Biographical Note
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Processing Information
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Related Materials
Contributing Institution:
ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Troy D. Perry papers
Creator:
Perry, Troy D.
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2021-002
Physical Description:
30 Linear Feet
32 boxes.
Date (inclusive): 1906-2015
Abstract: Reverend Troy Deroy Perry is an American religious leader, gay rights and human rights activist, and founder of the Metropolitan
Community Churches (MCC), the first church specifically aimed at ministering to the LGBTQ community. His collection (1906-2015)
includes documents, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, realia, audiovisual materials, and books related to his personal
life, his work with the MCC, and his activism.
Language of Material: English.
Biographical Note
Reverend Troy Deroy Perry is an American religious leader, gay rights and human rights activist, and founder of the Metropolitan
Community Churches (MCC), the first church specifically aimed at ministering to the LGBTQ community.
Reverend Perry was born July 27, 1940, in Tallahassee, Florida, to Troy and Edith Perry. The eldest of five brothers, Perry
was drawn to the church at an early age, becoming a licensed Baptist minister at the age of 15, later moving to Tennessee
and joining the Church of God. At the same time, Perry was discovering his sexuality and attraction to men. His pastor recommended
marriage to counter his homosexual leanings, and in 1959, Perry married Pearl Pinion, his pastor's daughter. A year later,
the couple moved to Illinois so that Perry could attend seminary. Perry spent two years at Midwest Bible College and one year
at Moody Bible Institute, while also serving as a pastor and working in a plastics company. In 1962, the company transferred
Perry to Southern California where he moved with his wife and their two sons, Troy III and Michael.
In California, Perry continued both to preach and to pursue relationships with men. His wife's discovery of these relationships
led to their divorce in 1964, his estrangement from his wife and children, and being defrocked as a pastor. In 1965, Perry
was drafted into the US Army, serving in Germany for two years, after which he returned to Los Angeles.
In 1968, after a failed relationship, a suicide attempt, and the police raid at the Patch Bar and subsequent protest, Perry
rediscovered his faith and his vocation. He decided to hold a service in his home and placed an advertisement in
The Advocate announcing a worship service designed for gays and lesbians in Los Angeles. On October 6, 1968, Perry hosted 12 people for
the first service of what would become the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). After several weeks of services in his living
room and a growing number of attendees, the congregation shifted to a women's club, an auditorium, a church, and finally to
a theater that could hold 600 within several months. In 1971, their own building was dedicated with over a thousand members
in attendance. Since that time, the MCC has grown into the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC),
one of the world's largest LGBTQ organizations, with over 300 congregations around the world.
Perry's mother Edith became the first heterosexual member of the Metropolitan Community Church and supported her son until
she died in 1993. Perry retired from pastoral duties in 1973, when he became the first moderator of MCC, an elected position
to serve as spokesperson, CEO, and primary visionary for the member congregations. He led the UFMCC for 32 years, finally
retiring as moderator in 2005.
Perry has been a leader in many movements surrounding LGBTQ rights and equality since he restarted his career as a pastor,
particularly the quest for marriage equality for gays and lesbians. In 1969, he performed the first public same-sex wedding
in the U.S., and in 1970 he filed the first-ever lawsuit seeking legal recognition for same-gender marriages. Perry continued
to perform weddings for same gender couples, most notably during the 1993 and 2000 marches on Washington, where he performed
mass ceremonies for several thousand couples.
In 1985, Perry met his partner Phillip Ray De Blieck. The two were married in Canada in 2003 after Ontario and British Columbia
legalized same-sex marriage. Upon their return to California, they sued the State of California for recognition of the marriage
and won. The State appealed and the Court of Appeals invalidated his marriage. Perry continued to fight and their marriage
was finally declared legal when the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.
Along with Morris Kight and Reverend Bob Humphries, Perry founded Christopher Street West in 1970 to hold an annual Pride
Parade. It is the oldest gay pride parade in the world. In 1973, he was the first gay man to serve on the Los Angeles County
Commission on Human Relations. In 1977-1978, he campaigned against and was instrumental in defeating the Briggs Initiative,
a law written to discriminate against gay and lesbian teachers in California public schools.
Perry has participated in conferences at the White House on three occasions. In 1977, he visited the Carter White House to
promote gay and lesbian rights. In 1995, he was invited by the Clinton White House to participate in the first White House
Conference on HIV and AIDS; and in 1997 he was invited by President Clinton as a participant in the White House Conference
on Hate Crimes. Perry was also an organizer and featured speaker at all of the Marches on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights
in 1979, 1987, 1993, 2000, and 2009.
Perry has written several books, including
The Lord is My Shepherd and He Knows I'm Gay,
Don't Be Afraid Anymore, and
10 Spiritual Truths for Gays and Lesbians (and everyone else!). He is also the subject of the documentary
Call Me Troy.
Reverend Perry has been honored by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Gay Press Association, Parents and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays (PFLAG), and a number of religious organizations and churches. He holds honorary doctorates from Episcopal Divinity
School (Boston), Samaritan College (Los Angeles), and Sierra University (Santa Monica, California). In 2017, Perry became
the first American honored with the Cuban National Center for Sex Education's CENESEX award for his long history of working
for human rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community worldwide. He received honors from President Bill Clinton in 1997 and
President Barack Obama in 2009, and in June 2019, Rev. Perry was named to the Stonewall 50 Wall of Honor.
References: The LGBTQ History Project https://www.lgbtqhp.org/rev-troy-perry Rev. Troy D. Perry Biography - https://revtroyperry.org/troyperrybio.htm
Rev. Troy Perry reflects on 50 years of Metropolitan Community Church https://www.losangelesblade.com/2018/09/19/rev-troy-perry-reflects-on-50-years-of-metropolitan-community-church/
The Lavender Effect - https://thelavendereffect.org/projects/ohp/troy-perry/ LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/troy-perry
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Reverend Troy D. Perry, June 19, 2017.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder #, or item name] Troy D. Perry Papers, Coll2021-002, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California.
Processing Information
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the California State Library. Collection processed by
Beth McDonald, 2021.
Scope and Contents
The collection contains personal materials relating to the life of Reverend Troy Perry, including personal records, letters,
manuscripts and drafts of Perry's books; photographs of Perry and his friends and family; professional materials related to
his work as a pastor and the founder and moderator of the Metropolitan Community Church, including books, documents, correspondence,
legal and business records, photographs and videos from the Metropolitan Community Church, as well as religious vestments
and artefacts; and materials regarding his work as an LGBTQ and human rights activist, such as records, photographs, ephemera,
and realia from many of the events and activities Perry participated in.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five series: Series 1: Papers and Records; Series 2: Photographs and Negatives; Series 3: Audiovisual
Materials; Series 4: Realia and Textiles; Series 5: Books.
Related Materials
Metropolitan Community Church Historical Collection, Coll2009-006, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Church work with gays
Churches -- California -- Los Angeles -- History -- Archival resources
Clergy -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Gay activists -- California -- Los Angeles
Gay liberation movement -- California -- Los Angeles
Gays -- Religious life
Homosexuality -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Same-sex marriage -- California
Same-sex marriage -- Law and legislation
Metropolitan Community Church (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches