Queer Nation Collection
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Abstract
The Queer Nation Collection contain items from protests, petitions, and demonstrations organized by the LGBT activist organization known as Queer Nation. The organization's disapproval of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and their Dump Russian Vodka campaign, which began in response to Russia's recent passage of repressive, anti-gay legislation, is heavily documented by ephemera in the collection. Materials include an oversized banner, flyers, invitations, protest signs, and t-shirts.
Biographical/Historical note
Queer Nation is an LGBT activist organization founded in New York in 1990 by ACT UP members Tom Blewitt, Alan Klein, Michelangelo Signorile, and Karl Soehnlein as a means to eliminate homophobia and increase LGBT visibility worldwide. The group gained prominence for its "Nights Out" actions which, in response to violence and bigotry against the LGBT community in New York, were designed to raise the visibility of queer behavior in the city. In recent years, Queer Nation continues to protest against discriminatory practices in the United States and abroad, and advocates on behalf of worldwide LGBT issues, including affordable housing, corporate responsibility, and political inclusion.
Arrangement
This collection has been arranged by an archivist. The materials are roughly grouped by size and material type.
Scope and Contents
The Queer Nation records document some of the protests, petitions, and demonstrations of the LGBT activist organization known as Queer Nation. More specifically, the collection's ephemera documents the organization's disapproval of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) for failing to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity by religiously-affiliated employers. Also documented within the collection is Queer Nation's Dump Russian Vodka campaign, which began in response to Russia's recent passage of repressive, anti-gay legislation. This campaign was especially important to the organization's desire for global awareness of LGBT discrimination during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Materials, which are mostly undated, include a banner, protest signs, flyers, invitations, and some smaller ephemera, including a candy necklace and a box of matches from Barcelona Wine Bar. Also included within the collection are a number of t-shirts with slogans, such as "Here, Queer, Fabulous," as well as "Queer Nation, Queer Planet."
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Queer Nation Records; MSS 447; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
Donated by Queer Nation activists Ken Kidd and Andrew Miller in 2015. The accession number associated with this gift is 2015.447.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers.
About this Guide
Processing Information note
Items were grouped by size, partially rehoused in acid-free folders and archival boxes, and shelved in the stacks of Cooper Square in 2015. In 2017, all of the remaining materials were rehoused in appropriate archival housing.
