Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Finding aid of the Dan Siminoski Collection on Federal
Bureau of Investigation Surveillance of Gays and Lesbians
Coll2007-002
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Dan Siminoski collection on Federal Bureau of
Investigation surveillance of gays and lesbians
Dates: 1953-2001
Bulk Dates: (bulk
1953-1986)
Collection number: Coll2007-002
Creator:
Siminoski, Dan (b. 1947)
Collection Size: 19 archive boxes.
7.5 linear feet.
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: The collection comprises materials received,
collected, and created by Dan Siminoski in the course of prosecuting his 1982
request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the subsequent 1983
lawsuit, for copies of FBI documents relating to the Bureau's surveillance of
gays and lesbians from 1950 to 1982. The materials include photocopies of
approximately 2,200 documents (7,000 pages) from FBI Headquarters and various
regional offices, relating primarily to the Daughters of Bilitis, Gay Activists
Alliance, Gay Liberation Front, and the Mattachine Society, as well as indexes,
summaries, and various statistical analyses of these documents. Additional
materials include the legal filings in the case, litigation correspondence,
drafts by Siminoski and his counsel of various legal filings, and materials
relating to Siminoski's speaking tour and media campaign to publicize his
lawsuit. Personal and professional materials in the collection include personal
correspondence, copies and drafts of scholarly articles, conference
presentations, Siminoski's syndicated column for Stonewall Features, and pieces
for other publications; his academic vita; and his will.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Box #, folder #, Dan Siminoski Collection on Federal Bureau of
Investigation Surveillance of Gays and Lesbians, Coll2007-002, ONE National Gay
and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Gift of Dan Siminoski, January 30, 2002
Formerly housed in boxes 103-092, 103-204, 103-304, 103-05, 103-348,
103-350, 103-357, 104-001, 104-028, and 104-029. Collection processed by
Michael Palmer, February, 2007; revised June 18, 2007.
Processing this collection has been funded
by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
Dan Siminoski was born in Los Angeles on January 1, 1947, to a
progressive family. He displayed his commitment to human rights at an early
age, when he co-chaired Mid-City Youth Against Proposition 14, a state-wide
initiative to invalidate the California Fair Housing Law. He studied at the
University of California at Berkeley, where he was involved in the Free Speech
and anti-war movements and became the Berkeley co-chairman of Senator Eugene
McCarthy's presidential campaign; he received a BA in Political Science and was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. Before entering graduate school, Siminoski
served as a staff investigator for the Fair Campaign Practices Committee in
Washington, DC, and then as legislative aid to Senator Wayne Morse. He earned
his MA with honors in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin in
1970, when he was also awarded a Ford Fellowship. His doctoral research brought
Siminoski back to Los Angeles where he came out in 1973 and became active in
gay rights causes. In 1976-1977, he was an Instructor in the Social Sciences
Department at Long Beach City College. He received his PhD in Political Science
from the University of Wisconsin in 1978. In 1979-1980, he was Visiting
Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Arizona State
University, and in 1980-1981, he held the same position at the University of
Missouri St. Louis. He was appointed Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at
Texas Tech University in 1981.
His long-held interest in gay and lesbian civil rights led Siminoski to
file a request with the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) on October 22, 1982, for copies of all FBI Headquarters
and field office records relating to the surveillance of gays and lesbians from
1950 to 1982. When the FBI failed to comply with the request fully and in a
timely manner, Siminoski, represented by the ACLU Foundation of Southern
California, filed suit against the Bureau in Federal District Court in Los
Angeles, on October 11, 1983. Simultaneously, Siminoski, who had left teaching
and moved to Los Angeles in the late summer of 1983 to devote himself full-time
to the impending lawsuit, launched Siminoski vs. FBI 1984 , a speaking tour and
media campaign to publicize his case. Although the FBI began releasing
documents in quantity to him by the end of the first quarter of 1984, Siminoski
continued his case on the grounds that the documents were unnecessarily
redacted. In late 1984, Siminoski, whose project had found a home at Jim Kepner
s International Gay and Lesbian Archives (formerly Western Gay Archives) at
1654 North Hudson St., initiated the Freedom of Information Project. The
purpose of this project was to analyze the documents released by the FBI and to
gather signed and notarized Privacy Act Waiver Forms from leading gay
activists, with the intention of turning his legal action into a class action
lawsuit and expanding the scope of the FBI records sought. Although Siminoski
collected properly executed Privacy Act Waiver Forms from a number of prominent
gay activists, this latter purpose was not realized.
In 1986, Siminoski, who had supported himself since leaving teaching as
a free-lance political consultant and syndicated columnist, withdrew for health
reasons from active participation in the lawsuit. In 1988, he earned a master's
degree in Social Work from California State University Long Beach. He now lives
in San Diego. In November 1988, Ralph J. Geffen, acting as Special Master,
reported favorably on most of Siminoski's legal claims; however, many of his
recommendations were overruled by Judge William D. Keller in his decision of
January 1990, which was not appealed.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Dan Siminoski Collection on Federal Bureau of Investigation
Surveillance of Gays and Lesbians comprises materials received, collected, and
created by Siminoski as a consequence of his 1982 request under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), and subsequent 1983 lawsuit, for copies of FBI
documents relating to the Bureau's surveillance of gays and lesbians from 1950
to 1982. These materials include photocopies of approximately 2,200 documents
(7,000 pages) from FBI Headquarters and various regional offices, relating
primarily to the Daughters of Bilitis, Gay Activists Alliance, Gay Liberation
Front, and the Mattachine Society, as well as indexes, summaries, and various
statistical analyses of these documents. The materials also include Siminoski's
correspondence with the FBI and with his legal counsel, the legal filings in
the case, litigation correspondence between counsel for both parties, drafts by
Siminoski and his counsel of various legal filings, additional attorney notes
and drafts, and materials relating to Siminoski's lawsuit and to his speaking
tour and media campaign to publicize it. The collection contains materials
collected by Siminoski relating to the implementation of the FOIA by federal
law enforcement agencies, in particular the FBI, including photocopies of
extensive portions of FBI Headquarters file 190-3, relating to the impact of
the FOIA and the Privacy Act on law enforcement activities. Personal and
professional materials in the collection include personal correspondence not
directly connected with the FOIA request and lawsuit; copies and drafts of
scholarly articles, conference presentations, Siminoski's syndicated column for
Stonewall Features, and pieces for
The News and
The Advocate; Siminoski's academic vita; and his
will.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
ACLU Foundation of Southern
California
Daughters of Bilitis
East Coast Homophile
Organization
Gay Activists Alliance
Gay Liberation Front
Gay rights--United States--History--20th
century
Mattachine Society
National Gay Task Force
ONE, Inc
Radical Lesbians
Siminoski, Dan, 1947-
Society for Individual
Rights
United States. Federal Bureau of
Investigation--Archives
United States. Federal Bureau of
Investigation--Surveillance