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Call number
Sc MG 736
Physical description
17.92 linear feet (43 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], In the Life Archive (ITLA) miscellaneous collections, Sc MG 736, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

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.

Scope and arrangement

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.

Many individuals, organizations, and subjects featured in the archive are well-known but there is also information on not as well-known individuals and organizations from a variety of areas including hip-hop, female impersonators, and virtually all areas of the performing arts.

The In the Life Archive (ITLA) miscellaneous collections are arranged in eight series:

  • Individuals
  • Organizations
  • Subject files
  • Pride files
  • Newsletters
  • Erotica

    This series mostly consists of pornographic and erotic magazines, geared towards gay men.

  • Events

    This series contain fliers, handbills, pamphlets, programs, and clippings related to one-time events such as parties, theatrical or musical performances, and workshops. The events are sorted into folders by city of origin. The majority of materials come from events in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; New York, New York; and Washington, D.C. A small international file and limited materials from other cities in the United States are also included.

  • Magazines and periodicals

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

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.

Revision History

Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2020 October 6)

Related Material

Each of the following collections, which fall under the Individual collections group of ITLA, is found in the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture:

Assotto Saint papers, Sc MG 556

Black Men's Xchange records, Sc MG 800

Cheryl Clarke papers, Sc MG 642

Donna Allegra papers, Sc MG 792

Essex Hemphill/Wayson Jones collection, Sc MG 832

Gay Men of African Descent records, Sc MG 688

Glenn Carrington papers, Sc MG 89

Gregory Victorianne papers, Sc MG 793

House/Ballroom files, Sc MG 893

Ira Jeffries papers, Sc MG 794

Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement records, Sc MG 902

James Witherspoon papers, Sc MG 791

Jewelle Gomez papers, Sc MG 790

Joan Jett Blakk/Lick Bush '92 archive, Sc MG 897

Joseph Beam papers, Sc MG 455

Kevin McGruder papers, Sc MG 368

Melvin Dixon papers, Sc MG 468

Other Countries records, Sc MG 627

R. Bryant Smith papers, Sc MG 789

Roy Gonzalves papers, Sc MG 753

StoryCorps Black LGBTQ archive, Sc MG 931

Thomas Glave papers, Sc MG 836

Wallace Bass Boyd journals, Sc MG 813

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor