Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection
name: label: Collector
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
label: Donor
content: Becker, John M.
label: Donor
content: Gay Officers Action League. GOAL
label: Donor
content: Heritage of Pride (HOP)
label: Creator
content: Hirsch, Leonard
label: Creator
content: Guest, Barbara
label: Creator
content: Barna, Joseph T.
label: Creator
content: Guest, Michael E.
label: Donor
content: Rohrbaugh, Richard
label: Title
content: Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019. Stuck Rubber Baby
label: Donor
content: Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)
label: Donor
content: American Federation of Teachers
label: Donor
content: Department of Defense, Comprehensive Review Working Group
label: Donor
content: Gay Officers Action League. GOAL
label: Donor
content: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland
label: Donor
content: ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
label: Donor
content: San Diego LGBT Pride
label: Donor
content: Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
label: Donor
content: Smith College
label: Donor
content: University of Connecticut
label: Donor
content: William Way Community Center
label: Donor
content: Biren, Joan E.
label: Donor
content: Bushnell, Megan
label: Donor
content: Davidson, James, Dr.
label: Donor
content: Dietrich, Joe
label: Donor
content: Exline, Gregory
label: Donor
content: Florence, Laura
label: Donor
content: Huebner, David
label: Donor
content: Jain, Shawn
label: Donor
content: Karazsia, Amy
label: Donor
content: Karazsia, William G.
label: Other
content: Larson, Gordon P., 1910-1988 -- 20th century
label: Donor
content: Lombardi, Angela
label: Donor
content: Lynch, Patsy
label: Names
content: McWaine, Dwayne, Dr.
label: Donor
content: Meinke, Mark
label: Donor
content: Nitz, Ryan
label: Donor
content: Reichard, Bradley
label: Donor
content: Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)
label: Donor
content: Ros, Silvia
label: Donor
content: Sabatino, Michael
label: Donor
content: Shannon, Michael A.
label: Donor
content: Sheets, Justin
label: Donor
content: Snodgrass, Adam
label: Donor
content: Voorheis, Robert
place: label: Place
content: Canada -- Description and Travel
label: Place
content: Germany -- description and travel
label: Place
content: Amsterdam (Netherlands)
label: Place
content: Washington, D.C. -- history
label: Place
content: Los Angeles (Calif.)
label: Place
content: New York, New York
topic: label: Topic
content: Lesbianism
label: Topic
content: Women's music
label: Topic
content: Political activists
label: Topic
content: Sexual orientation
label: Topic
content: Transgender people -- Identity
label: Topic
content: Lesbian and gay experience
label: Topic
content: Gay activists
label: Topic
content: Homosexuality
label: Topic
content: HIV and AIDS
label: Topic
content: Feminism
label: Topic
content: Bisexuality
label: Topic
content: Bars (Drinking establishments)
label: Topic
content: Gay Pride
label: Topic
content: Rodeos -- United States
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This collection was assembled by the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, beginning in 2004.
creator: label: Collector
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
label: Donor
content: Becker, John M.
label: Donor
content: Gay Officers Action League. GOAL
label: Donor
content: Heritage of Pride (HOP)
label: Creator
content: Hirsch, Leonard
label: Creator
content: Guest, Barbara
label: Creator
content: Barna, Joseph T.
label: Creator
content: Guest, Michael E.
label: Donor
content: Rohrbaugh, Richard
label: Title
content: Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019. Stuck Rubber Baby
label: Donor
content: Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection contains a variety of periodicals, photographs, correspondence, business and advertising ephemera (corporate and non-profit, personal), organizational records and ephemera, created by, for, and in reaction to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community.
accruals: label: Accruals
content: The Archives Center continues to add to this collection.

Addendums and gifts were received from: Dr. James P. Davidson; ONE Archive, Los Angeles, California (2019, 2023); the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries; Service Members Legal Defense Network, and Department of Defense Comprehensive Review Working Group; Joan E. Biren (2010); Joseph Dietrich, Bradley Reichard, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. (2011, 2014, 2020, 2021); Archives of Philadelphia, William Way LGBT Community Center (2012); Joyce Cheney (2012); Patsy Lynch, Rainbow History Community Pioneers (2012-2014); Leah Kelley (2012); Gregory Exline (2013); the Sean O. Strub addendum was collected from Sean O. Strub, publisher and executive editor of POZ Magazine from Katherine Ott, curator, Division of Medicine and Science (2013); Silvia Ros (2013-2014); David Heubner (2014); Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore (2014); KoMut Entertainment, Max Mutchnik and David Kohan, Will & Grace (2014); Christopher D.A. Ragonese (2014); Antonio Ruffini (2014); Heritage of Pride, Inc.(2014); Peter J. Howell (2014); John T. Bender (2014); Steven Mayers (2014); Richard Rohrbaugh (2015); Donald Fenton (2015); Michael Guest (2015); ABC Family, Jori Arancio (The Fosters, 2015); Jerame Davis, Pride at Work (2015); Dee Mosbacher (2015); Nancy Gray, executor for the Leonard P. Hirsch estate (2015); Victoria Kathleen Hall (2015); John Coppola (2015); Christopher Aguilar Garcia (2016); Berea College, Berea, Kentucky (2016); Michael Sabatino and Robert Voorhies (2016, 2017); Jim Holbrook (2016); William J. Shepherd, Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) (2016); Daan G. Erikson (2016); Christina Dean (2016, 2017); George Bowman (2017); Adele "Del" Brown (2017); Laurie Ryan (2017); The Mattachine Society (2017); Walter Hanclosky (2018); Robin Tyler (2018); Robert B. Connelly, Jr. (2017, 2018); Larissa Stenzel (2018); Daniel M. DiLandro (2019); Kenneth W. Clubb (2019); Lynn Witt and Sherry Thomas (2019); Steve Pieters (2019); Troy Perry (2019); Greg Louganis (2020); Joan Juster (2020); Paul Detwiler (2020); Harry G. Heiss (2020); Suzanne Freed (2020); Jude Flynn (2021); Robert Witeck (2021); Crown Media, Family Networks (2021); Kyle Ruempler (2021); Alexander Slater (2021); Bruce Woolley, the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley/Out Alliance (2021); G. Yvonne Harris and Myra L. Cones (2022); Eric Gangloff (2023); Dexter Fox (2023); Meryl Hooker (2023); Sherilyn Thomas and Lynn Witt (2023); International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA)(2024).
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: While the quest for equal rights has been pursued by generations, it is generally acknowledged that the modern day Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement began in New York City in June 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. Prior to this time a number of activists, individuals, and organizations such as The Mattachine Society, Daughters of Bilitis and others, fought to bring recognition of LGBT civil rights to the forefront of American society. While the movement was primarily, and most visably, centered in New York City and San Francisco, periodicals, guide books, and ephemeral material interconnected the larger LGBT community throughout the United States. The increased visibility of the LGBT movement inspired affinity groups at odds with the LGBT community's new found visibility and quest for broader civil rights.  The challenge to what was termed "traditional" values encouraged these counter-LGBT groups to define and solidfy their constituency and also become more pro-active. This collection comprises material that is generated by individuals and organizations promoting both points of view.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 73 Cubic feet (219 boxes, 22 map-folders, 29 film reels)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1825-2025, undated
label: Date
content: bulk 1960-2024
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The Sean O. Strub addendum was collected by Katherine Ott, curator, Division of Medicine and Science and transferred to the Archives Center in 2013.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1146
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Passports
label: Type
content: Postcards
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Posters
label: Type
content: Videocassettes
label: Type
content: Advertising
label: Type
content: Dvds
label: Type
content: Songbooks
label: Type
content: Periodicals
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is divided into twenty-eight series.

Series 1: Periodicals, 1937-2023

Series 2: Agencies, Associations, and Organizations, 1965-2023, undated

Series 3: Community Life and Subject Files, 1825-2023, undated

Subseries 3.1: Photographs and Slides, 1870-2009, undated 

Subseries 3.2: Ephemera and Buttons, 1969-2022, undated

Subseries 3.3: Posters and Prints, 1825-2018, undated

Subseries 3.4: Subject Files, 1958-2023, undated  

Subseries 3.5: Pride, 1976-2023, undated

Subseries 3.6: HIV and AIDS, 1987-2020, undated

Subseries 3.7: Gay Games, 1982-2018

Series 4: Advertising, Business, and Publications, 1912-2023, undated

Subseries 4.1: Advertising, 1970-2018, undated 

Subseries 4.2: Business, 1986-2021, undated 

Subseries 4.3: Television, Theater, and Motion Pictures, 1978-2023, undated

Subseries 4.4: Bar ephemera and advertisement, 1979-2018, undated 

Subseries 4.5: Publications, 1912-2023, undated

Series 5: Biren, Joan E. (JEB), 195-2018, undated

Subseries 5.1: Xerographic Copies of Photoprints, 1971-1995, undated. 

Subseries 5.2: Posters and Oversize Advertisement, 1973-2018, undated

Series 6: Dietrich, Joseph A., 1992-2010

Series 7: Mattachine Society Records, 1942-1996, undated

Subseries 7.1: Correspondence, 1952-1991, undated

Subseries 7.2: Board of Directors Minutes, 1954-1974, undated

Subseries 7.3: Organizational Information, 1942-1993, undated

Subseries 7.4: Councils, Chapters, and Committees, 1953-1965, undated

Subseries 7.5: Conventions, 1953-1960, undated

Subseries 7.6: Publications, 1944-1996, undated 

Series 8: Rainbow History Community Pioneers, 2003-2012, undated

Series 9: Strub, Sean O., addendum, 1987-2011, undated

Series 10: Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore (GLCCB, 1990-2014, undated

Series 11: Ros, Silvia, 2009-2011

Series 12: Huebner, David, 2009-2014

Series 13: St. George, Philip, 1945-1955, undated

Series 14: Will & Grace, 1995-2006

Series 15: Barna, Joseph T. and Heritage of Pride (HOP), New York, New York, 1910-2014, undated

Subseries 15.1: Photographs, Photographic Negatives, and Slides, 1985-2010, undated

Subseries 15.2: Heritage of Pride (HOP), 1984-2014, undated

Subseries 15.3: Barna, Joseph T., 1910-2013, undated,

Series 16: Becker, John M., 1999-2014, undated

Series 17: Rohrbaugh, Richard, 1972-1986, undated

Series 18: Guest, Michael E., 2001-2009

Series 19: The Fosters, 2013

Series 20: Pride at Work, 1990-2015

Series 21: Sabatino, Michael and Voorheis, Robert, 1980-2016, undated

Subseries 21.1: Archilla, Gustavo A. and Lokkins, Elmer T., 1916-2014, undated

Series 22: Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), 1982-2016, undated

Series 23: Brown, Adele "Del" and Herizon's Bar, 1985-1991, undated

Subseries 1: Changing Herizons, and Herizons Newsletter, 1983-1991

Series 24: Universal Fellowship Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), 1957-2019, undated

Series 25: The Christmas House, Crown Media Family Networks, 2020-2021

Series 26: Cones, Myra L. and Harris, G. Yvonne, 1979-2001, undated

Series 27: Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA), 1993-2004, undated

Series 28: Hooker, Meryl, 1989-1996, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Susan B. Strange, archivist, 2004-2008.  Processed by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., archivist, 2009-2023; assisted by Jennifer Berger, Kendra Ciccone, Erin Molloy (Biren, Lynch, and Mattachine Addendums), Erin Walsh, Katarina Walther, Theresa Worden, Lily Stowe-Ackerman, Ryan Komitor, Amelia Dolbeare, Sara Kunkemueller, Geoff Kelly interns; supervised by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. and Vanessa Broussard Simmons, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Passports
label: Genre/Form
content: Postcards
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 2000-2010
label: Genre/Form
content: Posters
label: Genre/Form
content: Videocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Advertising
label: Genre/Form
content: DVDs
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Songbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Periodicals
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection contains periodicals, ephemera, posters, postcards, advertisements, photographs, organizational records, publications, correspondence, and other materials related to all aspects of the LGBT community and the civil rights issues pertaining thereto. The collection was created by the Archives Center to bring together materials specifically pertaining to the LGBT community. This collection contains material from communities and individuals throughout the United States. The collection is currently strongest in periodicals, newspapers and ephemera and very strong in material from California and New York. The collection continues to add new items and the researcher would be wise to take a broad view in targeting their research topics in the collection.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials in the Archives Center

Michio and Aveline Kushi Macro-Biotics Collection (AC0619)

The Shamrock Bar: Photographs and Interviews (AC0857)

John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection (AC1128)

Archives Center Wedding Documentation Collection (AC1131 )

Division of Science, Medicine, and Society HIV/AIDS Reference Collection (AC1134)

John-Manuel Andriote Hot Stuff: A Brief History of Disco Collection (AC1184)

Joan E. Biren (JEB) Queer Film Museum Collection (AC1216)

World AIDS Institute (WAI) Collection (AC1266)

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) Records (AC1282)

Helping Persons with AIDS (HPA) Records (AC1283)

DC Cowboys Dance Company Records (AC1312)

Bil Browning and Jerame Davis Papers (AC1334)

David Hadley Rockwell New York Disco Ephemera Collection (AC1342)

Leonard P. Hirsch Federal Globe Records (AC1357)

Corbett Reynolds Papers (AC1390)

Mark Segal Papers (AC1422)

The Mattachine Society of Washington "Love in Action" Collection (AC1428)

Academy of Washington Records (AC1458)

Matthew Shepard Papers (AC1463)

I'm From Driftwood Records (AC1503)

The Division of Political History holds artifacts related to gay activist Franklin Kameny and a variety of political buttons. They also hold LGBT related artifacts from Joan E. Biren (JEB).  

The Division of Medical and Science holds objects donated from Dr. Renee Richards, Sean O. Strub, and Leonard Hirsch.

The Division of Entertainment and the Arts holds objects donated by The Fosters, Will & Grace, and The Christmas House.