Guide to the Scott Bishop Papers, 1989-1990
Processed by Everett Erlandson; machine-readable finding aid created by
Gabriela A. Montoya
Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California
P.O. Box 424280
San Francisco, California 94142
Phone: (415) 777-5455, #2
Email: glhsnc@aol.com
URL: http://www.glhs.org/collectn/glhsmss.htm
© 1999
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Scott Bishop Papers, 1989-1990
Accession number: 90-11
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society
San Francisco, California
Contact Information:
- Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California
- P.O. Box 424280
- San Francisco, California 94142
- Phone: (415) 777-5455, #2
- Email: glhsnc@aol.com
- URL: http://www.glhs.org/collectn/glhsmss.htm
- Processed by:
- Everett Erlandson
- Date Completed:
- February 1996
- Encoded by:
- Gabriela A. Montoya
© 1999 The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Scott Bishop Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1989-1990
Accession number: 90-11
Creator:
Bishop, Scott
Extent: .5 Liner feet in one half-box
Repository: The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
San Francisco, California.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Acquisition
The papers of Scott Bishop (#90-11) were given to GLHS by the manager of the Ambassador Hotel when Bishop's room was being
cleaned following his death in 1990. It was Bishop's intention that his research materials be donated to GLHS.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials is not held by the Gay and Lesbian
Historical Society of Northern California.
Audio-Visual Materials
Audio cassette-tapes of oral histories.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Scott Bishop Papers, 90-11, The Gay and Lesbian Historical Society
of Northern California.
Biography
Scott T. Bishop was born in Rochester, NY, December 28th, 1945, and moved to the San Francisco area in the early 1970's. Bishop
worked in the Oakland shipyards for many years and later as an office temporary worker until 1989, when he became disabled
with AIDS. Bishop was also active in the Metropolitan Community Church and various 12 step recovery groups. Because of his
illness, and because he "wanted to make a difference," Bishop returned to San Francisco State University (SFSU) and began
graduate level studies focusing on the history of the San Francisco lesbian and gay communities. Scott Bishop died of AIDS
related complications September 12th, 1990 at the age of 45. An obituary appeared in the Bay Area Reporter (BAR) September
27th, 1990.
Scope and Content
The Scott Bishop papers (.5 linear feet) are the result of Bishop's school work at SFSU from the fall of 1989 through June
of 1990. The records are composed of two series, oral history interviews and class papers.
The interviews were part of an oral history project for a SFSU graduate history class (history 899), Spring 1990 semester.
Conducted between February and May, 1990, they are arranged by interview date. Bishop was researching the emergence of the
lesbian and gay rights movement as a political force in San Francisco from the late 1950's up to the early 1970's, focusing
mostly on events in the early 1960's. Questions about the 1959 Wolden/Christopher mayoral race, the 1960 "Gayola" police bribery
scandal, the 1960 Daughters of Bilitis National Convention and the 1965 California Hall incident appear in every interview.
Bishop interviewed both straight political and civic leaders of that era as well as lesbian and gay activists involved in
these incidents. The specific questions asked and the variety of answers received provide a unique look at the difference
in people's memories. Cassette tapes and complete transcriptions exist for seven of the nine interviews conducted; for two
of the interviews, Lyon and Martin and George Mendenhall, only a transcription, presumed to be complete, exists.
Papers consist of Bishop's work for three history classes at SFSU, a paper delivered at a California State University (CSU)
research conference, and a series of articles written by Bishop that were published in the BAR .
Organizing the Lesbian in San Francisco to Obtain Political Power - A Case Study was written for History 300 at SFSU in the Fall of 1989. It traces the development of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) and efforts
by DOB to effect social change. This paper became the bases for the CSU conference paper and for the series published in the
BAR in 1990. The second paper is an untitled history of the lesbian and gay communities in San Francisco from 1950 to 1960,
written for History 699, also in the fall of 1989. For this paper Bishop has integrated gay history and gay theory with local
newspaper articles, U.S. government publications and various non-gay publications. The last paper in this series is a final
for History 899, written in the Spring of 1990. Titled
The Oppression of Gay Men and Women in San Francisco and Their Efforts to Empower Themselves, 1960-1964 this paper looks at the formation of gay organizations in S.F. and how these groups worked to fight political oppression.
Related Collections
Title: Bois Burke Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 89-7
Title: Len Evens Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 93-8
Title: Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 93-13
Title: Jose Sarria Papers
Identifier/Call Number: 96-1
Each of the above collections document aspects of the late 1950's and early 1960's in San Francisco.
Seven cassette tapes are also cross-referenced under the Oral History project with the following accession numbers:
Interviews with:
Title: Thomas Cahill
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-96
Title: George Christopher
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-97
Title: Robert Cromey
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-98
Title: Herb Donaldson
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-99
Title: Richard Hongisto
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-100
Title: Agar Jaicks
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-101
Title: Larry Littlejohn
Identifier/Call Number: O.H. Accession #: 95-102
Container List
Oral History Interviews
Note
Personal Information on Scott Bishop
Box Box 1
Oral History Project Proposal
Interview: George Christopher
Feb 6, 1990
Interview: Thomas Cahill
Feb 8, 1990
Interview: Herb Donaldson
Feb 14, 1990
Interview: Agar Jaicks
Feb 20, 1990
Interview: George Mendenhall
Apr 23, 1990
Interview: Robert Cromey
Apr 25, 1990
Interview: Larry Littlejohn
Apr 27, 1990
Interview: Lyon & Martin
May 1, 1990
Interview: Richard Hongisto
May 2, 1990
Box Box 1
Organizing the Lesbian in San Francisco to Obtain Political Power - A Case Study, 1950-1960 History 300 Dec 21, 1989
History of the S.F. Lesbian and Gay Community 1950-1960 History 699 Fall 1989
C.S.U. Research Conference Paper May 10, 1990
Oppression of Gay Men and Women in San Francisco and Their Efforts to Empower Themselves, 1960-1964 History 899 May 25, 1990
Articles Published in the B.A.R., Jul 19, 26 and Aug 2, 1990
