Online content
Collection context
Summary
Background
- Scope and content:
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This collection contains materials collected by Sandy Holmes, who served as secretary to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays (BAYBLAG) in the mid-1980s. There are BAYBLAG meeting minutes and agendas; treasurer’s reports; correspondence; mailing and membership lists; and organizational records, including the group’s bylaws and articles of incorporation. There are also materials related to the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG), including conference materials, board reports, correspondence, ephemera, and bylaws. A decade prior to her involvement in BAYBLAG, Holmes headed a campus group at Yale University called Yalesbians. During this time she amassed a collection of conference materials, newsletters, periodicals, and ephemera related to lesbians of color and the LGBT rights movement more generally. Periodicals and newsletters were integrated into the Historical Society’s Periodical Collection. The Oversize Folder contains a t-shirt and poster from “Homework for Homeboys and Homegirls,” the 10th anniversary NCBLG conference (1988) and a poster from the Saturday T-Dance at SF Pride in 2000. That poster features a photo of Holmes’ friend and colleague at the ACLU, Dan Warner.
- Biographical / historical:
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Sandy Holmes is a lesbian activist who was involved in a number of Black queer rights organizations throughout the 1970s and 1980s, in addition to working for the ACLU, parenting, and pursuing her interest in film studies. Holmes served as secretary to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays (BAYBLAG) in the mid-1980s. A decade prior to her involvement in BAYBLAG, while Holmes was a student at Yale University, she headed a campus group called Yalesbians. Established in 1982, the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays (BAYBLAG) was a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the civil rights of gay and lesbian people of color. The group was among the earliest Black gay and lesbian societies in the Bay Area. In addition to hosting social events at members’ homes, BAYBLAG organized campaigns aimed at educating the general public about Black and queer issues, such as economic oppression and the AIDS epidemic. BAYBLAG was closely affiliated with the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG). In 1988, members of BAYBLAG joined with other local organizers to form the NCBLG’s first Bay Area chapter.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of C.S. (Sandy) Holmes on August 14, 2014.
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
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Sandy Holmes collection. GLBT Historical Society
- Location of this collection:
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989 Market Street, Lower LevelSan Francisco, CA 94103, US
- Contact:
- (415) 777-5455