Dallas gay alliance
Pride in Dallas is presented by the University of North Texas Special Collections, and features materials initiate in the LGBTQ Archive. The history presented here is an overview of major events, but is not the full story of Dallas LGBTQ history and culture. Many stories are not represented within the LGBTQ Archive at UNT, especially those of the BIPOC and Trans communities. We would verb to encourage people within those communities to maintain documents, photographs, and other LGBTQ related materials to preserve these stories for future generations. Contact UNT Special Collections (specialcollections@) for information on how to best keep these materials, or to donate a collection.
– Circle of Friends founded
The Circle of Friends, was the first gay organization in Dallas, established in by Phil Johnson. The organization was meant to help foster a sense of community amongst the Gay & Lesbian population, improve relations with the non-gay population, and work with straight allies to prevent harassment and discrimination. Non-gay ministers working with the Circle of Friends provid
When you think of gay activism in the promptly days of the movement, that one inescapable mention is Dallas Gay Alliance. Founded in , its mission was, from the start, to present a formal face of the gay community to media and before city council, to address issues such as police harassment and to talk to candidates running for office.
A few years after its founding, the Dallas Gay Political Caucus split off to become a political action committee that screened candidates running for office. The two groups remained separate for several decades, then remerged in the early s.
DGLA (the L was added in ) has always been good at creating — and spinning off — other groups. In , it created the AIDS Food Pantry and the AIDS Resource Center under the nonprofit name the Foundation for Human Empathetic. By , the groups severed ties when Resource Center had far outgrown its parent organization and the missions of the two groups had parted.
At the time, DGLA, along with the AIDS Resource Center, were the only groups in the state advising against taking an HIV test, then known as HTLV-II
The Dallas Gay Alliance (The Dallas Way)
About the Dallas Gay Alliance
The Dallas Gay Alliance was a continuation of the Dallas Gay Political Caucus. Founded in the mids, the Dallas Gay Political Caucus was first established by Dick Peeples, Steve Wilkins, Louise Young, Don Baker, and others. During the early s, the group changed its identify to the Dallas Gay Alliance. One part of the group became the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas. During the s, the Dallas Gay Alliance continued to work towards improving rights for the LGBT population through education and social work. It also pursued its primary focus, developing ways of combatting the AIDS difficulty.
About the Collection
This digital collection contains early court cases photographs, negatives, correspondence, and newspaper articles related to the activities of the Dallas Gay Alliance from The corresponding physical collection is housed in the University of North Texas Special Collections. For more information about the physical collection, see the finding aid.
Acknowledgement
The Dallas Way generously fu
Lesbian Gay Political Coalition Papers (The Dallas Way)
About the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas
The Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas was a political organization created out of the Dallas Gay Political Caucus during the s. The Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas and the Dallas Gay Alliance were the two groups which formed out of the Dallas Gay Political Caucus. During the early eighties, the Dallas Gay Alliance chose to focus more on social issues with the rise of the AIDS epidemic, while the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition continued to operate with politicians and local leaders in verb to get more members of the LGBT community and those supportive of equal rights elected into office. Throughout each year, the group participated in screenings of political candidates, held fundraising events, met frequently to discuss current issues and revised organizational bylaws. The organization was active most prominently during election years, where they helped increase visibility for candidates in both local and national elections.