Scope and arrangement
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by House name.
This collection features printed matter on individual Houses from the House/Ballroom scene, some well-known and some lesser-known.
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).
LGBTQ ballroom competitions started in the 1970s, in New York City, as a safe haven for Black and brown young people; many participants in ball culture also belong to groups known as "Houses", which serve as families for their members.
Arranged alphabetically by House name.
Materials acquired by Steven G. Fullwood, former Associate Curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and donated to the Schomburg Center in 2004.
Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2020 October 6)
In the Life Archive (ITLA) miscellaneous collections, Sc MG 736, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture