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Guide to the Lesbian Agenda for Action Records,
1987-1991
1992-08
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Table of contents
Title: Lesbian Agenda for Action Records,
Date (inclusive): 1987-1991
Accession number: 1992-08
Creator:
Lesbian Agenda for Action
Extent: .75 linear feet in 2 boxes
Repository: The
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
San Francisco, California.
Shelf location: Housed at the GLBT Historical Society.
Language:
English.
The records of the Lesbian Agenda for Action (#1992-08) were received from Roma Guy, board of directors member.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials has been transferred to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
There are none in the collection.
[Identification of item], Lesbian Agenda for Action Records, 1992-08, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
The Lesbian Agenda for Action (LAFA) was founded in January 1987 as a sponsored project of the San Francisco Women's Centers
(also known as the Women's Building). LAFA was formed to promote lesbian visibility in society through political and social
action.
The major contribution of LAFA was organizing conferences. In November of 1987, LAFA held it's first conference
Lesbian Political Action. The conference goal was to build a consensus on the most pressing issues on the lesbian political agenda, and then devising
strategies to make government more responsive to them. Issues discussed ranged from domestic partners to the politics of substance
abuse.
In 1989, LAFA sponsored a "Report back to the Community" from the
Second Annual Old Lesbians Conference. In November 1989, LAFA along with the Bay Area Lesbians of Color sponsored
The Dynamics of Color Conference: Building a Stronger Lesbian Community, Combating Racism, Honoring Diversity. The conference was attended by over 600 women. The conference created and taught new ways of dealing with racial dynamics
and aired issues around racism seldom discussed fully - among them land rights of indigenous peoples, anti-Arab racism, and
the dilemmas facing lesbians of mixed heritage. The last program on record that LAFA sponsored was a forum on Chronic Fatigue
Immune Dysfunction Syndrome in March of 1991.
During 1990 LAFA became split over whom to endorse for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors election. Two out lesbians,
Carole Midgen and Roberta Achtenberg were running. In the end, both women won seats on the board of supervisors.
The LAFA records (.75 linear feet) document the many activities of this important organization from its founding in 1987 to
1991. The records are divided into four series; administrative, conferences, outreach/publicity, and miscellaneous.
The administrative records documents the formation of policy and the day to day operation of LAFA. Included are minutes of
the Board of Directors and committees, correspondence, financial information and budgets. The files are arranged in alphabetical
order by title. There is extensive materials from the three LAFA committees, Lesbian Visibility, Organizational Development,
and Political. One folder also concerns the early organization structure of LAFA. At its inception and throughout its existence
an effort was made to be as inclusive as possible for all lesbians with a commitment to multicultural leadership and hence
much time was spent on creating a working structure. Though this series contains a wealth of material on the functioning of
LAFA, the researcher should be aware that gaps exists in the minutes for both the board of directors and the various committees.
There is also an undated file containing a Three Year Program Development Plan. The plan outlines the proposed activities
of each committee. The series contains two files documenting planning retreats held in 1988 and 1989. The retreats focused
on setting an agenda for LAFA and creating a sense of unity of purpose.
LAFAs main achievement was holding various conferences bringing lesbians together to identify issues of concern and then bringing
these issues into the political arena. The series is organized chronologically by conference date and then alphabetically
by folder title for each conference. Some of the items included in this series are minutes, correspondence, printed materials,
notes, and speeches.
The first
Lesbian Political Action conference was held just a few months after LAFAs creation in November of 1987. The materials document the planning of the
conference such as issues for workshops, planning and logistics. Documents from the actual conference including speeches,
publicity and evaluations.
There is one folder of documents from the "Report back to the Community" from the
Second Annual Old Lesbians Conference (August 1989) containing the proposal, programs, correspondence and other items. There are many files documenting the
Diversity of Color conference held in November of 1989. A number of committees were set up to facilitate the conference. The collection contains
minutes and related materials from the Children's/Youth Program, Fundraising/Finance, Logistics, Outreach/Publicity, Program
and Steering committees. Other files from the conference include evaluations, personal notes, planning materials, programs,
proposals, and publicity.
The Outreach/Publicity files contain news articles, publicity flyers, the LAFA newsletter
The L Word, of which the records contain four issues, and mailings to attract more member, provide updates on LAFA activity, and raise
money.
The miscellaneous series contains the achievement award presented to LAFA by the Alice B. Tolkas Democratic Club in 1987.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Lesbians
Politics and elections
Aging
Title: Carmen Vasquez Papers,
Identifier/Call Number: 95-5
Title: San Francisco Women's Building Records,
Identifier/Call Number: 96-15
1 folder of materials concerning planning for the National Lesbian Conference (Atlanta 1991)
1 folder of materials concerning San Francisco Domestic Partnership Ordinances, 1987-1989
1 folder of materials concerning the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Democratic Clubs, 1988-1990
1 folder of materials concerning San Francisco Domestic Partnership Ordinances, 1987-1989
1 folder of materials concerning the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Democratic Clubs, 1988-1990