1efcd7d081294f6.pdf a5227830d51a3e0fdbfc74552d06521f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Barbara Gittings Papers on the Mattachine Society and Other Homophile Organizations, 1962-2001 (Series VI) Alternative Title An alternative name for the resource. The distinction between titles and alternative titles is application-specific. Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Papers: Digital Collection, 1962-1972 Description An account of the resource Includes copies of outgoing correspondence, news clippings, legal proceedings, ephemeral publications, flyers, press releases, and other documents generated by the activities of various homophile organizations, many of which Gittings was a member. A significant number of the items in this collection document the joint activities of Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny in their efforts to secure basic civil liberties for lesbians and gay men. The largest gathering of materials relate to the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C. and the various homophile organization confederations of which it was a constituent member, such as East Coast Homophile Organization (ECHO), Eastern Regional Homophile Conference (ERCH), Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO), and North American Conference of Homophile Organizations (NACHO). <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTRDWwOCsnQ_1qBGlPn98_5-eF2NpGjraPqCt8Fsb6O6pipwI2vGxLoGQMFDjtPWjOBPlwzNQS3Cnzu/pub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VIEW ONLINE FINDING AID</a> Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Gittings, Barbara, 1932-2007 Tobin Lahusen, Katherine "Kay," 1930-2021 Access Rights Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies. Some items available online. All other items open to all <a href="http://www.dchistory.org/research/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">people at the DC History Center</a>, MS 0764, Series VI. Collection is available for “fair use.” Material may be protected by copyright. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTRDWwOCsnQ_1qBGlPn98_5-eF2NpGjraPqCt8Fsb6O6pipwI2vGxLoGQMFDjtPWjOBPlwzNQS3Cnzu/pub" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VIEW ONLINE FINDING AID</a> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was a prominent American activist for gay equality. She organized the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) from 1958 to 1963, edited the national DOB magazine The Ladder from 1963 to 1965, and worked closely with Frank Kameny in the 1960s on the first picket lines that brought attention to the ban on employment of gay people by the largest employer in the US at that time: the United States government. Gittings challenged the Daughters of Bilitis' conservative leadership by publishing an article by Kameny that urged readers to "move away from the comfortingly detached respectability of research into the often less pleasant rough-and-tumble of political and social activism." In response to her publishing this article, the Daughters of Bilitis leadership removed her as editor of The Ladder in 1965. Her early experiences with trying to learn more about lesbianism fueled her lifetime work with libraries. In the 1970s, Gittings was most involved in the American Library Association, forming the first gay caucus in a professional organization, in order to promote positive literature about homosexuality in libraries. She was a part of the movement to get the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality as a mental illness in 1972. Her self-described life mission was to tear away the "shroud of invisibility" related to homosexuality that associated it with crime and mental illness. She was awarded a lifetime membership in the American Library Association, and the ALA named an annual award for the best gay or lesbian novel the The Barbara Gittings Award. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) also named an activist award for her. Abstract A summary of the resource. At the first GLBT ALMS (Archive, Library, Museum, Special Collection) conference in May 2006 at the University of Minnesota, she mesmerized the audience with her plenary speech. I remember speaking with other conferees who had never heard her before: the commanding tone, the warm smile and stories, and the eyes that asked "what more are you going to do for our cause?". They were agog. There are fewer and fewer living witnesses to the bad old days of federally enforced 'closetting' and socially mandated hatred, fewer and fewer of those distinctive personalities that gave up so much to make it a better place for those of us who followed. With Barbara's passing, we have lost all that and therole as moral compass that she still played. A presence is gone and we are the poorer for its departure. Jack Nichols, writing in 1997, about Barbara's selection as co-grand marshall of New York City's Pride Parade called her "the Grand Mother of Lesbian and Gay Liberation". Not the 'Grandmother' but the "Grand Mother'. Ms Gittings also had an uncompromising element of earth mother in her motherliness. She was forthright, out, and outspoken, organized, hardworking and a strategist. Nichols also paid tribute to the inseparability of the "Barbara-and-Kay" team of Barbara and her life partner Kay Tobin Lahusen. For those who have met the 'team', it is a life partnership the like of which we all would love to have in our lives. Lahusen is the documentarian on the team, whose photo collection is now one of the treasures of the LGBTQ community. In Washington, DC Barbara Gittings found a partner in activism, Dr. Franklin E. Kameny, whose uncompromising and innovative gay civil rights activism found an echo in Gittings. They met in 1963. Active since 1958 (at the age of 26) in gay civil rights, with an already established role in the Daughters of Bilitis (she organized a NY chapter in 1958), she embraced the then radical idea of gay picketing, joining the Mattachine Society of Washington (MSW) in picketing the White House and other federal sites in Washington. She recalled in The Gay Crusaders (1972) that Kameny "was the first gay person I met who took firm, uncompromising positions about homosexuality and homosexuals' right to be considered fully on a par with heterosexuals.... Frank really raised my consciousness on this matter! Also thanks partly to him, I got turned on to gay civil rights issues." On July 4, 1965, she and Kameny brought gay picketing to Philadelphia's Independence Hall, three months after MSW began picketing. Gittings and Lahusen became active not only in the Daughters of Bilitis (where they met) and with Washington's Mattachine, but in the effort to organize regional homophile groups, beginning with the East Coast Homophile Organization and moving on to the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations, and the nation conference, NACHO. At the Daughters of Bilitis, Gittings became editor of The Ladder, bringing the lesbian periodical into a bolder role, adding the subtitle "A Lesbian Review" in 1964 and adding cover photos of women in 1964. Gittings and Kameny worked together for nearly a decade to overturn the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder. In May 1971, they were seated at the front of the hall at the APA's Washington, DC convention when gay activists took over the proceedings and Kameny seized the microphone. The following year Gittings and Kameny staffed a booth on homosexuality at the next APA convention in Dallas, TX. Gittings and Kameny were both honored in October 2006 with the first Fyrer Award from the APA for their leadership in the relation between psychiatry and homosexuality. In 1966, Gittings gave up editorial control of The Ladder and became involved as a personal counsel working with Kameny, Mattachine and others to counsel those in conflict with the Department of Defense over security clearances and employment issues. Gittings and Lahusen were active in Dr. Kameny's March 1971 campaign for Congress, travelling down from Philadelphia to help canvas for petition signatures and to leaflet voters. They came down with the busloads of volunteers from Philly and New York and stayed for the strategizing and the parties. In 1972, Gittings, long involved with libraries though not a librarian, joined the American Library Association's Task Force on Gay Liberation, becoming its leader. She has played a major role in ensuring that libraries carry resources that will inform and support gays and lesbians. She never lost sight of the frustration of days in her youth when she combed through libraries and bookstores looking for explanation and validation of her affectional orientation. In 1971 she established a Gay Book Award focusing critical evaluation on fiction and non-fiction books dealing with homosexuality. Librarians recognized her enormous contributions. In 2003, the American Library Association made her an honorary member in recognition of her contributions. The Free Library of Philadelphia had honored her in 2001 with the creation of the Barbara Gittings Gay/Lesbian Collection. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1962-2001 (bulk 1962-1980) Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data mimeographed document Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sex symposium Subject The topic of the resource Gay liberation movement--Washington (D.C.) Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=University+of+Maryland.+Association+of+Women+Students">University of Maryland. Association of Women Students</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1969-11">1969-11</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=47&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Reproduction+and+use+of+this+material+requires+permission+from+the+copyright+holder.+Please+contact+the+Rainbow+History+Project+for+more+information.">Reproduction and use of this material requires permission from the copyright holder. Please contact the Rainbow History Project for more information.</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant College Park (Md.) 1960s 1970s Academic organizations Gay Liberation movement Student groups