Gay activists

Classically trained pianist Bob Strain served as a council member of the Gay Spirit Visions (GSV), an organization that organizes gatherings for gay men to explore their spirituality and identity in a safe, nurturing, and sacred environment. His papers, 1994-2014, undated, include correspondence, newsletters, poems, and photographs related to Bob Strain's involvement with the organizations he served, including Gay Spirit Visions (GSV) and the Atlanta Radical Faeries Circle.

The Carl Owens collection on Cracker Barrel Restaurants, 1991-2002 (bulk 1991-1997), comprises news articles, correspondence, press releases, financial reports, and one photograph. The material relates to the campaign started by Carl Owens challenging a Cracker Barrel policy that was discriminatory towards its LGBT employees.

Ed Scruggs (1929-2009) was a gay and civil rights activist from Atlanta, Georgia who was active in the coalition to change the Georgia state flag. The papers are comprised of newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, certificates and awards, commemorative materials from president Bill Clinton and information pertaining to the campaign to get the 1994 Olympics out of Cobb county.

Gay Spirit Visions organizes gatherings for gay men to explore their spirituality and identity in a safe, nurturing, and sacred environment. The records mostly detail the planning, financing, and recording of retreats, and include correspondence, financial records, flyers, invitations, programs, audiovisual materials, and photographs dating from 1978-2010.

The Gender and Sexuality Oral History Project documents LGBTQ+ history in Atlanta, Georgia and the South through interviews with activists and leaders in grassroots movements as well as established organizations and public offices.

The LGBTQ Institute's Jim Allen papers, 1956-2016 (bulk 1989-1993), includes articles, clippings, correspondence, flyers, petitions, and protest ephemera and photographs of the many protests ACT UP organized in Atlanta. The materials relate to the many challenges posed to people with HIV during the height of the AIDS crisis.

Lorraine Fontana is an activist for the LGBTQ community and has fought for social justice since her early college days. Her papers, 1947-2014 (bulk 1968-2010), include correspondence, conference materials, flyers, notes, programs and publications, representing her activities in Atlanta, New York, and elsewhere.

Mike Hall (born 1958) taught at Dekalb Community College and its successor Georgia Perimeter College. A gay man impacted by the AIDS crisis, Hall became involved with the activist group ACT UP in the early 1990s, participating in its actions locally and in the Southeast. His papers, 1991-circa 2010, comprise a banner, photographs, and T-shirts related to gay activism.

Richard Rhodes was a lobbyist in the Georgia Legislature, focusing on gay and lesbian concerns. The papers include printed materials, newspaper clippings, correspondence, organizational minutes, bylaws and financial records, artifacts including buttons, hat, and textiles.

The Stonewall Bar Association was founded to support gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual policies and lawmaking in the state of Georgia. The Association's records, 1995-2012, consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, bylaws, and reports donated by former officers.

Thomas H. Crim, Jr. (1918-2000) lived in Evans, Georgia, from around 1935. The majority of his papers consists of editorials, articles, and letters to the editor from the Augusta Chronicle, and documents Crim's opposition to the Chronicle's stance on gay rights, and, to a lesser extent, smokers' rights.