Online content
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- M.J. Talbot papers
- Dates:
- 1968-2002
- Creators:
- Talbot, M.J.
- Abstract:
- Extent:
- 2.6 linear feet (4 manuscript boxes and 1 carton)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
M.J. Talbot papers. GLBT Historical Society
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The M.J. Talbot papers contain materials accumulated during his years as an activist, flight attendant, and U.S. Census worker living in San Francisco. Included are organizational records and ephemera related to GAPA, GCHP, Asian Pacific AIDS Coalition and other organizations; a file documenting the founding and early work of GCHP; and meeting agendas and minutes, event ephemera, performance recordings, and artifacts documenting the work and culture of GAPA from 1990 to 1997. The collection also contains audio recordings of interviews and radio programs on gay and/or Asian American topics; materials documenting Talbot’s work life, including a thick file related to the 2000 U.S. Census and artifacts from China Airlines; periodicals and newsletters on gay and/or Asian American topics; a small number of folders documenting his personal relationships; t-shirts; and other artifacts.
- Biographical / historical:
-
M. J. (Michael James) Talbot is a Eurasian gay man and activist who lived in San Francisco from the summer of 1967 until 2001. Born in Hong Kong in 1949, Talbot moved to the United States at 16. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco in 1968 and subsequently attended the University of San Francisco for 3 years. Talbot worked as a paralegal before beginning a 22 year career as a flight attendant with China Airlines. He left China Airlines in 1999 to work as a recruiter for the 2000 Census, a job he took with the goal of ensuring maximum Asian American and LGBTQ participation. Talbot played a leading role in a number of Bay Area gay, Asian American, and HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations. He was a member of the Association of Lesbian and Gay Asians (ALGA). In 1984, he co-founded (with Rich Johnson) Pacific Friends, a mixed-race social club. Talbot was also a founding member of the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA). He served as the GAPA historian during its first four years. Later he became a member of GAPA Men’s Chorus and the Golden Gate Men’s Chorus. Talbot was active in the GAPA Community HIV Project (GCHP - later renamed the Living Well Project) and the Asian Pacific AIDS Coalition, and also served on the board of the Asian AIDS Project. In 2001, Talbot moved with his partner Michael Lyon to Hilo, Hawaii. In Hawaii, Talbot and Lyon volunteered for several of the now U.S. Representative Ed Case’s campaigns. Talbot and Lyon have lived in Tucson, Arizona since 2003 (as of August 2024).
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of M.J. Talbot, 1999 and February 2023.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- 1968-2002
- 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. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Archives' National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright to materials created by M.J. Talbot 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. Copyright to other materials in the collection may be held by their creators, or the creators' heirs or assigns. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Preferred citation:
-
M.J. Talbot papers. GLBT Historical Society
- Location of this collection:
-
989 Market Street, Lower LevelSan Francisco, CA 94103, US
- Contact:
- (415) 777-5455