Finding Aid to the Fred Parris Collection on Virginia Gay and Lesbian Rights Organizations Coll2014.102
Michael C. Oliveira
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90007
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Title: Fred Parris collection on Virginia gay and lesbian rights organizations
creator:
Parris, Fred (Frederick Walter)
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2014.102
Physical Description:
0.1 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1977-1983
Abstract: The collection contains materials from the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights, 1977-1980, and the Virginia Gay
Alliance, 1983. The documents include fliers, meeting information, and minutes of the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay
Rights. The collection also contains clippings, Parris' correspondence concerning gay and lesbian rights, and a packet of
materials from the Virginia Gay Alliance conference, October 15-16, 1983. Fred Parris was a freelance writer for the
Washington Blade and may be best known for his articles written during the mid-1980s calling attention to gay teen suicide.
Frederick Walter Parris was born November 12, 1948 in Manhattan, Kansas. In 1970 he graduated from Kansas University with
a degree in journalism. While writing for the
University Daily Kansan he received the William Allen White Award for excellence in feature writing. After earning his master's degree from Kansas’s
Emporia University in library science, he was employed by the Memphis Public Library system. While in Memphis he was the news
editor for a local gay and lesbian newspaper,
Gaiety. In 1976 Parris relocated to suburban Washington, D.C. and became active in the gay and lesbian rights movement, and a number
of other progressive causes. He was a freelance writer for the
Washington Blade through the 1980s. Parris' articles during the mid-1980s on gay teen suicide have been credited with bringing attention to
the crisis. In 1989, he took a position with the Houston Public Library, where he served in a number of capacities until his
retirement in 2008. He died of congestive heart failure in March 2011.
Chibbaro, Lou, Jr. "Obituary: Fred Parris, 62."
Washington Blade, April 07, 2011. http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/04/07/obituary-fred-parris-62/#sthash.mIgNGy2c.dpuf (retrieved October
23, 2014).
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
Letter from Lloyd Ostby in lieu of deed of gift, dated January 04, 2014.
[Box #, item] Fred Parris Collection on Virginia Gay and Lesbian Rights Organizations, Coll2014-102, ONE National Gay & Lesbian
Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, October 2014.
The collection contains the contents of a ring binder compiled by Fred Parris of materials from the Virginia Coalition for
Lesbian and Gay Rights, 1977-1980, and the Virginia Gay Alliance, 1983. The documents include fliers, meeting information,
and minutes of the Virginia Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The collection also contains clippings, correspondence concerning
gay and lesbian rights, and a packet of materials from the Virginia Gay Alliance conference, October 15-16, 1983.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Removed to ONE periodical collection:
Our Own: May 1978, September 1983, October 1983.
Unprocessed Fred Parris papers - 4 archvies cartons
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay activists
Parris, Fred (Frederick Walter)
Virginia Coalition for Lesbian & Gay Rights
Virginia Gay Alliance
Virginia gay and lesbian rights organizations