Collection Guide
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Finding Aid for the National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records
1978-1979
LSC.1944
LSC.1944
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Table of contents
Title: National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1944
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.4 linear feet
(1 document box)
Date (inclusive): 1978-1979
Abstract: The National Lesbian Feminist Organization (NLFO) was founded in 1978 as a grassroots organization in order to "act on a feminist
platform which deals with the oppression of lesbians in all its manifestations,including but not limited to discrimination
based on sexual preference, sex, race, age, class, and physical disability". As a grassroots organization concerned with accountability,
the NLFO committed itself to fighting racism and classism both inside and outside the organization. Membership was open to
all lesbians and women identified women whose beliefs aligned with the organization's mission. This collection contains an
organizational history, founding convention notes, correspondence, ad hoc and steering committee memos, financial statements,
and newsletters. The papers also contain information on local and state chapters, resources, and lesbian rights marches. Highlighted
are behind the scenes efforts to organize local chapters, the formation of the Lesbians of Color Caucus and statements, and
disagreements over the credibility of "representative organizations."
Physical location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact UCLA Library Special Collections
Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
National Lesbian Feminist Organization (U.S.) .
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections material must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records (Collection 1944). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown. This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian
Archives, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the UCLA Library.
Processed by Molly S. Jacobs, 2011. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Jessica Tai in 2016.
The
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the
UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the
UCLA Library . These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This
partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize,
preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
6954086
According to their literature, the National Lesbian Feminist Organization (NLFO) was founded in 1978 as a grassroots organization
in order to "act on a feminist platform which deals with the oppression of lesbians in all its manifestations,including but
not limited to discrimination based on sexual preference, sex, race, age, class, and physical disability. There is a need
to achieve equal rights and legal protections for all lesbians...a need for developing lesbian culture." An Ad Hoc Committee
formed in Los Angeles and took on the responsibility for the planning of the national convention to be held in July of 1978.
A nationally based steering committee was selected at the convention, whose responsibility was to guide the organization through
the first crucial months.
As a grassroots organization concerned with accountability, the NLFO committed itself to fighting racism and classism both
inside and outside the organization. The group called for a "minimum of 50% of all the women involved in the level of planning
and decision making to be women of color of various backgrounds and 50% of all white women of various class backgrounds."
Membership was open to all lesbians and women identified women whose beliefs aligned with the organization's mission. The
structure of the NLFO consisted of local memberships known as the "locals," whose representatives were sent to state and national
conventions. The Los Angeles chapter was named the Alice Paul Chapter.
The National Lesbian Feminist Organization Records contains organizational documents, including meeting minutes, financial
statements, and documents relating to the founding convention, and information on the Women of Color Caucus. It also contains
correspondence and newsletters.
Materials in this collection are arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA.
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.
National Lesbian Feminist Organization (U.S.) -- Archives.
National human rights institutions--Archives.