New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) records, 1970-1979

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Summary

Title:
New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) Records
Dates:
1970-1979
Creators:
New Alliance for Gay Equality.
Abstract:
Meeting minutes, articles of incorporation, bylaws, correspondence, press manuals, clippings, flyers, press releases, financial records, notes, project proposals, and other material documenting activities of the New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE), 1970-1979. New AGE was founded in 1977 to raise consciousness of gay and lesbian rights, and to "pass legislation in Los Angeles that will secure the civil rights of gay citizens, and to defend those rights if challenged." The organization's activities included opposing the passage of the California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative in 1977-1978.
Extent:
1.0 linear foot. 3 archive cartons.
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) Records, Coll2011-058, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection comprises meeting minutes, articles of incorporation, bylaws, correspondence, press manuals, clippings, flyers, press releases, financial records, notes, project proposals, and other material documenting activities of the New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE), 1970-1979. The collection includes the organizational proposal for New AGE written by Mixner/Scott Associates, political consultants who advocated for gay and lesbian rights issues in Los Angeles municipal elections in the 1970s. Notably, much of the correspondence appears to be that of board member and steering committee co-chair, Sydney Crocker.

Biographical / historical:

The New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) was founded on June 21, 1977 in Los Angeles, California. New AGE was a non-profit political committee made up of more than thirty groups and individuals who wanted to educate, advocate and legislate for equal human rights, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The founding members of New AGE included Bobbi Bennett, Sydney Crocker, Myra Riddell, and Jerold Krieger. To coordinate and implement the goals set forth by New AGE they retained the partnership of David B. Mixner and Peter Scott of Mixner/Scott Associates.

New AGE was made up of an entertainment committee, fundraising committee, legal committee, religious committee, and a speakers' bureau. New AGE was active with the legal committee's work with the Attorney General's office on ballot initiatives; training sessions held by the speakers' bureau for non-gay and gay speakers; as well as the organization of the "New AGE Teach-In on Gay Rights" event held at the University of California, Los Angeles. New AGE was particularly active in promoting awareness of the Coors Beer Boycott in 1977; and fighting SB 2053, "The California Save our Children Initiative" proposed to California legislation on June 13, 1977, by Senator John V. Briggs and championed by Reverend Louis Sheldon and Anita Bryant. Among their other undertakings, New AGE was responsible for collecting and releasing a list of 500 signatures supporting human rights for gays by Southern California religious leaders and laypersons. To garner attention and funding for their causes, New AGE organized events such as the "Justin Smith: A One Person Cabaret Revue" gala held on November 22, 1977; "Fight Briggs with the Stars," a celebrity auction and flea market held on January 29, 1978; and a "Stop Briggs Concert" featuring Joan Baez, Harry Chapin, Holly Near and Peter Yarrow, held on June 7, 1978.

New AGE disbanded in the spring of 1979 in light of an increasing overhead that outmatched financial sponsorship.

Source:

New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) Records, Coll2011-058, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Acquisition information:
Date and donor of collection acquisition unknown.
Processing information:

Formerly box #A032. Collection processed by Simbree Touchstone and Marc LaRocque, April 2013.

Arrangement:

Articles of incorporation, bylaws and meeting minutes have been placed at the beginning of the collection. The remaining folders are arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Marc LaRocque and Simbree Touchstone
Sponsor:
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Date Prepared:
(c) 2013
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013-05-01T12:09-0700

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] New Alliance for Gay Equality (New AGE) Records, Coll2011-058, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website