Gay Activists Alliance
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1121
The Gay Activists Alliance was founded in New York City in 1969 as a militant, non-violent organization dedicated exclusively to the attainment of civil and social rights for gays. The records reflect the activities of the organization.
Manford, Jeanne
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1857
1 linear foot (3 boxes)
Jeanne Manford, mother of gay rights activist Morty Manford, is best known as co-founder of the first support group for parents of gay children. Known as Parents of Gays (POG), the group was the predecessor to PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Gays...
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Jeanne Manford, mother of gay rights activist Morty Manford, is best known as co-founder of the first support group for parents of gay children. Known as Parents of Gays (POG), the group was the predecessor to PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians). The collection contains Manford's correspondence, administrative files, photographs, posters, speeches, printed material, and sound and video recordings related to her work on behalf of gay rights.
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Manford, Morty
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1858
22.5 linear feet (59 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Morty Manford (1950-1992) was an activist and key strategist in the early days of the gay rights movement, a Legal Aid lawyer, and an Assistant Attorney General of New York State. While an undergraduate at Columbia University in 1971, he founded...
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Morty Manford (1950-1992) was an activist and key strategist in the early days of the gay rights movement, a Legal Aid lawyer, and an Assistant Attorney General of New York State. While an undergraduate at Columbia University in 1971, he founded Gay People at Columbia, one of the first gay campus groups in the country. Subsequently, he began writing about the goals of the gay movement, speaking on college campuses and at gay clubs, and organizing protest demonstrations, parades, and rallies in support of gay rights legislation in New York City and throughout the United States. Among the many gay rights organizations he co-founded were the Gay Activists Alliance, which strove to bring gays together as a political force, the National Coalition of Gay Activists, which publicized and coordinated rallies and demonstrations on a national scale, and the clandestine Study Group, a New York-based think-tank which worked with the gay infrastructure in the state and local political establishments to influence political and public opinion and promote the state-wide activities of the gay rights movement. The papers of Morty Manford span the years 1962 to 1986 and chiefly document his activities as a leading activist and ideologist of the gay and lesbian rights movement. The collection consists of correspondence with other gay activists, gay organizations, and politicians; name and subject files; writings by Manford and others on gay and other subjects; photographs, sound recordings, artifacts, and personal papers.
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Willard, Avery
Billy Rose Theatre Division | *T-Vim 1999-026
34 linear feet (76 boxes)
The collection documents the photography career of Avery Willard, photographer, filmmaker, actor, publisher, and gay rights activist.
Gittings, Barbara, 1932-2007
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 6397
80.41 linear feet (170 boxes, 7 oversize folders)
Barbara Gittings (1932-2007) and Kay Tobin Lahusen (1930-) were gay civil rights pioneers and partners for nearly forty-six years. The collection contains their personal and professional papers, photographs by Lahusen created in the course of...
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Barbara Gittings (1932-2007) and Kay Tobin Lahusen (1930-) were gay civil rights pioneers and partners for nearly forty-six years. The collection contains their personal and professional papers, photographs by Lahusen created in the course of forty-five years of gay rights activism, and the extensive collection of materials they gathered and preserved to document the movement. The collection also includes Gittings' extensive correspondence with fellow activists, most notably Frank Kameny, records of her editorial work on
The Ladder, interviews conducted for Lahusen's book,
The Gay Crusaders, and organizational files from their work in such organizations as the Daughters of Bilitis and several other early homophile groups; the Gay Task Force of the American Library Association; the Gay Activists Alliance; and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
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Russo, Vito
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 2654
13.19 linear feet (36 boxes); 1.41 Megabytes (249 computer files); 230 audio files, 19 video files
The papers reflect Russo's personal life and career as a writer, lecturer, film historian, and gay rights and AIDS activist. They include correspondence, journals, appointment books, writings by and about Russo, electronic records, photographs,...
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The papers reflect Russo's personal life and career as a writer, lecturer, film historian, and gay rights and AIDS activist. They include correspondence, journals, appointment books, writings by and about Russo, electronic records, photographs, sound and video recordings, ephemera, and posthumous material.
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Davies, Diana, 1938-
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 732
3.3 linear feet (6 boxes)
The collection consists of black and white photographic prints, color slides and negatives taken by Diana Davies during the late 1960's through the 1970's. The subjects include representatives of several New York gay and lesbian organizations...
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The collection consists of black and white photographic prints, color slides and negatives taken by Diana Davies during the late 1960's through the 1970's. The subjects include representatives of several New York gay and lesbian organizations including the Gay Liberation Front and Lavender Menace, and demonstrations, marches and meetings. Individuals photographed include Rita Mae Brown (activist and writer), Jill Johnston (writer and critic), Bob Kohler (co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front), and Kady Van Deurs (activist and writer). The collection also includes a small amount printed material.
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Rodwell, Craig, 1940-1993
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 2606
7 linear feet (21 boxes)
Craig Rodwell (1940-1993) was an American gay rights activist. He was active in the Mattachine Society in New York City and in 1967 founded the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, the first bookstore devoted to serious writing by gay authors. A...
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Craig Rodwell (1940-1993) was an American gay rights activist. He was active in the Mattachine Society in New York City and in 1967 founded the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, the first bookstore devoted to serious writing by gay authors. A participant in the Stonewall riots in 1969, Rodwell figured prominently in the gay liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, printed matter, artifacts, and other items documenting Rodwell's work as an activist and proprietor of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop. Correspondence is mainly incoming letters from friends and colleagues, and writings, ca. early 1970s, are on gay-related topics. Rodwell's files contain clippings, flyers, correspondence and other materials all pertaining to aspects of gay and lesbian politics and culture. Other papers include printed matter, Martin Duberman's interview with Rodwell, and materials from Rodwell's childhood and youth. Also, photographs and slides; artifacts such as political buttons, banner, T-shirts, and puzzle; and two sound recordings. (Sixteen commercial sound recordings were transferred to the International Gay Information Center Archives.).
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Mass, Lawrence, 1946-
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1893
38 linear feet (91 boxes)
Lawrence David Mass, a co-founder of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, is a physician and writer living in New York City. The collection contains personal and professional correspondence, 1966-1995, notes, drafts, outlines, and published copies of his...
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Lawrence David Mass, a co-founder of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, is a physician and writer living in New York City. The collection contains personal and professional correspondence, 1966-1995, notes, drafts, outlines, and published copies of his books, essays, and reviews, topical files, personal press clippings, photographs, audio and videotapes, and ephemera reflecting Mass's work as a writer and gay activist.
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Donaldson, Stephen, 1946-1996
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 824
The Stephen Donaldson Papers document the varied career and tumultuous personal history of the writer and activist. The date span of the papers is 1965-1998. They include manuscripts, typescripts, and publication tearsheets of Donaldson's...
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The Stephen Donaldson Papers document the varied career and tumultuous personal history of the writer and activist. The date span of the papers is 1965-1998. They include manuscripts, typescripts, and publication tearsheets of Donaldson's writings, editorial and administrative papers for the unpublished
Concise Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, personal and professional correspondence, news clippings and printed material, photographs, audiotapes and a few items of clothing and ephemera. The Stephen Donaldson Papers are an important resource for the study of gay and bisexual activism, prisoners and prison life and counter-cultural movements from the 1960s-90s.
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Gay Officers Action League
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 23914
.42 linear feet (1 box)
The Gay Officers Action League was established in 1982 as an activist organization on behalf of gay and lesbian law enforcement personnel in New York City.
Gran Fury (Artists' collective)
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 3648
1.25 linear feet (4 boxes, 9 oversize folders, 9 oversize items)
Gran Fury was an artists' collective devoted to AIDS activism through agitprop art. Named after the Plymouth automobile favored by the New York City police department, Gran Fury drew its membership from the ranks of ACT UP/NY (AIDS Coalition to...
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Gran Fury was an artists' collective devoted to AIDS activism through agitprop art. Named after the Plymouth automobile favored by the New York City police department, Gran Fury drew its membership from the ranks of ACT UP/NY (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, New York).The collection contains examples of Gran Fury's works in the form of posters, stickers, fliers, printed ads, billboards and bus signs, as well as photograph and slide reproductions. Included also are a small amount of correspondence, textual accompaniments for artwork, copies of publications in which Gran Fury's works appeared, a sound recording of a Gran Fury press conference, and a videotaped interview with group members.
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Hardy, Robin, 1952-1995
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 4806
15 linear feet (37 boxes, 1 oversized folder)
The papers reflect the personal life and career of Robin Hardy, Canadian-born gay activist, writer and editor of action/adventure fiction who emigrated to the United States from Canada in 1984. The papers consist of Hardy's personal and family...
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The papers reflect the personal life and career of Robin Hardy, Canadian-born gay activist, writer and editor of action/adventure fiction who emigrated to the United States from Canada in 1984. The papers consist of Hardy's personal and family correspondence; editorial correspondence and papers reflecting his work as a writer and editor; clippings of published articles; typescript drafts and outlines of stories, novels and other writings, including his book on the AIDS epidemic,
The Crisis of Desire ; personal miscellany including high school and college compositions; diaries; photographs; printed matter relating to AIDS; and sound and video recordings.
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Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 4825
2.5 linear feet (6 boxes)
The Before Stonewall production files date primarily from 1982 to 1984 and contain files relating to the making of the documentary film,
Before Stonewall, which explored, through personal stories, historical footage and...
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The Before Stonewall production files date primarily from 1982 to 1984 and contain files relating to the making of the documentary film,
Before Stonewall, which explored, through personal stories, historical footage and photographs, the history of the gay and lesbian rights movement in the United States prior to 1969.
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McGruder, Kevin, 1957-
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 368
1.42 linear feet (2 boxes)
Born in Toledo, Ohio, activist, entrepreneur, and writer Kevin McGruder attended Harvard University (BA in Economics) and Columbia University (M.B.A. in Real Estate Finance). In 2007, he began his doctoral studies in History at the Graduate Center...
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Born in Toledo, Ohio, activist, entrepreneur, and writer Kevin McGruder attended Harvard University (BA in Economics) and Columbia University (M.B.A. in Real Estate Finance). In 2007, he began his doctoral studies in History at the Graduate Center of the City University New York. In 1990, McGruder opened Home to Harlem, one of the first souvenir shops in Harlem, and currently co-owns Harlemade, a souvenir shop also located in Harlem. He was a board member of Other Countries, a black gay writers collective, and the executive director of Gay Men of African Descent (1997-2001). McGruder's essay, "Colleagues", appears in Other Countries' second journal,
Sojourner: Black Gay Voices in the Age of AIDS; his essay, "I Hate Basketball", appears in
Fighting Words: Personal Essays by Black Gay Men, edited by Charles Michael Smith, and his essay, "To Be Heard in Print: Black Gay Writers in the 1980s", appears in
Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora. The collection contains biographical and genealogical information for McGruder and his family; his writings; correspondence, business and financial records, promotional materials, and news clippings for Home to Harlem; minutes from board meetings, strategic plans, journals, membership information, newsletters, flyers, and news clippings related to McGruder's involvement with Other Countries and Gay Men of African Descent.
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Glave, Thomas
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 836
9.18 linear feet (22 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Thomas Glave was a writer, scholar, and social activist. The bulk of this collection consists materials that document Glave's career as a scholar and writer.
Harris, Craig G.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 900
0.21 linear feet (1 box)
The Craig G. Harris Papers, 1986-1993, document his life as a gay, HIV-positive African-American, his work as an AIDS activist, and his prolific writing career. The collection consists of biographical information, personal correspondence,...
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The Craig G. Harris Papers, 1986-1993, document his life as a gay, HIV-positive African-American, his work as an AIDS activist, and his prolific writing career. The collection consists of biographical information, personal correspondence, obituaries and memorial material, as well as original manuscripts of his speeches, essays, articles and poems.
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Gay Freedom Movement (Jamaica)
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 902
1.46 linear feet (4 boxes)
The Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) of Jamaica was founded by Laurence Chang, Michael Davis, Gary Muirhead, Father Joe Owens, Clive Wilson, and Winston Witter in 1977, as the first publicly gay organization in Jamaica and one of the first gay rights...
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The Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) of Jamaica was founded by Laurence Chang, Michael Davis, Gary Muirhead, Father Joe Owens, Clive Wilson, and Winston Witter in 1977, as the first publicly gay organization in Jamaica and one of the first gay rights organizations in the Caribbean. Spanning from the 1970s to the 2000s, Chang's collection highlights the GFM's activity in Jamaica, largely through correspondence and publications.
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Mattachine Society of New York
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1911
10 linear feet (14 boxes)
The records include correspondence of the principal officers including Elver Barker, Robert Burdick, Curtis Dewees, Julian Hodges, Michael Kotis, and Richard Leitsch and collateral papers including minutes, memoranda, reports, scripts,...
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The records include correspondence of the principal officers including Elver Barker, Robert Burdick, Curtis Dewees, Julian Hodges, Michael Kotis, and Richard Leitsch and collateral papers including minutes, memoranda, reports, scripts, photographs, and printed ephemera. The records reflect the origin and development of the homophile movement in America especially in New York and of the struggle to achive through peaceful means the the social integration of gays and the removal of legal sanctions discriminating against gays in housing, employment and assembly.
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Duberman, Martin B.
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 848
69.44 linear feet (164 boxes); 726.94 kb (434 computer files); 165 audio files, 109 cassettes
Martin B. Duberman, b.1930, is a historian and playwright who taught history in universities for over fifty years. He is the author of the play
In White America, biographies of Charles Francis Adams, James Russell...
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Martin B. Duberman, b.1930, is a historian and playwright who taught history in universities for over fifty years. He is the author of the play
In White America, biographies of Charles Francis Adams, James Russell Lowell, Paul Robeson, and Lincoln Kirstein; histories of Black Mountain College and the Stonewall Rebellion; as well as numerous other books, plays, essays, and reviews. The collection contains personal and professional correspondence (1930s-2006) documenting Duberman's academic career and theatrical activities; organizational files from REDRESS, the Gay Academic Union, the National Gay Task Force, and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS); syllabi and lecture notes for courses taught at Yale, Princeton, and Lehman College; manuscripts, typescripts and published copies of his books, plays, and essays, as well as press clippings and personal, family and theatrical memorabilia, sound recordings of interviews, personal and family photographs, and films.
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Nichols, Jack
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 2246
.6 linear feet (2 boxes)
Jack Nichols is a gay activist and senior editor of the online daily newspaper Gay Today. He was co-editor of Gay (one of the earliest gay newsweeklies) and is the author of numerous books and articles including The Gay Agenda: Talking Back To The...
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Jack Nichols is a gay activist and senior editor of the online daily newspaper Gay Today. He was co-editor of Gay (one of the earliest gay newsweeklies) and is the author of numerous books and articles including The Gay Agenda: Talking Back To The Fundamentalists, Men's Liberation, Welcome to Fire Island, and co-author, with his late lover Lige Clarke, of I Have More Fun With You Than Anybody, and Roommates Can't Always Be Lovers. Collection consists of correspondence, photocopies of manuscripts, photographs, and printed matter. Correspondence, 1965-1973, includes letters to Nichols and Clarke; and copies are of autobiographical notes and Nichols's serial autobiography. Also, photographs, ephemera, and clippings of news articles about Nichols and Clarke and columns they wrote for gay periodicals.
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Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division | Sc MG 736
17.92 linear feet (43 boxes)
The In the Life Archive (ITLA), originally known as the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive (BGLA), was created by Steven Fullwood in 1999, to aid in the documentation and preservation of cultural materials produced by and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,...
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The In the Life Archive (ITLA), originally known as the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive (BGLA), was created by Steven Fullwood in 1999, to aid in the documentation and preservation of cultural materials produced by and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people of African descent. In 2004, the collection was donated to the Schombuurg Center for Research in Black Culture, and it was renamed around 2013. The name ITLA was inspired by
In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joe Beam (1986). The ITLA contains materials dating from the mid-1950s to the present, documenting the experiences of LGBTQ men and women of African descent primarily in the United States, with some files for London and several countries in Africa. The archive is divided into two main groups: (1) Individual collections, whch include collections on individuals, such as Donna Allegra and Kevin McGruder; organizations, such as Other Countries; and research collections and (2) Miscellaneous collections, which include one-to-three folder collections containing a variety of original and printed materials including manuscripts, typescripts, galleys, correspondence, letters, reviews, and clippings. This finding aid describes the Miscellaneous collections. The bulk dates are the 1990s, but there is information about underdocumented individuals, organizations, and subjects from the 1980s, when many organizations formed in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. These Miscellaneous collections cover productive periods for the Black LGBT movement, documenting the "Black gay and lesbian renaissance" for the 1980s, as well as the 1990s and 2000s. The collection also contains HIV/AIDS information designed to reach African American communities, during the late 1980s through the present, created primarily by white institutions and the state and federal government, as well Black AIDS service organizations instituted in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.
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Kantrowitz, Arnie, 1940-
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 1616
23.15 linear feet (54 boxes, 1 tube); 7 audio files, 12 video files, 1 vhs tape
Arnie Kantrowitz is a writer, educator, and gay activist who was integrally involved in several gay activist groups in the 1970s and 1980s including the Gay Activists Alliance, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the Christopher...
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Arnie Kantrowitz is a writer, educator, and gay activist who was integrally involved in several gay activist groups in the 1970s and 1980s including the Gay Activists Alliance, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. The Arnie Kantrowitz papers date from 1951 to 2008 and contain personal papers and organizational records chiefly reflecting Kantrowitz's activities as a writer, gay rights activist, and English professor. The collection consists of correspondence from friends, fellow writers, and readers; diaries and notebooks; records concerning his involvement in various gay rights organizations; files relating to his teaching career at the College of Staten Island; notes, drafts and manuscripts of his published and unpublished writing; sound and video recordings; and personal memorabilia.
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McKean, Aldyn
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 5986
3.4 linear feet (8 boxes)
Aldyn McKean (1948-1994), a gay rights and AIDS activist, was a founding member, spokesman, and grassroots organizer for ACT UP. He represented that organization, among others, at international AIDS conferences and demonstrations. His papers...
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Aldyn McKean (1948-1994), a gay rights and AIDS activist, was a founding member, spokesman, and grassroots organizer for ACT UP. He represented that organization, among others, at international AIDS conferences and demonstrations. His papers consist of administrative files, writings, correspondence, printed matter, video recordings, and artifacts documenting his participation in several AIDS activist organizations, including ACT UP New York, United for AIDS Action, and Third Wave International, as well as a small amount of personal papers.
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Liebman, Marvin
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 4823
.66 linear feet (2 boxes)
Marvin Liebman was a conservative strategist and fundraiser for the Republican Party who came out as gay in 1990. His papers consist chiefly of drafts of his memoir,
Coming out Conservative, but also include some...
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Marvin Liebman was a conservative strategist and fundraiser for the Republican Party who came out as gay in 1990. His papers consist chiefly of drafts of his memoir,
Coming out Conservative, but also include some correspondence, other writings, and photocopies of published articles about Liebman and gay political conservatives.
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Hellman, Ronald E.
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 22318
.2 linear feet (1 box)
The Gay Medical Student Alliance (GMSA), one of the earliest gay professional organizations, was founded by gay medical student, Ronald Hellman in 1973. The collection consists of letters sent to GMSA by students around the United States...
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The Gay Medical Student Alliance (GMSA), one of the earliest gay professional organizations, was founded by gay medical student, Ronald Hellman in 1973. The collection consists of letters sent to GMSA by students around the United States discussing issues of isolation, discrimination, and other concerns common to gay and lesbian medical students, as well as other documentation pertaining to the group.
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Silverstein, Charles
Manuscripts and Archives Division | MssCol 26970
2.92 linear feet (7 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Charles Silverstein is an American therapist, gay activist, and writer. This collection consists of paper materials and photographs with special emphasis on the movement to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental...
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Charles Silverstein is an American therapist, gay activist, and writer. This collection consists of paper materials and photographs with special emphasis on the movement to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and Silverstein's books and general academic research and notes.
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