Activism

This page provides search strategies and a selection of recommended resources related to LGBTQ+ Activism.

Bettye Lane..Lesbian rights on the agenda at the International Women's Year. 1977. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Anti-Violence Project. Gay Man Butchered on Barrow Street... 1994. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Juan Carlos y Nestor. Gay is Angry. 1971. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

Browse the Library of Congress Online Catalog to locate relevant materials by subject or use the following terms and names of individuals to search by keyword:

Organizations and activist groups

Asian Lesbians of New York
Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance
Furies (Washington, D.C.)
ACT UP.
Gay activists.
Gay liberation movement.
Gay rights.
Mattachine Society.
Queens Liberation Front, Formed October 31, 1969
Salsa Soul Sisters
Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.)
Transsexual/Transvestite Action Organization (TAO) founded by Angela Douglas
Transvestites and Transsexuals (TAT), 1970
Transsexuals Anonymous, formed 1971

Activist name or pseudonym

Angela K. Douglas
Jeanne Cordova
Beth Elliott
Lee Brewster
Marsha P. Johnson
Sylvia Rivera

Historical Events

Black Cat Raid, Los Angeles, California, 1967
Black Night Brawl, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 5, 1961
Compton's Cafeteria Raid, San Francisco, 1966
Coopers Do-Nut Raid, Los Angeles 1959
Pepper Hill Club Raid, Baltimore, Maryland in 1955. Over 162 people arrested.
Stonewall Uprising, New York City, 1969

The following links provide access to primary sources available from various repositories available both online and in print related to LGBTQ+ activism.

Presidential Proclamation 7316 External
he first time June was recognized as Gay and Lesbian Pride month was in 2000 when President Clinton issued Presidential Proclamation 7316. In this proclamation, President Clinton recognized the prejudice and discrimination faced by gays and lesbians who “have had to hide or deny their sexual orientation in order to keep their jobs or to live safely in their communities” and the “prejudice against gays and lesbians can still erupt into acts of hatred and violence .” To counter this, President Clinton called upon all Americans to observe the month of June “with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity and recognize the gay and lesbian Americans whose many and varied contributions have enriched our national life.”
Presidential Proclamation 8387 External
In June 2009, President Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 8387 which designated June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. President Obama recognized the seminal events of June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn which gave birth to the LGBT rights movement in America. The proclamation further calls upon us to “commit to achieving equal justice under the law for LGBT Americans” and “to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.” Since 2009, President Obama issued annual proclamations for the celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.
Stonewall Riot Police Reports External
Reports from the New York City Police Department providing details on the Stonewall Riots, including arrest records.
All Hands Abandon Ship External
A self-published GI newspaper with articles on gay liberation. See also: The GI newspaper, "GI Gay Liberation Experience," or G.I.G.L.

The following collection titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links for additional online content, including finding aids for the collections, are provided when available.

Bayard Rustin Papers
Subject File: Gay issues, Black and White Men Together Organization, Gay Civil Rights Bill.
Franklin Kameny Papers
Correspondence, case files, legal records, organization records, subject files, printed matter, and other papers relating to Kameny's work as an activist, organizer, and counselor in the gay rights movement. Reflects the politicization of the gay rights movement as its priorities shifted from education and information to social action and legal reform. Documents Kameny's activities as cofounder and official of the Mattachine Society of Washington
Lilli Vincenz Papers
Correspondence, journals, speeches, writings, interviews, surveys and questionnaires, academic files, organizational files, biographical material, Vincenz family papers, press clippings, printed matter, and other papers relating primarily to Vincenz's life as a gay civil rights activist, her work to support and empower lesbians and gay men, and her documentation of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement.
Paul Kuntzler Papers
Correspondence, news clippings, printed matter, photographs, and other material pertaining chiefly to Kuntzler's role as an advocate for gay rights and to his personal life. Documents his activism and involvement in national and local political campaigns including the campaigns of David Catania for mayor of Washington, D.C., and James P. Zais for Washington, D.C., councilman.

FBI documents related to early LGBTQ+ activism are now available through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Statement from the FBI FOIA Vault: The FBI’s FOIA Library contains many files of public interest and historical value. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBI’s capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. Please note, that the information found in these files may no longer reflect the current beliefs, positions, opinions, or policies currently held by the FBI.

FBI Documents on the Mattachine Society
Begun in 1950, the Mattachine Society was an early homosexual rights advocacy organization. It became the subject of an FBI internal security investigation between 1953 and 1956.
FBI Documents on the Gay Activist Alliance External
FBI Documents on Bayard Rustin External

FBI Records: The Vault External This link opens in a new window

The Vault is our new electronic reading room, containing more than 3,000 documents that have been scanned from paper into digital copies so you can read them in the comfort of your home or office. Included here are many new files that have been released to the public but never added to this website dozens of records previously posted on our site but removed as requests diminished files from our previous electronic reading room, and new, previously unreleased files.

There have been many incidents in which police interaction with LGBTQ+ communities has resulted in violence, and in response, protest.

Browse the Library of Congress Online Catalog to locate relevant materials by subject:

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Crime, Punishment and Popular Culture External This link opens in a new window
The archive unites a number of geographic areas, reflecting the widespread impact of the changes in crime and its policing during the long nineteenth century. The collection covers Europe, North America, India, and the Antipodes and includes material in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Using this archive, it is possible to trace the influence of a legal judgement or development of a penal methodology through various different jurisdictions.
Archives of Sexuality and Gender External This link opens in a new window
Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 present important aspects of LGBTQ life in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond. The archive illuminates the experiences not just of the LGBTQ community as a whole, but of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations that constitute this community. Historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals are featured, as well as publications by and for lesbians and gays, and extensive coverage of governmental responses to the AIDS crisis. The archive also contains personal correspondence and interviews with numerous LGBTQ individuals, among others. The archive includes gay and lesbian newspapers from more than 35 countries, reports, policy statements, and other documents related to gay rights and health, including the worldwide impact of AIDS, materials tracing LGBTQ activism in Britain from 1950 through 1980, and more.

LGBTQIA+ Studies: A Resource Guide