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Lorraine Fontana oral history interview, October 29, 2012

 Item — othertype: Oral History
Identifier: FontanaL_20121029

Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Hillery Rink. In the first of two interviews for the Gender and Sexuality Oral History Project, Lorraine Fontana discusses her early life growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. in a working-class Italian-American home, the experiences that led to the realization of her lesbian identity, and her feminist activism with the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance.

Dates

  • Creation: October 29, 2012

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Born in Queens, NY, in 1947, Lorraine Fontana became an anti-war activist and supporter of the Civil Rights and Black Empowerment Movements early in life. After joining VISTA in 1968, she came to Atlanta, and together with other feminists, founded the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA - 1972 to 1994), and later DARII (Dykes for the Second American Revolution). She trained at the People’s College of Law in L.A. (1976-79) and went on to work with the National Jury Project, Georgia Legal Services, the EEOC in New York City (Oct 1999 to Jan, 2004), and Georgia’s Lambda Legal Education and Defense Fund (2006-2012). She was a member of the short-lived Queer Progressive Agenda (QPA), and is currently a supporter of First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta’s Social Justice Guild, the Georgia Peace & Justice Coalition, Charis Books, the Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace, SAGE Atlanta, and Southerners on New Ground.

Extent

2 item(s) (audio/video (1:49:55 duration) transcript (62 pages))

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
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404-413-2880
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