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Finding Aid for the National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records, 1978-1979
1944
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Title: National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records
Date (inclusive): 1978-1979
Collection number: 1944
Creator:
National Lesbian Feminist Organization
Extent:
1 document box (.5 linear ft.)
Abstract: The National Lesbian Feminist Organization (NLFO) was founded in 1978 as a grass roots organization in order to "act on a
feminist platform which deals with the oppression of lesbians in all its manifestations,including but not limited to discrimination
based on sexual preference, sex, race, age, class, and physical disability. As a grass roots organization concerned with accountability,
the NLFO committed itself to fighting racism and classism both inside and outside the organization. Membership was open to
all lesbians and women identified women who agreed with the purpose of the organization. This collections contains an organizational
history, founding convention notes, correspondence, ad hoc and steering committee memos, financial statements, and newsletters.
The papers also contain information on local and state chapters, resources, and lesbian rights marches. Highlighted are behind
the scenes efforts to organize local chapters; the formation of the Lesbians of Color Caucus and statements; and disagreements
over the credibility of "representative organizations."
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Language of the Material:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown. This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian
Archives, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the UCLA Library.
Processed by Molly S. Jacobs, 2011.
The
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the
UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the
UCLA Library . These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This
partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize,
preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.
[Identification of item], National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records (Collection Number 1944). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
According to their literature, the National Lesbian Feminist Organization (NLFO) was founded in 1978 as a grass roots organization
in order to "act on a feminist platform which deals with the oppression of lesbians in all its manifestations,including but
not limited to discrimination based on sexual preference, sex, race, age, class, and physical disability. There is a need
to achieve equal rights and legal protections for all lesbians...a need for developing lesbian culture." An Ad Hoc Committee
formed in Los Angeles and took on the responsibility for the planning of the national convention to be held in July of 1978.
A nationally based steering committee was selected at the convention, whose responsibility was to guide the organization through
the first crucial months.
As a grass roots organization concerned with accountability, the NLFO committed itself to fighting racism and classism both
inside and outside the organization. The group called for a "minimum of 50% of all the women involved in the level of planning
and decision making to be women of color of various backgrounds and 50% of all white women of various class backgrounds."
Membership was open to all lesbians and women identified women who agreed with the purpose of the organization. The structure
of the NLFO consisted of local memberships known as the "locals," whose representatives were sent to state and national conventions.
The Los Angeles chapter was named the Alice Paul Chapter.
The National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records contains organizational documents, including meeting minutes, financial
statements, documents related to the founding convention, and information on the Women of Color Caucus. It also contains correspondence
and newsletters.
Arranged chronologically.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
National Lesbian Feminist Organization (U.S.) --Archives.
National human rights institutions --Archival resources.
Lesbian activists --United States --Archival resources.