Gays

Abstract Barbara Gittings (1932-2007) was an active member of the LGBT rights movement from the 1960s until her death. She worked as editor of The Ladder: A Lesbian Review. In the early 1970s, she was instrumental in lobbying the American Psychiatric Association to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness. Kay Tobin Lahusen (b. 1930) is a photojournalist, editor, author of The Gay Crusaders, and an active member of the gay and...

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Beth Ahavah was founded in 1975 as an LGBT synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Beth Ahavah is an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism and still active as of 2012. The Beth Ahavah records, 1974-1987, consist of administrative records (correspondence), membership records, financial records, and event/program records.

Abstract

Gaydreams was among the first gay radio programs in the United States when it debuted in 1974 on the University of Pennsylvania's public radio station WXPN out of Philadelphia. The Gaydreams audio recordings, 1989-1995, consist of dozens of tapes of the radio show in several formats.

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Giovanni's Room, the oldest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) bookstore in the United States, was founded in Philadelphia in 1973 and is still in operation as of 2012. The bulk of the Giovanni's Room records, circa 1975-1991, are financial in nature.

Abstract Harry R. Eberlin was a prolific photographer who began documenting Philadelphia's lesbian and gay community in the early 1970s. Eberlin contributed photographs to several Philadelphia gay publications, including The Gay Alternative and the Philadelphia Gay News. In the mid 1970s, he was active in such organizations as the Gay Media Project. The Harry R. Eberlin photographs include approximately 100 images of lesbian and gay public events...

Abstract Dr. Rafael A. Suarez and James T. Caulfield, known as "The Philamigos," traveled throughout South America in the 1950s-1980s, operated a learning center in Philadelphia, and were prominent members of the Philadelphia LGBT community. The James T. Caulfield and Rafael A. Suarez papers, 1918-1985, extensively document their works, including the Philamigos Institute of Learning, their travels abroad, and Caulfield's experience as a gay soldier during World War II. The collection contains...

Abstract The Gay Alternative was a literary forum for gay expression created by a collective of individuals during the early years of gay liberation. This magazine began as a newsletter of the Gay Activists Alliance of Philadelphia. The Jeffrey Escoffier records of The Gay Alternative, 1972-1976, include original manuscripts of essay submissions, administrative, correspondence, and financial records of the organization, and a small...

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This collection consists of copies of approximately 70 photographs of feminist or gay/lesbian public events in Philadelphia during the 1970s. The original images were 35mm photographic negatives. The copies exist in digital form on a CD, and inkjet prints were made of some of the images.

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Keith A. Kamm (1947-1993) was a bibliographer at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia and a gay rights activist. The Keith Kamm papers, circa 1970s, consist of materials relating to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) issues in libraries, the mental health community, and issues relating to feminism and sexism. This is a convenient collection for studying books relating to LGBT issues in the 1970s.

Abstract Oscar E. Garcia-Vera was a gay rights activist who enjoyed singing and theater work and was also very involved with the Hispanic community in Philadelphia. An appointee of the Mayor's Commission for Sexual Minorities, he played a major role in organizing the first national conference dealing with AIDS and mental-health issues, held in Philadelphia in 1992. The Oscar Garcia-Vera papers, 1971-1992, consist of conference pamphlets and materials, four photograph albums, and scattered additional...