The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives is a grass roots

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

dedicated to collecting, protecting, and conserving

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

and feminist women's history. The Archives was founded in 1981 as the West Coast Lesbian Collections (WCLC) by Lynn Fonfa and Cherrie Cox in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. After establishing a board of directors, the WCLC was granted 501(c)(3)

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

status. In 1985, WCLC relocated to Southern California with the help of Connexxus Women's Center, Jean Conger, and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the City of

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, and was maintained in the home of June L. Mazer and her partner Nancy "Bunny" MacCulloch in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

. The two women were custodians of the WCLC until Mazer's death from cancer in 1987. MacCulloch thereafter changed its name to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives and continued to run the collection with the assistance of volunteers. On November 28, 1988, the Mazer Archives moved from Altadena into the Werle Building, a space donated by the City of West Hollywood. The following year, it received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. In 1989, the Mazer Archives created an outreach and collection-building partnership with the UCLA Center for the Study of Women and the

UCLA Library The library system of the University of California, Los Angeles, is one of the largest academic research libraries in North America, with a collection of over twelve million books and 100,000 serials. The UCLA Library System is spread over 12 libr ...

Department of Special Collections of the

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

. In 2011, it co-hosted the 3rd LGBT Archives, Libraries, Museums & Special Collections Conference. In 2015,

Wolfe Video Wolfe Video is the oldest and largest exclusive producer and distributor of LGBT films in North America. Founded in 1985 in New Almaden by Kathy Wolfe, the company began as a consumer mail order distribution company for lesbian VHS videos but ha ...

donated 100 lesbian movies to the Archives. The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives describes itself as "the only archive on this side of the continent that is dedicated exclusively to preserving lesbian history...The Archives is committed to gathering and preserving materials by and about lesbians and feminists of all classes, ethnicities, races and experiences." It is supported by funding from private donors and the City of West Hollywood, and has been run strictly by volunteers since 1985.

References

External links

*
Making Invisible Histories Visible: A Resource Guide to the Collections
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, UCLA Center for the Study of Women, 2014
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives at UCLA

''June Mazer Lesbian Archives Programming Comp[i
/nowiki>lation''">"> ''June Mazer Lesbian Archives Programming Comp[i
/nowiki>lation''(2012) at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

''The Mazer Lesbian Archives and Women''
(2012) at

''June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives Serving the Community for 32 Years!''
(2013) at

''Mazer Tour by We Ho TV''
(2013) at

Bay Area Lesbian Archives
(San Francisco Bay Area lesbian history collection) {{authority control 1981 in LGBT history Organizations established in 1981 Feminism in California Lesbian culture in California Lesbian feminism LGBT museums and archives Archives in the United States Lesbian history in the United States Lesbian organizations in the United States Organizations based in Oakland, California LGBT culture in the San Francisco Bay Area

See also

References

External links