Martinez (Ray) Papers, circa 1980s-1990s

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Scope and content:: Reynolds Samuel Martinez, Jr. (1948 November 10-1999 September 15), better known as Ray Martinez, was a gay Mexican-American activist and writer. Born in Watsonville, California, Martinez grew up in Northern New Mexico, graduating from Grants High School in 1967. In 1973, Martinez moved to Santa Cruz, California and became active in the gay scene. In 1988, Martinez graduated with a B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). He was a founding member of the Santa Cruz AIDS Project and, during the 1990s, wrote a column profiling lesbian and gay community members in the Lavender Reader, a Santa Cruz lesbian and gay periodical. (George) Carter Wilson, a professor of community studies at UCSC, was his partner from 1977 until Martinez’s death in 1999. The collection includes essays and stories written by Martinez while he was a student at UCSC; a biographical sketch and birth certificate copy; notebooks featuring several journal entries from the 1980s; materials related to Carter Wilson; ephemera from parties planned by Martinez, and a small number of clippings and other papers documenting Martinez’s community activism.
Acquisition information:: Gift of George Carter Wilson, June 2001.

Collection Guide Author:: Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.
Date Prepared:: circa 1980s-1990s
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Copyright to material has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society. All requests for reproductions and/or permission to publish or quote from material must be submitted in writing to the GLBT Historical Society Archivist.

Location of this collection:: GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US