Travel rankings, undated

The collection is divided into two series: Personal materials and AIDS activism. The personal materials date from 1983 to 2012, the year of Griffith's death. Biographical material is in the form of obituaries from the mainstream and adult film industry press (2012), as well as Griffith's own answers to questions for his 10th high school reunion in 1987. Correspondence with friends makes up a large portion of the personal series. Included are letters from friends he met while living and traveling in Europe, as well as from friends within the United States. Of particular note is the intense friendship developed with former porn star and eventual business partner, Scott O'Hara, documented in over 20 letters from O'Hara to Griffith.

Education materials from Griffith's college courses at San Francisco State University or City College of San Francisco include papers on topics including "The Morality of Homosexuality - The Immorality of 'Western Tradition'", "Gay People as Part of the Reorganization of the Social Reproduction System", "Achilles: Brute or Grieving Widower?", and "The Journey of the Truth: Oedipus, Huck Finn, and the Rest of Us".

A restricted portion of the personal materials concern orgies Griffith sponsored at his home in San Francisco. In 1987 and 1988 he put personal ads in the San Francisco Sentinel seeking other men looking to engage in group sexual activity. The ad stated: "Lots of Men, Lots of Sex: Origies are back and safer! Invites going out soon to those who qualify. Send photo, stats, brief reason why you should be there." The response seems to have been strong: 48 responses are in the file. These responses often include detailed physical descriptions and photographs. Envelopes and letters often include the correspondent's name and address. In a separate file are Griffith's form letters back to correspondents and a detailed ranking of potential participants. (Researchers with a serious interest in working with these materials may apply for access, and an accommodation that preserves the privacy of those included may be worked out.)

One of Griffith's great interests in life was travel. Materials related to trips he took or hoped to take are included in the personal series. These include brochures and clippings, menus from a Princess Cruise to the Caribbean, as well as a group of records created by Griffith to rank potential travel locales. Finally there are two travel diaries, both from trips to Europe, in 1989 and 1992. Two additional items in the personal series are a sketchbook of male figures drawings (2004) and a file of undated photographs of Griffith.

The series on AIDS activism covers Keith Griffith's years of involvement in the social justice movement, 1985-1992. Materials from several organizations may be found in the collection, including those co-founded by Griffith, such as AIDS Action Pledge (AAP), the AIDS/ARC Vigil, and Citizens for Medical Justice (CMJ), and to a lesser extent those concurrently active in the Bay Area, including the AIDS Coalition Endowment, Bay Area Pledge of Resistance, Lavender Left, and National Lawyers Guild AIDS Network. For the first group, there are some organizational and meeting records, publications, and promotional materials, as well as clippings from news sources on the groups' activities, especially public protests. There are materials from several important meetings and events, such as the California Conference of Local Health Officers (CCLHO), 1986-1987; meeting minutes from an AIDS Planning Conference for "Forging a Pro-Active Strategy to Fight AIDS in California," 1987; an event to build a national movement called "Agitate, Educate, Organize," 1987; planning documents for an AIDS Mobilization event, 1988; and the program book from the AIDS Medicine and Miracles Conference, Boulder, CO, 1992. Publications found in the collection include issues of The AIDS Action Call: Newsletter of the AIDS Action Pledge, 1987-1988; AIDS Treatment News issues, 1987-1988; and the National Lawyers Guild AIDS Network: The Exchange newsletters, 1987.

There are several essays written by Griffith about the AIDS epidemic, as well as writings by fellow activists John Belskus and Carol Leigh, aka Scarlot Harlot. The topic of state imposed quarantining of AIDS victims, which Griffith and his associates took a firm stand against, is represented in the collection by its own file as well as appearing within several other files.