Collection

Garcia, Rick Papers

Span Dates: nd
Bulk Dates:
Volume: 1 linear foot

Description

The collection contents include correspondence, clippings, legal documents, financial documents, permits, forms, newspapers, newsletters, programs, promotions, pins, and slides that detail his civil rights work as well as his advocacy for and among Catholics.

Hist/Bio Note

Rick Garcia, one of the most high-profile activists for sexual-minority rights in Chicago, has worked extensively in behalf of the Roman Catholic church’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adherents. Initially active with the Catholic Workers in St. Louis, he left Saint Louis for Washington, D.C. in 1980, where he worked for New Ways Ministry. When the founders of New Ways, Father Robert Nugent and Sister Jeannine Gramick, were removed from the Archdiocese of Washington, Garcia participated in the response. He met with archbishops and cardinals up and down the east coast, gave talks to Catholic groups, and answered mail. In 1986, he moved to Chicago where a gay rights amendment faced nearly certain defeat after Joseph Cardinal Bernardin declared his opposition. He met with Dominican Sister Donna Quinn, executive director of Chicago Catholic Women, who assumed Garcia had been sent to Chicago by New Ways to work for the gay rights amendment. Her firm encouragement initiated his career as a maverick gay activist in Chicago. Biographical information from Chicago Reader article, Aug. 29, 1996.
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/how-to-win-enemies-and-influence-people/Content?oid=891399

Finding Aid

A brief description of the collection is available online.
https://www.gerberhart.org/archival-collection-guide

Location

The collection is located at the Gerber Hart Library and Archives.
https://www.gerberhart.org

Tags

Activist (religious institutions) | Catholic (Roman) | Chicago | Illinois