Biography
Access
Publication Rights
Acquisition Information
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Scope and Content
Separated Materials
Related Materials
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Reed L. Erickson papers
creator:
Erickson, Reed L.
source:
Erickson Educational Foundation
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2010-001
Identifier/Call Number: 3
Physical Description:
5.6 Linear Feet
15 boxes.
Date (inclusive): 1916-1994
Date (bulk): 1964-1994
Abstract: Legal papers, correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, pamphlets, publicity material, photographs, clippings, research
material, financial records, manuscripts, handwritten notes, card catalogs, audiotape, ephemera and other material from philanthropist
and (female-to-male) transgender/transsexual activist, Reed Erickson (1912-1992). Having built his wealth through oil investments
and other entrepreneurial endeavors, Erickson founded the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF) in 1964, a charitable foundation
primarily created to support transgender, transsexual, and gender identity research and services. The bulk of this collection
is related to the activities of the EEF, research material on gender identity, as well as Erickson's relationship with the
gay and lesbian organization, ONE, Incorporated, which he supported financially for nearly twenty years. The collection also
includes some material on Erickson's personal life, including material related to Erickson's children, his former wives, and
his health- and drug-related complications in the last years of his life.
Biography
Reed Erickson was born in El Paso, Texas, on October 13, 1917. Initially named Rita Alma Erickson, Erickson assigned female
at birth. Erickson spent most of his early life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating high school, Erickson attended
Temple University. Erickson moved with his family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resulting in a transfer to Louisiana State University.
Erickson moved back to Philadelphia after graduating from Louisiana State University with a degree in mechanical engineering.
In the early 1950s, Erickson returned to Baton Rouge, working in his family's business before starting his own company making
stadium seating, Southern Seating. In 1962, Erickson's father passed away, leaving him the family business, which he successfully
ran until 1969 when he sold it for 5 million dollars.
Erickson began his gender transition under the care of sex realignment surgery pioneer, Dr. Harry Benjamin, in 1963. Once
his physical appearance matched his identity, he changed his name to Reed and began fully living his life as male. In this
period of transition, he married and divorced his first wife. Later that year, Erickson met and married his second wife.
The couple lived in Baton Rouge, where they had two children. During this period, Erickson had started to experiment with
recreational drugs. Over time, Erickson's substance abuse of hallucinogenic drugs and cocaine increased, causing strain in
his life and relationships. In 1974, Erickson and his second wife divorced. Shortly after his second divorce, Erickson met
his third wife. In 1981, he moved to Ojai, California, to be closer to his children and second wife. By 1983, after a series
of arrests, Erickson fled to Mexico to escape drug-related indictments, and he remained there for the rest of his life.
Erickson successfully managed his investments and became a major philanthropist. In 1964, Erickson founded the Erickson Educational
Foundation (EEF), a charitable foundation primarily created to support research and services for transgender, transsexual
and gender nonconforming people. Throughout the late-1960s and 1970s, Erickson donated money to various organizations including
the Harry Benjamin Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic, and ONE, Incorporated. Shortly after his initial
donation to ONE, Erickson aided the establishment of a charitable sector of ONE, called the Institute for the Study of Human
Resources (ISHR), which advocated for the advancement of homosexual research. In establishing ISHR as a nonprofit funding
organization--and through the help of Erickson and EEF--ONE was able to start and maintain research study programs, a library,
gay and lesbian studies courses and lecture series. This led to ONE becoming a California state-accredited institution in
1981, providing graduate-level education in gay and lesbian studies. The first homophile studies degrees were given in 1982,
and the ONE Institute of Graduate Studies presented Erickson with an honorary doctoral degree that same year.
In 1983, Erickson's relationship with ONE, Inc. began to dissolve due to a dispute over the real estate property known as
the Milbank Estate. The Milbank Estate was purchased by Erickson and used as headquarters for ONE, Inc. However, by 1984,
Erickson had ceased funding and was pressing to remove ONE from the estate. The Milbank property was divided, but the terms
of the legal dispute were not resolved until after Erickson's death.
Erickson died in Mazatlan, Mexico, in 1992.
Sources:
Devor, Aaron H., and Nicholas Matte. "One, Inc. and Reed Erickson: The Uneasy Collaboration of Gay and Trans Activism, 1964-2003."
GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 10.2 (2004): 179-209.
Reed L. Erickson Papers, Coll2010-001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish material must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives as the
physical owner of the material. Note that permission to publish does not constitute copyright clearance. ONE National Gay
& Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold copyright. It is the responsibility
of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials from the copyright holder(s).
Acquisition Information
Date and donor of acquisition unknown.
Preferred Citation
Box #, folder #, Reed L. Erickson Papers, Coll2010-001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Processing Information
Formerly in boxes 103-144, 104-032, and 104-033. Collection processed by Joy Novak in 2006 and revised by Loni Shibuyama in
May 2010. Accrual processed by Kyle Morgan in 2015.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of legal papers, correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, pamphlets, publicity material, photographs,
clippings, research material, financial records, manuscripts, handwritten notes, card catalogs, audiotape, ephemera and other
material from philanthropist and female-to-male transgender/transsexual activist, Reed Erickson (1912-1992). The bulk of this
collection is related to the activities of the EEF, research material on gender identity, as well as Erickson's relationship
with ONE, Incorporated, which he supported financially for nearly twenty years. The collection also includes some material
on Erickson's personal life, including material related to Erickson's children, his former wives, and his health- and drug-related
complications in the last years of his life.
The collection is divided into six series:
(1) The Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF) series comprises minutes, correspondence, publications, ephemera, and other
records documenting the activities of the EEF. Some of the materials were created and maintained by Zelda Suplee, who served
as EEF director and, ostensibly, as personal assistant to Erickson.
(2) The ONE, Incorporated and the Institute for the Study of Human Resources (ISHR) series comprises material that documents
the relationship between Erickson, ONE, Inc., and ISHR. The bulk of this series consists of papers related to the legal dispute
over the Milbank Estate, a real estate property that Erickson purchased in 1983, and which was occupied by ONE, Inc.
(3) The Personal series comprises financial records, correspondence, family-related materials, writings and other materials
from Erickson's personal life.
(4) The Resources and research material series comprises clippings, journals, pamphlets, manuscripts and other informational
material about transgender and transsexual issues, gender identity, and related subject matter.
(5) The Photographs series comprises photographs of Reed Erickson, as well as other subjects related to his life. Notably,
this series includes Erickson's photo album entitled "Eric's Ego Trip," which has photographs of Erickson throughout his life,
including early years when Erickson lived as female.
(6) The Audiotape series comprises reel-to-reel audiotapes with recordings of presentations and workshops on transsexual issues.
Separated Materials
The following publications have been separated from the Reed L. Erickson collection and entered into the ONE National Gay
& Lesbian Archives' database:
Money, John, and Patricia Tucker.
Sexual Signatures: On Being a Man or a Woman. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1975.
Gender News
Gender Review
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. Newsletter
Outreach Institute Newsletter
Phoenix Monthly International: For the Transvestite and the Transsexual
Transition: A Confide Publication
The Transsexual Voice
We Are
Related Materials
ONE Incorporated records, Coll2011.001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Correspondence
Gender identity
Homosexuality -- Psychological aspects
Homosexuality -- Research -- United States
Transgender people
Transsexuals
Erickson Educational Foundation
One, Inc
Institute for the Study of Human Resources. ISHR