Press material, flyers, clippings, correspondence, notes, protest signs, audiocassettes, and a VHS videocassette from Tom Mertz documenting the activities of the Los Angeles chapter of Queer Nation, 1990-2000. The collection documents the actions Queer Nation/LA organized and the media attention it received, including a zap on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1991.

Queer Nation was an action-oriented movement formed in New York City in April 1990 in response to a sharp increase in violence against LGBT people. The group sought to increase LGBT visibility and fight "oppression, homophobia, racism, misogyny, the bigotry of religious hypocrites and our own self-hatred" through direct actions. By the next year, 60 chapters of Queer Nation sprung up in cities throughout North America. Queer Nation/Los Angeles formed in 1990 and engaged in actions such as protesting Governor Pete Wilson's veto of AB 101 anti-discrimination bill; picketting during the Academy Awards and encouraging Hollywood actors to come out; and organizing a zap on the Arsenio Hall Show to confront the host on his lack of LGBT guests.

0.4 linear foot. 1 archive carton + 1 mapcase drawer.

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