The collection comprises minutes, meeting agendas, financial records, correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases, newsletters, publications, legal papers, subject files, notes, photographs, ephemera, and a videocassette relating to the activities and operations of the Lesbian & Gay Rights Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU-LGRC), in Los Angeles. Materials in this collection date from before the founding of LGRC in August 1976 through 2004. However, the bulk of materials come from the years 1976 to 1995. The collection is divided into six series: (1) Administration, (2) Programs and Events, (3) Publications, (4) Subject Files, (5) Photographs, and (6) Ephemera.

The first series, Administration, consists of materials related to the general day-to-day administrative activities of the Lesbian & Gay Rights Chapter of the ACLU and is divided into six subseries: (1) General, (2) Committees and Board of Directors, (3) Publicity/Public Relations, (4) Services, (5) Correspondence, and (6) Memoranda. The first subseries, General, consists of contracts, bylaws, resumes, financial records, bequests, personnel files, documents, handwritten notes and miscellany pertaining to the general day-to-day operations of the LGRC. Included in this subseries are the Chapter's mission statement, organizational history and bylaws; its IRS status; treasurer's reports; and information about the organization's personnel, real estate, finances and general office operations. The second subseries, Committees and Board of Directors, consists of minutes, agendas and reports from meetings for the committees and board of directors of the LGRC. It is this subseries that contains the earliest materials in the collection, including records from the Gay Rights Panel and the Rights of Homosexuals Committee of the ACLU of Southern California. The third subseries, Publicity / Public Relations, consists of press releases, press listings, notes and a pamphlet design draft pertaining to LGRC's publicity and media relations. The content of the press releases range from notices for LGRC's special events to announcements about current events significant to the gay and lesbian community. The fourth subseries, Services, consists of administrative papers and microfiche pertaining to general services of the LGRC, which includes legal and community resource referral information. Also included in this subseries are information about LGRC's membership, complaint intake logs (1989 - 1994), surveys, and questionnaires. The fifth subseries, Correspondence, consists of letters, notes and faxes sent or received by LGRC, its officers, or the ACLU of Southern California. Arranged chronologically by year, it includes--but is not limited to--personal correspondence of Peter Thomas Judge, Charlotte Innes, Michael Reynolds, and Susan McGreivy; complaint intake letters; and general letters to the LGRC membership at large. The sixth and last subseries, Memoranda, consists of internal memoranda of the LGRC, its officers, and/or the ACLU of Southern California. They are also arranged chronologically by year.

The second series, Programs and Events, consists of press releases, correspondence, memoranda, graphic design drafts, program books, flyers, notes, financial records, award certificates and miscellany related to public programs and events of the LGRC or ACLU. Included in this series are materials related to the LGRC's monthly General Meeting and its annual event, the Human Rights Awards. Also included in this series are reports and documents from the ACLU's National Biennial Conferences.

The third series, Publications, compiles distributed newsletters, documents and reports created by the LGRC, the ACLU of Southern California or the national ACLU. The first part of the series contains the monthly newsletters of the Chapter, which the Chapter began distributing in 1977. The remaining publications report on the local and national activities of the ACLU, including those pertaining to AIDS and gay- and lesbian-related legislation.

The fourth series, Subject Files, compiles reports, clippings, court documents, publications, correspondence, flyers, typescripts, notes, and a videocassette organized in subject files created by the LGRC. The topics in the subject files relate to the LGRC's on-going activism involving AIDS, discrimination, adoption, domestic partnership, legislation, litigation, media, military policies, police practices, violence, hate crimes, among others.

The fifth series, Photographs, comprises photographs and negatives--circa 1974 to 1990--taken of programs organized by the LGRC or those in which the LGRC participated.

The sixth and final series, Ephemera, comprises printed ephemera, a guestbook, a stamp with the phrase "Gay Flag = Yes," and a "Vehicular Award" ribbon won in the 1983 Gay Pride Parade.