Collection
In the Life Archives (ITLA) Miscellaneous Collections
Span Dates: 1950s - 2010
Bulk Dates: 1990-1999
Volume: 17.92 linear ft.
Description
The ITLA contains materials dating from the mid-1950s to the present, documenting the experiences of LGBTQ men and women of African descent primarily in the United States, with some files for London and several countries in Africa.
Of interest are a file related to the Unity Fellowship Church, 1990-1992.
The archive is divided into two main groups: (1) Individual collections, whch include collections on individuals, such as Donna Allegra and Kevin McGruder; organizations, such as Other Countries; and research collections and (2) Miscellaneous collections, which include one-to-three folder collections containing a variety of original and printed materials including manuscripts, typescripts, galleys, correspondence, letters, reviews, and clippings. This finding aid describes the Miscellaneous collections. The bulk dates are the 1990s, but there is information about underdocumented individuals, organizations, and subjects from the 1980s, when many organizations formed in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. These Miscellaneous collections cover productive periods for the Black LGBT movement, documenting the "Black gay and lesbian renaissance" for the 1980s, as well as the 1990s and 2000s. The collection also contains HIV/AIDS information designed to reach African American communities, during the late 1980s through the present, created primarily by white institutions and the state and federal government, as well Black AIDS service organizations instituted in the mid-1980s and early 1990s.
Hist/Bio Note
The archives, originally known as the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive (BGLA), was created by Steven Fullwood in 1999 to aid in the documentation and preservation of cultural materials produced by and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people of African descent. In 2004, the collection was donated to the Schombuurg Center for Research in Black Culture. Around 2013 it was renamed ITLA, inspired by In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joe Beam (1986).
Finding Aid
An online finding aid is available.
https://archives.nypl.org/scm/21212#c1596750
Location
In the Life Archive (ITLA) miscellaneous collections, Sc MG 736,
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,
Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division,
The New York Public Library
https://archives.nypl.org
Tags
Unity Fellowship Church Movement | Black | AIDS