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Lisa Kaye papers

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: Coll2013-083

Scope and Contents

The collection comprises meeting minutes, administrative records, training workshop materials, political campaign records, publicity material and other papers, 1975-1996, from lesbian activist and community organizer Lisa Kaye from Orange County, California. The bulk of the collection is administrative records from Kaye's political and activist career, including involvement with the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club; Elections Committee of the County of Orange, a bi-partisan political action committee in which Kaye was instrumental in organizing the "Putting Lesbians in Power" workshop; Irvine Citizens United, a group that attempted to defeat a 1988 referendum to remove gays and lesbians from the city's anti-discrimination protections; Orange County Federation of Lesbian, Gay & AIDS Support Organizations in which Kaye organized a Leadership Training Program for local activists; as well as the campaigns against California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative (1978) and the Proposition 64 LaRouche Initiative (1986), among others. In addition to Kaye's legislative and election campaign materials, the collection also includes Kaye's interests in other gay and lesbian subjects and organizations such as the Whitman-Brooks Foundation, Southern California Women for Understanding, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, LIFE AIDS Lobby, the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County; as well as Jewish organizations such as Chavurah and Kol Simcha. Some general correspondence and Kaye's arrest record for "failure to disperse" make up the only personal papers in this collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1975 - 1996
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1980 - 1995

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.

Biography

Lisa Kaye has been an activist since 1978 when she was the Orange County coordinator for the campaign against California Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative. In 1982, she joined the first board of directors for the Elections Committee of the County of Orange (ECCO) and worked with Dan Wooldridge and George Garrett-Norris who were the founding co-chairs. In 1988, she joined the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club and quickly moved up to being co-chair with John Duran. Membership rose from 20 to over 200 during this time. She coordinated volunteers for Tom Umberg for Assembly, was a spokesperson for Irvine Citizens United, and was a staff aide for an Irvine city councilmember.

Kaye began working on the steering committee for the Orange County Federation of Lesbian, Gay and AIDS Support Organizations in 1989. While working with the Federation, she began planning a board member training program with Libby Cowan, Arlene Sontag and Julie Tanit. From its kick-off in 1990 until the end of 1994, Kaye helped run the Federation's Leadership Training Program. She has been acknowledged by the Orange County Human Relations Commission, ECCO, Southern California Women for Understanding, OCCP and the California State Assembly for her activism. Throughout this time, Kaye also had careers as a private investigator, mental health casemanager, and landlord.

After her retirement, Kaye moved to Oregon where she served as a board member for Oregon Wool Growers cooperative and Interfaith Prayer Services; and as a steering committee member for the Save Our Valley--Stop Enron and Coburg Power campaign. In 2007, Kaye founded SpiritPathNow, a community calendar for events serving spiritually progressive organizations and practitioners in the Pacific Northwest.

As of 2013, Kaye lives in Eugene, Oregon.

Source:

Box 7, Folder 8, Lisa Kaye Papers, Coll2013-083, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Extent

11.3 Linear Feet (10 archive boxes + 1 flat archive box.)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Meeting minutes, administrative records, training workshop materials, political campaign records, publicity material and other papers, 1975-1996, from lesbian activist and community organizer Lisa Kaye from Orange County, California. Materials in the collection document Kaye's political and activist career with the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club of Orange County, a gay and lesbian community organization; Elections Committee of the County of Orange, a bi-partisan political action committee; Irvine Citizens United, a group that attempted to defeat a 1988 referendum to remove gays and lesbians from the city's anti-discrimination protections; Orange County Federation of Lesbian, Gay & AIDS Support Organizations; and the campaigns against California Proposition 6 Briggs Initiative (1978) and Proposition 64 LaRouche Initiative (1986), among others.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following series:

Series 1. Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club

Series 2. Elections Committee of the County of Orange

Series 3. Irvine Citizens United

Series 4. Orange County Federation of Lesbian, Gay & AIDS Support Organizations

Series 5. Other activism and political activities

Acquisition

Donor and date of acquisition unknown.

Separated Materials

The following newsletters have been separated from the collection and cataloged into the ONE Archives newsletter collection:

ACT UP Orange County (1991-1992).

Aid for AIDS News (1993).

AIDS Services Foundation of Orange County newsletter (1989-1993).

Being Alive: People with HIV/AIDS Action Coalition Newsletter (1993).

Centerstone: The News Magazines of the Stonewall Alliance of Chico (1990).

Chavurah Quarterly (1989-1991).

CORE Newsletter, Community Organization for Resources and Education (1993).

Eidophusikon, [lesbian zine] premiere issue (circa 1992).

Eleanor, A Publication of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club (1992-1993).

Elections Committee of the County of Orange (ECCO) newsletter (1987-1994).

The Federation, The Orange County Federation of Lesbian, Gay & AIDS Support Organizations (1995).

Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services, Off the Streets newsletter (1988).

GLAAD Update (1992-1993).

GLAD Tidings, The Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Desert (1993).

Haworth Press, Inc. New Books & Journals in Human Sexuality (1990).

Hogar Latino newsletter (1988-1990).

Kol Simcha newsletter (1992-1993).

Laguna Outreach newsletter (1988-1993).

Laguna Shanti Quarterly (1991).

Liaison, Newsmagazine of the Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County (1989-1993).

LIFELines, Newsletter of the LIFE AIDS Lobby and the LIFE League (1993).

Log Cabin Club of Orange County newsletter (1988-1994).

Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club newsltter (1990).

LA Pride (1993).

Momentum, a News Publication of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (1990-1993).

Network News, Gay and Lesbian Faculty and Staff Network newsletter (1990).

The Orange County Names Project Chapter Newsletter (1992-1993).

Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Orange County newsletter (1988-1993).

Reveille! Newsletter of the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America, Orange County/Long Beach Chapter (1993).

The Southern California Women for Understanding (SCWU) newsletter (1989-1993).

Team Orange County Newsletter (1994).

University of California, Irvine Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Newsmagazine (1991).

Whitman-Brooks Happenings (1983).

The following programs have been separated from the collection:

March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation Program Guide (1993).

Orange County's Lesbian & Gay Pride Celebration Official Souvenir Program (1993).

Several buttons pertaining to political campaigns represented in this collection have been separated from the collection and placed with the ONE Archives button collection.

Processing Information

Formerly housed in boxes 102-A116, 103-023, 103-156, 103-159, 103-160, 103-161, 103-162, 103-163, 103-164, 103-165, 103-166, 103-170, and 104-098. Collection processed by Loni Shibuyama with assistance from Sarah Wilson, December 2013.

  • Two issues of Newsweek (addressed to Hilary Kaye, 29 Blazing Star, Irvine, CA. 92714) dated November 28, 1983 and March 26, 1984; and two issues of the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Edition, dated April 18, 1988 and October 12, 1993.
Title
Finding Aid to the Lisa Kaye Papers, 1975-1996
Status
Completed
Author
Loni Shibuyama
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.

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