Clark L. Taylor papers

Title: Clark L. Taylor papers

Dates: circa 1947-2003 (bulk dates 1970-1998)

Collection Number: 2003-42

Creator/Collector: Taylor, Clark, 1937-

Extent: 7 cartons (7 linear feet)

Repository: GLBT Historical Society

Abstract: The Clark Taylor papers document three decades of Taylor’s professional career as an anthropologist and sexologist. Major topics in the collection include the relationship between LGBT politics, the social sciences, and HIV/AIDS. The bulk of these materials relate to San Francisco, but the small amount of material on Mexico and Latin America is significant.

Language of Material: English

Collection is open for research. Finding Aid created by Fuchsia Spring, August 2014. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

[Identification of item]. Clark L. Taylor papers. Collection Number: 2003-42. GLBT Historical Society

Gift of Clark Taylor in December 2003.

Dr. Clark Louis Taylor, Jr., Ph.D., Ed.D. (1937-2004) was a scholar and activist who worked in San Francisco. With joint appointments at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the Institute of Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS), Taylor taught sex education and anthropology courses. Taylor’s work as a professional anthropologist included cofounding the Anthropology Research Group on Homosexuality (ARGOH), a group for anthropologists that later became an official group for LGBT members within the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Born in Texas in 1937, Taylor moved to California to study at UCLA. He began his teaching career as a tenured associate professor at Sacramento State University, where he also headed a federal project on Mexican-American education. Facing charges for protesting marijuana laws, Taylor fled to Mexico, where he lived as a fugitive from 1970-1973. Upon his return, he studied for a Ph.D at UC Berkeley. His thesis on gay communities in Mexico, El Ambiente, detailed how LGBT communities are culturally specific. Taylor received a second doctorate in sexology at IASHS in 1985. As a faculty member at IASHS, Taylor co-founded the Sexologists Sexual Health Project as part of his widespread efforts to address the AIDS epidemic through safer sex workshops and health worker programs. At City College of San Francisco (CCSF), Taylor helped design, teach, and find funding for a sexual health worker training programs. He was Resource Instructor/Coordinator of the AIDS Education Office at CCSF. He was also a mentor for safer sex and anti-homophobia programs nationally, both through the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and IASHS. Taylor cofounded ARGOH, the Anthropology Research Group on Homosexuality, in 1978. He was officially recognized for his safer sex teaching, winning the Puckett Award from the Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco in 2000, and an AACC award for extraordinary community health engagement, from 1996-2000. Taylor died of AIDS on October 7th, 2004.

The Clark Taylor papers document three decades of Taylor’s professional career as an anthropologist and sexologist. Major topics in the collection include the relationship between LGBT politics, the social sciences, and HIV/AIDS. The bulk of these materials relate to San Francisco, but the small amount of material on Mexico and Latin America is significant. The collection has been divided into 14 series: Series 1. Correspondence; Series 2. Diaries/Journals/Scrapbooks; Series 3. “El Ambiente”; Series 4. Writings; Series 5. Writings by Others; Series 6. Grants; Series 7. Teaching Materials; Series 8. Professional Activities; Series 9. Conference Materials; Series 10. Research and Subject Files; Series 11. Biographical Materials; Series 12. Textiles; Series 13. Audiovisual and Photographic Materials; and Series 14. Artifacts. Data imaged from Taylor’s computers is of limited research value; please contact the archivist for further details.