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Finding aid of the Jorge Cortiñas Papers
1998-42
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Title: Jorge Cortiñas Papers
Dates: 1989-1994
Collection number: 1998-42
Creator:
Cortiñas, Jorge
Collection Size:
2 manuscript boxes
1 linear foot
Repository:
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94105
Abstract: Papers of ACTUP activists Jorge Cortiñas covering a variety of topics including materials relating to HIV status and immigration,
and HIV and people of color
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection open for research.
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials has been transferred to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
[Identification of item], Jorge Cortiñas Papers, 1998-42, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
Donated to the Library by Jorge Cortiñas
Between 1989 and 1991 activists in San Francisco spearheaded a campaign to lift all HIV-related restrictions on immigration
into the United States. Jorge Cortiñas was a leader in this movement through his involvement in both ACT-UP San Francisco/Golden
Gate's Immigration Working Group and in the Coalition for Immigration and Refugee Rights and Services (CIRRES) HIV Task Force.
Cortiñas and other activists from these organizations participated in a number of "zap" actions and protests designed to raise
awareness of HIV-related immigration policy. In 1991, ACT-UP and CIRRES helped organize a campaign that criticized the choice
of location for the 8th International Conference on AIDS, scheduled for Boston in 1992. Activists demanded that the conference
be relocated unless United States' discriminator policy on immigration was altered.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of material covering political actions and organizing carried out by ACT-UP and CIRRES, along with
a number of materials covering the struggle over immigration and the international AIDS conferences. The collection begins
with a short series of files with general ACT-UP materials, including clippings, flyers, and stickers. This is followed by
over a dozen files covering actions and press conferences related to the immigration issue. These files include flyers, press
releases, notes for speeches, and press accounts. The next group of files covers the immigration issue, with materials which
appear to come from both ACT-UP and CIRRES. These files include letters and position papers produced by ACT-UP and CIRRES,
as well as materials from many other organizations. Finally there are clippings files relating to immigration, as well as
correspondence files. While the substance of the collection extends only to 1991, there are some newspaper clippings from
1992 and 1993 which appear to have been collected by ACT-UP.
The collection is organized into 6 series: ACT-UP Subject Files, Actions, Immigration Subject Files, Miscellaneous Clippings,
and Correspondence.
The series ACT-UP Subject Files (1989-1990) consists of various ACT-UP materials, including clippings, flyers, and stickers.
Also found in this series is an untitled script for a play regarding immigration and AIDS. There are also two folders of
materials from the Los Angeles and New York chapters of ACTUP.
The series Actions (1989-1991)consists of materials covering actions and press conferences, many concerning to HIV and immigration.
The materials in this series are made up of flyers, press releases, notes for speeches, press accounts, and clippings.
The series Immigration Subject Files (1989-1994) contains materials from ACT-UP and CIRRES mostly on the topic of HIV and
immigration. These files include letters and position papers, correspondence, and clippings as well as materials from several
other organizations.
The series International AIDS Conferences (1990-1991) contains materials related to Cortiñas activities in response to the
6th, 7th, and 8th International AIDS conferences.
The series Miscellaneous Clippings (1989-1993)includes AIDS related newspaper clippings collected by Cortiñas, with particular
focus on AIDS related activism.
The series Correspondence (1990-1991) includes correspondence arranged in chronological order
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
AIDS
San Francisco (Calif.)
AIDS Activists
Immigration
People Of Color
Queer Nation Records
GLBT Historical Society ACT-UP Collection
Tomas Fabregas Papers
AIDS Legal Referral Panel Records