{"id":9111,"date":"2020-03-02T21:10:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T21:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/?p=9111"},"modified":"2023-09-08T17:47:26","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T17:47:26","slug":"lgbtq-activism-in-connecticut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/2020\/03\/02\/lgbtq-activism-in-connecticut\/","title":{"rendered":"Resources in the Archives about LGBTQ+ Activism in Connecticut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[slideshow_deploy id=’9110′]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many,\nthe gay liberation movement began on June 28, 1969. At the Stonewall Inn, a bar\nlocated in New York City\u2019s Greenwich Village, patrons and neighborhood\nresidents fought back against a violent police raid in the early morning hours.\nThe crowd\u2019s fierce resistance against law enforcement quickly grew into an\nuprising that lasted six days and signaled the arrival of a militant and confrontational\nmovement for the liberation of LGBTQ+ people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students attending the University of Connecticut, something like their own Stonewall moment came a few years later, in the 1971-1972 academic year. By then, the UConn Gay Alliance, founded in 1967 by Peter Aubichon and Paul Harrison, had grown from a small private group to an officially recognized student organization. As part of its activities, the organization began to hold dances at the Inner College trailer on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around\n2:00 am on the night of the first dance, some fraternity members \u201cstarted\nscreaming obscenities, yelling, and throwing bottles and rocks\u201d at the trailer\nand those gathered outside. But similar to Stonewall, those attending the dance\nfought back. \u201cOf course we started yelling back like maybe we could start\nsomething, like crack their heads,\u201d one of dance attendees later recounted, \u201cIt\nwas amazing!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nmeetings, dances, and other activities organized by the UConn Gay Alliance proved\nthat by the early 1970s, the gay liberation movement had arrived on campus. Yet\nthe State of Connecticut and its flagship university had long been home to\nvarious forms of LGBTQ+ activism and organizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\n1950s, the homophile movement took shape as LGBTQ+ people began to organize and\nagitate for their rights. Groups like the Mattachine Society, ONE, Inc., and\nthe Daughters of Bilitis sought to raise awareness, unify LGBTQ+ people, and\nchallenge widespread social stigmas. Yet unlike later struggles for gay\nliberation, the homophile movement adopted a more cautious and gradual\napproach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\nearly 1960s, Foster Gunnison, Jr., who had arrived in Hartford, Connecticut, to\npursue a master\u2019s degree at Trinity College, began to immerse himself in the\nhomophile movement. He offered his services as a secretary to the Eastern\nConference of Homophile Organizations (ECHO), an early coalition of\norganizations working to create a national homophile organization. Then, in\n1966, he was appointed Chair of the Credentials Committee for the North\nAmerican Conference of Homophile Organizations (NACHO). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1965\nto 1969, Gunnison collected the office and conference records of ECHO and\nNACHO, along with the records and periodicals of several LGBTQ+ organizations\nthroughout the United States. During this period, Gunnison even founded his own\norganization, the Institute for Social Ethics (ISE) and in 1967 wrote the\npamphlet, An Introduction to the\nHomophile Movement<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nGunnison busied himself with preserving and documenting the homophile movement,\nstudents such as Daniel Campbell explored the spaces opened up by a burgeoning\ncounterculture back on the University of Connecticut campus. Campbell attended\nUConn as a graduate student in 1967-68. In a poignant memoir, Campbell\ndescribes his pre-Stonewall experience on campus. \u201cWe may have been closeted to\none degree or another,\u201d he writes, \u201cbut we did not live in isolation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rise\nof the counterculture and the hippie movement supplied a shared context. As\nyoung men faced the prospect of the military draft, and young women, the loss\nof their brothers and boyfriends, \u201cthey escaped into a separate reality and\ntook liberties no generation had dared take before.\u201d Campbell notes that LGBTQ+\npeople \u201cshared in those liberties\u201d in different ways. For Campbell and others,\nthe popular slogan, \u201cthe personal is political,\u201d became an everyday reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the\n1980s, The HIV\/AIDS crisis that racked the LGBTQ+ community also generated\nnotable forms of organizing and activism in Connecticut. The Connecticut\nWomen’s Educational and Legal Fund (CWEALF), a non-profit public interest law\nfirm founded in 1973, originally sought to help women gain equality under the\nlaw. But along with this mission, CWEALF began to hold conferences and other\nevents in Hartford and around Connecticut to share information about HIV\/AIDS\nand provide the LGBTQ+ community with resources to secure their legal rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of\nthe LGBTQ+ activism, organizing, and educational work that continued in the\n1990s and the first decades of the twenty-first century also made their mark on\nthe University of Connecticut and around the state. After several years of\norganizing, planning, and lobbying by students and staff, UConn opened the\nRainbow Center on campus in 1999. Still operating today, the center is\ndedicated to serving the needs of the LGBTQ+ community on campus. Throughout\nthis period, LGBTQ+ activists and organizations across Connecticut also helped\nlead the movement for marriage equality, both in the state and the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d\nlike to learn more about the history of LGBTQ+ activism and organizing at the\nUniversity of Connecticut and across the state, Archives & Special\nCollections holds a wealth of material that may interest you. Among some of our\nrelevant collections are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Connecticut,\nPresident\u2019s Office Records <\/strong>The\ncollection comprises extensive material, especially administrative files and correspondence,\nfrom the offices of UConn\u2019s various presidents. The records of presidents Homer\nD. Babbidge (1962\u20131972) and John A. DiBiaggio (1979-1985) are particularly\nuseful. Both contain correspondence and other material relating to LGBTQ+\nissues on campus, such as the emergence and activities of the gay liberation\nmovement in the early 1970s. The finding aid for Homer Babbidge\u2019s office\nrecords can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/789<\/a> and the\nfinding aid for John A. DiBiaggio\u2019s office records can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/603<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative Press Collection <\/strong>The Alternative Press Collection (APC) includes thousands of\nnational and international newspapers, serials, books, pamphlets, ephemera and\nartifacts documenting activists and organizations from the 1800s to the\npresent. Alongside the President\u2019s Office Records, the APC files provide a\nbottom up look at LGBTQ+ organizing at UConn. Especially notable are materials\nfrom the Storrs Gay Coalition and the UConn Gay Alliance. The APC also contains\nvoluminous materials from other LGBTQ+ organizations in Connecticut and\nthroughout the United States. The APC can best be consulted using the card\ncatalog available at Archives & Special Collections, though some digitized\nmaterials can be accessed here: https:\/\/archives.lib.uconn.edu\/islandora\/object\/20002%3A19920001APCFiles<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel R. Campbell Papers <\/strong>The papers comprise a manuscript, a\npublished article, and copies of photographs from Daniel R. Campbell, who\nattended UConn in 1967-1968 and was one of the first openly gay students on\ncampus. The manuscript describes Campbell\u2019s experiences at UConn and elsewhere,\nand offers insight and perspective on pre-Stonewall LGBTQ+ culture on campus.\nCampbell describes his life during this period, some discrimination he faced on\ncampus, his interactions with students and professors, and comments on the\nwider culture of the late-1960s. In particular, Campbell highlights the hippie\nmovement and the counterculture as helping to open space for living as an\nopenly gay person during this period. The finding aid can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/284<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Connecticut, Rainbow\nCenter Records <\/strong>The\ncollection comprises administrative records, financial records, correspondence,\npublications, and other materials such as newspapers,\nbrochures, pamphlets, and posters associated with the UConn Rainbow\nCenter. The center was founded in 1999 after several years of organizing, planning,\nand lobbying by students and staff. The center is dedicated to supporting the\nneeds of the LGBTQIA+ members of the campus community, and the collection\ndocuments the center\u2019s history and activities up to the present day. The\nfinding aid can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/962<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster Gunnison, Jr. Papers <\/strong>The collection comprises personal correspondence, organizational records, conference proceedings, serial publications and periodicals, posters and fliers, buttons, newspaper clippings, and photographs relating to LGBTQ+ activism in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as other issues such as smoker\u2019s rights and barbershop quartets. Foster Gunnison, Jr. collected a range of materials from the homophile movement in Connecticut and across the United States, and later founded his own organization, the Institute for Social Ethics (ISE). The collection provides materials on a wide range of LGTBQ+ organizations in Connecticut, many of which have been digitized. The finding aid can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/413<\/a> and digitized materials can be accessed here: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/11134\/20002:19960009SIIISE<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecticut Women\u2019s Education and\nLegal Fund Records <\/strong>The\ncollection comprises administrative files, committee reports, legal testimony,\nworkshop materials, lists of contacts and referrals, records on outreach and\neducation, as well as related materials such as flyers, handouts, surveys, etc.\nThe Connecticut Women’s\nEducational and Legal Fund (CWEALF), a non-profit public\ninterest law firm, was founded in 1973. CWEALF helps women gain equality under\nthe law and focuses on discrimination in such areas as education, employment,\ninsurance, and health care. CWEALF is also concerned with reproductive rights\nand LGBTQ+ issues. In particular, relevant materials concern education and\noutreach on legal rights for gays and lesbians, as well as medical and legal\ninformation surrounding the HIV\/AIDS crisis. The finding aid can be accessed\nhere: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/334<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marriage Equality and LGBT Activism in Connecticut Oral History Collection <\/strong>The collection comprises eleven oral histories with leading activists in Connecticut who have been a part of the marriage equality movement and engaged in other forms of LGBTQ+ activism in the state and beyond. The interviews were conducted by Valerie Love, Curator for Human Rights and Alternative Press Collections, between July 2010 and April 2011. Six of the eleven interviews have been transcribed and are available. The finding aid can be accessed here: https:\/\/archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu\/repositories\/2\/resources\/925<\/a> and digitized transcripts from the collection can be accessed here: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/11134\/20002:20110076<\/a>6<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite you to view these collections in the reading room at Archives & Special Collections. Our staff is happy to assist you in accessing these and other collections in the archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was written by Shaine Scarminach, a UConn History Ph.D candidate who is a student assistant in Archives & Special Collections. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[slideshow_deploy id=’9110′] For many, the gay liberation movement began on June 28, 1969. At the Stonewall Inn, a bar located in New York City\u2019s Greenwich Village, patrons and neighborhood residents fought back against a violent police raid in the early … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9NKyO-2mX","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9111"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9898,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9111\/revisions\/9898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.uconn.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}