Sandy Holmes collection
Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff using RecordEXPRESS
GLBT Historical Society
2023
989 Market Street, Lower Level
San Francisco, California 94103
(415) 777-5455
reference@glbthistory.org
http://www.glbthistory.org/
Title: Sandy Holmes collection
Dates: 1978-2000
Collection Number: 2014-14
Creator/Collector:
Extent: .85 linear feet
Online items available
Repository:
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: This collection contains materials collected by Sandy Holmes, who served as secretary to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays
(BABLAG) in the mid-1980s.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
[Identification of item]. Sandy Holmes collection. Collection Number: 2014-14. GLBT Historical Society
Gift of C.S. (Sandy) Holmes on August 14, 2014.
Biography/Administrative History
Sandy Holmes is a lesbian activist who was involved in a number of Black queer rights organizations throughout the 1970s and
1980s, in addition to working for the ACLU, parenting, and pursuing her interest in film studies. Holmes served as secretary
to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays (BAYBLAG) in the mid-1980s. A decade prior to her involvement in BAYBLAG, while Holmes
was a student at Yale University, she headed a campus group called Yalesbians. Established in 1982, the Bay Area Black Lesbians
and Gays (BAYBLAG) was a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the civil rights of gay and lesbian people of color.
The group was among the earliest Black gay and lesbian societies in the Bay Area. In addition to hosting social events at
members’ homes, BAYBLAG organized campaigns aimed at educating the general public about Black and queer issues, such as economic
oppression and the AIDS epidemic. BAYBLAG was closely affiliated with the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG).
In 1988, members of BAYBLAG joined with other local organizers to form the NCBLG’s first Bay Area chapter.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection contains materials collected by Sandy Holmes, who served as secretary to the Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays
(BAYBLAG) in the mid-1980s. There are BAYBLAG meeting minutes and agendas; treasurer’s reports; correspondence; mailing and
membership lists; and organizational records, including the group’s bylaws and articles of incorporation. There are also materials
related to the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG), including conference materials, board reports, correspondence,
ephemera, and bylaws. A decade prior to her involvement in BAYBLAG, Holmes headed a campus group at Yale University called
Yalesbians. During this time she amassed a collection of conference materials, newsletters, periodicals, and ephemera related
to lesbians of color and the LGBT rights movement more generally. Periodicals and newsletters were integrated into the Historical
Society’s Periodical Collection. The Oversize Folder contains a t-shirt and poster from “Homework for Homeboys and Homegirls,”
the 10th anniversary NCBLG conference (1988) and a poster from the Saturday T-Dance at SF Pride in 2000. That poster features
a photo of Holmes’ friend and colleague at the ACLU, Dan Warner.
Black people
Lesbians
People of color
African Americans