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Olympics Out of Cobb County records

 Collection
Identifier: Coll2013-053

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Scope and Contents

The collection comprises correspondence, photographs, letters of support, flyers, press releases, stickers, banners, T-shirts, clippings, stamps, letterhead and other material from Olympics Out of Cobb County, 1990-1998. Included are articles relating to bigotry in Cobb County, such as copies of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners' anti-gay resolution, a Neighbors Network report on anti-gay groups in Georgia, documentation of racist merchandise for sale in Cobb County, as well as hate mail and voice recordings received by Cobb Citizens Coalition.

The collection also contains a number of personal items that belonged to co-founder Jon-Ivan Weaver, including domestic partnership papers, an appointment book, speech notes, notepads, a videotape birthday tribute and a T-shirt and letter that Weaver delivered to Shirley Franklin the senior policy advisor for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) at the beginning of the campaign.

Dates

  • Creation: 1990 - 1998

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Administrative History

Pat Hussain and Jon-Ivan Weaver founded Olympics Out of Cobb County (OOCC) in February 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia. OOCC formed as a grassroots response by individuals and organizations to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games' (ACOG) decision to hold the volleyball competition of the 1996 Olympic Games in Cobb County, Georgia. Cobb County came under fire from gay rights groups including Cobb Citizens Coalition in 1993 when the Cobb County board of commissioners, led by Gordon Wysong, passed an anti-gay resolution condemning the "gay lifestyle." Cobb Citizens Coalition began organizing for a repeal of the resolution and a boycott of Cobb County.

OOCC successfully staged a campaign of protests, letter writing and outreach in order to first remove the volleyball competition from Cobb County, and later to block the Olympic torch relay from passing through Cobb County. Organizations who helped and endorsed the work of OOCC included ACT-UP, Dykes & Faggots Bash Back, Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Lesbian Avengers.

Sources :

Olympics Out of Cobb County Records, Coll2013-053, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 archive box + 5 T-shirts + 2 banners.)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Correspondence, photographs, letters of support, notebooks, anti-gay material, flyers, press releases, banners, T-shirts, clippings, stamps, audiocassettes, a videocassette and other material from Olympics Out of Cobb County (OOCC), 1990-1998, as well as OOCC co-founder, Jon-Ivan Weaver. OOCC formed in 1994 as a grassroots response by individuals and organizations to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games' (ACOG) decision to hold the volleyball competition of the 1996 Olympic Games in Cobb County, Georgia. Cobb County came under fire from gay rights groups in 1993 when the Cobb County Board of Commissioners passed an anti-gay resolution condemning the "gay lifestyle."

Arrangement

An index to the collection is at the beginning of the collection. The remaining folders are arranged alphabetically.

Acquisition

Donated by Jon-Ivan Weaver, January 20, 1999. Weaver donated additional materials to the collection on April 7, 2018.

Separated Materials

The following books have been separated from this collection and added to the ONE Archives library:

Dumesnil, Cheryl, ed. Hitched! Wedding Stories from San Francisco City Hall. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005. (autographed by Diego Francisco Sans)

Processing Information

Formerly boxes 103-240 and 103-241. Collection processed by Lane Goldszer, May 2013. The finding aid was updated in 2024 to reflect additional materials that were donated in 2018.

Title
Finding aid to the Olympics Out of Cobb County records, 1990-1998
Status
Completed
Author
Lane Goldszer
Date
(c) 2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR).

Repository Details

Part of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California Repository

Contact:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles California 90007 United States
(213) 821-2771