Audiovisual material

The Tommi Avicolli Mecca collection is comprised of six series: 1) Subject files; 2) Gay Activists Alliance (Philadelphia) records; 3) Gay Media Project (Philadelphia) records; 4) Gay Community Center of Philadelphia records; 5) Photographic slides; 6) Audiovisual material.

The subject files are arranged alphabetically and are comprised of files on organizations, individuals, and topics active in the 1970s and 1980s. Organizations of note include Dignity, the Eromin Center, Gay Liberation Front (GLF), Giovanni's Room bookstore, Homophiles of Penn State (HOPS), Metropolitan Community Church, National Gay Task Force, Pennsylvania Council for Sexual Minorities, Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Coffeehouses, and the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force. Noted individuals represented include Councilman John C. Anderson, Allan Berube, Victoria A. Brownworth, David Fair, Mayor Wilson Goode, Susan Saxe, William J. Way, and Tom Wilson Weinberg. Topics of note include Gay pride marches, Health, the Men's movement, Police, Politics, Teachers, Theatre, Women, and Youth concerns. Additionally, several folders of photographs and negatives are included in this series.

The next three series include business records of three local organizations that Avicolli Mecca was involved in. Because of the extent of these materials and because they had previously been separated from the collection they have been given their own individual series within the collection. They include records from the Gay Activists Alliance (1971-1976), the Gay Media Project (1971-1977), and the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia (1975-1987).

The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), founded in 1971, is considered by Avicolli Mecca to be the most influential Philadelphia gay and lesbian group from the 1970s. Modeled after the New York group of the same name, the GAA had over 500 members by 1974. GAA held weekly meetings at Horizon House in Center City Philadelphia and sponsored political forums, zaps, and social events. GAA was influential in bringing a gay rights bill before Philadelphia City Council in 1974, which, while not passing, laid the groundwork for a successful bill in 1982. A large number of Philadelphia gay and lesbian organizations trace their roots to GAA including the Gay Switchboard, the Lesbian Hotline, the Gay Coffeehouse, the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia (GCCP), the Masterbatters softball team, Radicalqueens, the Eromin Center, the Gay Youth Group, and the Gay Media Project (GMP). The GAA folded in 1976.

The Gay Media Project (GMP) was organized following the publication of a sensationalistic article in the Philadelphia Inquirer called "The Gay Revolution in the Cradle of Liberty" in May 1974. In addition to countering the narrative put forth in this article, the group aimed to monitor and respond to media coverage of gay people and to promote responsible and balanced treatment in the media in general. Other notable actions documented in this series include a successful protest in 1975 of a Marcus Welby, M.D. episode scheduled to air on local television station WPVI-TV, and the subsequent co-sponsorship with WPVI of a half-hour television series called "Up Front" which focused on society's fears of gays and lesbians.

The Gay Community Center of Philadelphia (GCCP) was founded in 1975 and opened its doors in 1976 at 326 Kater Street in the Queen Village neighborhood of Philadelphia. It moved to 222 South Camac Street in 1982. The records collected by Avicolli Mecca highlight the organization's establishment and maintenance of programming, search for and renovation of properties, and financial and organizational challenges. The Center sponsored the popular Gay and Lesbian Coffeehouses, established a Gay and Lesbian Library and Archives, and served as the physical home of the Gay Switchboard. It also provided space for numerous gay and lesbian organizations and events. The Center closed its doors temporarily at the end of 1983, re-opening without a physical location as The Community Center Without Walls, and later Penguin Place at 201 South Camac Street.

The series of Photographic slides is comprised of those used in Avicolli Mecca's slideshow "Rocking the Cradle: A History of the Gay/Lesbian Movement in Philadelphia, 1960-1980" (and include a version of the accompanying script), performances of the multiracial queer theatre troupe Avalanche, as well as a large assortment of additional uncategorized slides with historical LGBT content.

Finally, there is a series of audiovisual material that includes cassette and video tape recordings of contemporary events (1967-1988) including public meetings, interviews, and radio programs, as well as musical performances and poetry readings at the Gay Coffeehouse of Philadelphia (1977-1982). Some of the interviews have been transcribed by scholar Marc Stein and his students, and these are included in this series.