WHYY The Pursuit documentary interview (correspondence), 2015 - 2016

This collection houses the personal papers of the late activist Ada Bello (1933-2023).

It is arranged into three main series: "Series I: Papers," "Series II: Photos, scrapbooks, and audiovisual," and "Series III: Objects." Folders and items have been arranged alphabetically. The physical bulk of the collection belongs to Series II, in the form of twenty-four large photo albums.

"Series I: Papers" contains Bello's personal papers and spans the years 1940 to 2023. It includes correspondence, ephemera and clippings, creative and autobiographical writing, documents related to citizenship and visa permissions, among other types of materials. This series is divided into four subseries: "General," "Awards, events, interviews, and appearances," "Elder Initiative and elder rights," and "Writing." Some materials of note include correspondence and clippings related to the dedication of the state historical marker commemorating the Annual Reminder demonstrations in Philadelphia, as well as Bello's narrative autobiography. There are also several documents related to the LGBT Elder Initiative, dating 2014 to 2019, including materials from its board of directors and ephemera from events held by the group.

"Series II: Photo albums and scrapbooks" makes up the bulk of the collection, and comprises twenty-six photo albums and eight scrapbooks, as well as a bound volume of the collected newsletters of the Daughters of Bilitis Philadelphia chapter and the Homophile Action League. The photos within the albums date from 1946 to 2008, and these primarily depict destinations, Bello herself, and friends. Some of the earlier photos are of family members in Cuba.

Of the twenty-six photo albums, twenty-three had been described (to include people, places, and dates) in a document created by Bello herself. Scope and contents notes for each album within this finding aid provide information supplied by Bello. The document can also be found under Series I: Papers, in the folder "Photo albums inventory document, undated."

The eight scrapbooks date from 1957 to 1993, with the earliest books containing items Bello collected in Cuba. Each of the scrapbooks contains dozens of ephemera collected by Bello at several destinations she visited. Items include napkins, business cards, stir sticks, match boxes, brochures, etc.

Another special item in this series is a bound volume of the collected newsletters of the Daughters of Bilitis Philadelphia chapter and the Homophile Action League. Included are Volume 1, Number 1 through Number 12 of the DOB Philadelphia newsletter, and Volume 1, Number 1 through Volume 3, Number 5 of the Homphile Action League, with the exception of Volume 3, Number 2, which is not included. The newsletters date from August of 1967 to April of 1971.

Finally, "Series III: Objects" consists of several undated items. Among them are refrigerator magnets, two framed photos, pride pins, a small pride flag, and a name tag. Of note is a small magnetic frame containing a photo of Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen.