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Kay Berryhill Smith and Connie Confer LGBT activism collection
MS 363
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Title: Kay Berryhill Smith and Connie Confer LGBT activism collection
Date (inclusive): 1964-2005, undated
Collection Number: MS 363
Creator:
Confer, Connie
Creator:
Smith, Kay Berryhill
Extent:
9.44 linear feet
(8 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The collection contains materials created and compiled by LGBT activists Connie Confer, a retired assistant city attorney
for Riverside, California and her partner, Kay Berryhill Smith, a retired social worker in Riverside County. Materials in
the collection focus on local, state and federal LGBT rights issues and include organizational records, political campaign
and lobbying efforts, research and publications on the LGBT community and discrimination, and legal records related to anti-discrimination
cases.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright Unknown: Some material in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition,
the reproduction, and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected
by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other
restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility
for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Kay Berryhill Smith and Connie Confer LGBT activism collection (MS 363). Special
Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Gift of Connie Confer, 2011.
Processed by Julianna Gil, Student Processing Assistant, 2017.
Processing of the Kay Berryhill Smith and Connie Confer LGBT activism collection was completed by undergraduate students from
the University of California, Riverside as part of the Special Collections & University Archives Backlog Processing Project
started in 2015. This project was funded by the UCR Library and administered by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian.
Kay Berryhill Smith was born on January 13, 1936, in Syracuse, New York. After spending her early life in various locations
in both the United States and Europe, she settled in Riverside, California, where she resided for 39 years. Smith attended
Antioch University, the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and ultimately received her Bachelors of Arts from Stanford
University. She then received her Master's degree in Social Work from U.C. Berkeley, and worked as a social worker for 27
years, eventually managing the adoptions program for Riverside County. Smith was a dedicated civil rights and political activist,
as well as an activist for the local lesbian and gay community in Riverside. She was a member of the Human Relations Commission,
fought for fair housing, and volunteered for local groups including Head Start and the Community Settlement Association. She
passed away in February of 2009 from cancer.
Carolyn "Connie" Confer served as the assistant city attorney for Riverside, and has been a passionate advocate for changing
attitudes towards the LGBTQ community for decades. Confer and Smith were partners for 29 years, and were married in October
of 2008. They cofounded the Political Action Coalition for Elections (PACE), which was active in local politics for 13 years.
This collection contains memorandums, correspondence, articles, fliers, legal documents, and other material created and compiled
by Kay Berryhill Smith and Connie Confer pertaining to LGBT rights activism in the Inland Empire, California, and the broader
United States. Materials in the collection address activism surrounding housing discrimination, anti-LGBT initiatives, local
elections, court cases, local organizations, and statewide and federal legislation.
The collection is arranged into 5 series as follows:
- Series 1. Organizations, 1975-2004, undated
- Series 2. Conferences and events, 1987-1995, undated
- Series 3. Research and publications, 1968-2004, undated
- Series 4. Personal papers and items, 1964-2004, undated
- Series 5. Political and legal issues, 1966-2005, undated
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
California -- Politics and government
Civil rights
Gay liberation movement
Gay rights
Lobbying
Political action committees
Politics and culture
Riverside (Calif.)
Riverside County (Calif.)
Agendas
Articles
Correspondence
Fliers (printed matter)
Memorandums
Minutes (administrative records)
Notes