Guide to the Because People Matter Collection MC 104

Contributing Institution: Sacramento Public Library

Title: Guide to the Because People Matter Collection

Identifier/Call Number: MC 104

Physical Description: 3.0 Linear Feet 3 Archival Boxes

Date (inclusive): 1992-2009

Abstract: Contained is a complete set of issues for the monthly and bimonthly newspaper Because People Matter, a Sacramento-based publication that ran from 1992 to 2009. Also included in the collection is an assortment of photographic prints and a cloth banner.

Language of Material: English .

Because People Matter (BPM) began in the early 1990s as a creation of three Sacramento progressive groups: Peace Action, the Central American Action Committee (CAAC) and the Sacramento Religious Community for Peace (SRCP). Local activist Ruth Hultgren initiated this project. There was overlap in the organizations' membership, and BPM took the place of their different newsletters. The organizations committed to jointly pay an editor who would create an engaging and active community newspaper, and Peter Feeley became that editor. BPM published its first issue in October, 1992.

At that time, nuclear war was still a great concern, the Gulf War was being waged, and many nations in Central America were experiencing revolutions and wars supported by the United States Government. The three organizations were central to the peace movement in Sacramento, and goals for the paper, at that time, were to promote peace and provide a venue for addressing community issues from a progressive point of view. Another key goal was to link activists and volunteers with local organizations working to educate the public and solve problems by taking meaningful action. Over time, BPM expanded beyond the peace focus and also became a progressive voice on race and social justice, labor, education, environmental, health care, and other important issues considered important to the Sacramento activist community.

BPM was published between October 1992 and August 2009, growing to a circulation of 20,000 per month. With roughly 800 subscribers, the remainder were distributed for free throughout the community by volunteers. In February 1994, BPM became an all-volunteer operation, with California State University, Sacramento, English professor Jeanie Keltner as Editor, JoAnn Fuller as Associate Editor, John Rowntree as Business Page Editor, and Richard Hansen as Layout and Design Editor. BPM appeared for the first time in 20 different locations around Sacramento in its bright apple green newsstands. For many years, BPM was available at coffee shops and bookstores, and through boxes marked with the publication's logo across midtown and throughout other parts of Sacramento. Keltner was a regular presence on her bike at the midtown farmer's market every Sunday with a bag of newspapers.

Over time, no less than 400 local contributors wrote for the paper and many helped edit and lay out each issue, solicit subscriptions and advertisements, and mailing and distribution. Decisions about what to print, what issues to tackle, and whose points of view to promote were made by an ever-shifting team of volunteer contributors, including writers, poets, artists, and photographers. In 2000, Keltner became Editor-at-Large, Ellen Schwartz became Layout Editor, and the paper was reorganized with a shifting editorial group for each issue. Editors included Jacqueline Diaz, JoAnn Fuller, Charlene Jones, John Rowntree, Seth Sandronsky, Mary Schleppegrell, and Travis Silcox. For several years, Keltner wrote a monthly editorial. John Rowntree's Everybody's Business page and Seth Sandronsky's Media Clipped were regular features, as were Dick Wood's and Francisco Dominguez's photographs. Other major contributors included Dan Bacher, Rick Bettis, Mary Bisharat, Maggie Coulter, Ellen Dillinger, Michael Feliciano, Bob Fitch, Jack Forbes, Phil Goldvarg, Ruth Hultgren, Brigitte Jaensch, Tom King, Leon Lefson, Heidi McLean, Mike Monasky, Jose Montoya, Preston Rudy, Gail Ryall, Staajabu, and Dorothy Wake. BPM was also supported by a distribution, subscription, advertisement, and support team that included Chris Bond, Barbara Bunn, Paulette Cuilla, Justine Fuller, Bob Ream, Edwina White, and many others.

As the internet offered new ways of organizing for community action, energy for putting BPM out declined. Those who contributed to the publication are proud of the work they did over 17 years to bring alternative perspectives to Sacramento community.

[Identification of item], Because People Matter Collection, MC 104, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

Series I, Newspaper Issues, is comprised of all 103 issues of Because People Matter. Each year is kept in a single archival folder. Issues are 8.5 by 12-inches in size folded and 12 by 17-inches in size unfolded. Publication length varies: The inaugural issue, volume one, number 1, is 20 pages in length while the final issue, July/August 2009, is 16 pages in length. 27 issues were released monthly while the rest were released on a bimonthly basis. Series II, Photographs/Miscellaneous, is made up of two black and white photographic prints, one color print, and an April 1995 black and white photographic panorama of newspaper staff and prospective staff. A detailed list of issues, detailing year, month, volume, and number is also enclosed. Finally, a 21 by 42-inch banner, reading "Because People Matter" rounds out the collection.

Auhtority Keywords: Community Newspapers Progressivism--Periodicals. Peace Movements Activism Activists--1990-2000 Activists--2000-2010 Social Justice Labor movement--United States--History--20th century. Environmentalism and democracy

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