Kyper (John) Collection of Gay Liberation Ephemera and Publications, 1969-1994

Summary

Title:

John Kyper collection of gay liberation ephemera and publications

Dates:

1969-1994

Creators:

Kyper, John

Abstract:

This collection includes artifacts from the gay liberation movements in the United States and Mexico assembled by John Kyper, a member of the Faggots for Freedom Collective in Roxbury Massachusetts. The materials here date from 1969 to 1988 and encompass conference papers, legal documents, and correspondence with well-known activists such as Harvey Milk. Documents produced by gay liberation groups across the country are included, notably publications from the Gay Flames Collective, Red Butterfly, the Lavender and Red Union, and the Chicago Seed. Researchers can also find Kyper's writings on the gay liberation movement in Mexico, as well as interviews, correspondence, photographs, and news clippings associated with gay rights activities in various Mexican locations.

Extent:

3.25 linear feet (1 manuscript box, 1/2 manuscript box, 1 oversized box, 1 oversized folder)

Language:

Preferred citation:

John Kyper collection of gay liberation ephemera and publications. GLBT Historical Society

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials related to the gay liberation movements in the United States and Mexico. John Kyper was a member of the Faggots for Freedom Collective in Roxbury Massachusetts and a frequent contributor to Gay Community News. His collection includes gay liberation ephemera, an audiocassette tape, and publications from Mexico, Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and elsewhere. Notable are materials produced by the Gay Flames Collective, Red Butterfly, the Lavender and Red Union, the Chicago Seed, and a number of student homophile and gay liberation groups. Other highlights include "Fairy Poems," edited by Rick Lipinski, which was printed and distributed to participants of the 1979 Spiritual Conference of Radical Fairies held in the Sonoran Desert; a program from a 1971 conference on gay liberation sponsored by the Rutgers University Student Homophile League; materials on men against sexism; a 1973 letter from Frank Kameny about the founding of ONE and the Mattachine Society; and the transcript of a 1974 debate about gay marriage featuring Kameny. There are also copies of material related to Kyper’s deportation from Canada for being homosexual and a letter from Harvey Milk. The collection also includes Kyper's writings about Cuba and the gay liberation movement in Mexico, and related ephemera, posters, and publications. There are interviews with Juan Jacobo Hernandez, an AIDS educator and founder of Colectivo Sol, a nongovernmental organization in defense of homosexuals' rights, and Ignacio Alvarez, founder of the Frente Homosexual de Accion Revolucionaria (FHAR), one of Mexico's earliest gay liberation groups. There are also letters from Alvarez; correspondence with David Fernbach about a book project Gay in Mexico by Hernandez and Anton Everts; a few photos from Segunda Marcha del Orgullo Gay (Second Gay Pride March) and a protest; posters and ephemera from other marches, Colectivo Sol and FHAR; a FHAR flag; and news clippings about AIDS in Mexico. Other groups represented in the collection include Grupo Lambda, CLHARI, Lesbianas comunistas Feministas, and others. There is an audiocassette tape labeled 2/17/88 Interview with Mexican Gay Activists. Some of the correspondence, posters, ephemera, news clippings and periodicals are in Spanish. GSSO linked terms: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GSSO_000374

Acquisition information:

Gift of John Kyper in 2005, with additions in January 2024.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Gay men
LGBTQ
Latinx people
People of color
Gay Liberation
Activism

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:

Finding aid created by GLBT Historical Society staff.

Date Prepared:

1969-1994

Date Encoded:

This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. This collection (excluding the posters and 2024 addition) has been digitized in partnership with Gale/Cengage. Contact the GLBT Historical Society archivist for information regarding access to the digital collection.

Preferred citation:

John Kyper collection of gay liberation ephemera and publications. GLBT Historical Society

Location of this collection:

GLBT Historical Society

989 Market Street, Lower Level

San Francisco, CA 94103, US

Contact:

(415) 777-5455

reference@glbthistory.org

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