Collections
The Jim Wanser Collection covers in depth the forming of the UMKC LGBT Initiative and its development into the LGBT Office, as well as the founding of the Kansas City Chapter of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). Documents include Advisory Board minutes, drafts, programs, correspondence, outreach, and educational resources, spanning from 1992 to 2013. Series are broken into two main areas: the LGBT Office (first ten series) and GLAAD (last series).
The John Long Collection was a gift from John Long in February 2010, and includes additional issues of Camp Magazine, along with further materials donated by Long in 2012. The heart of the collection is a nearly complete run of Camp Magazine from June 2004-June 2011, along with other local and regional periodicals and publications. Also contained are various documents and items related to LGBT Organizations and Events in the Kansas City area, including Programs, Flyers and Posters, Photographs, and Press Information.
Jon Barnett donated his papers in August 2017. The collection is comprised of personal and professional documents related to his life as an activist. The collection is separated into personal documents, documents related to the HRP, and photographs. Materials include correspondence, publications, various writings, artifacts, and notes.
The Joy Cabe Collection was donated by Dianna Kehlman, executor of Cabe’s estate, in January 2019. The collection consists of meeting minutes, event planning notes, receipts, 501(c)(3) incorporation paperwork, bylaws, and other materials related to the Lavender Ladies organization, as well as Joy Cabe’s personal event badges, buttons, bags, and other items generally related to women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. Emphasis is on Lavender Ladies documents from 2006 to 2011.
The Kathy Ruth Neal and Susan Sanders Collection was a gift of Susan Sanders in May 2013. The bulk of the collection consists of cartoons drawn by Neal during the years of 1989-1991, some of which were published in issues of Alternate News, and offer an often cheeky and irreverent commentary on LGBT lifestyles. A few other documents and items fill out the collection, including some writings by Sanders and LGBT memorabilia.
Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection comprises materials from the various organizations Madden was a part of from 1981 to 1996. Sources in this collection include correspondence, newsletters, publications, conference information, and meeting minutes. The organizations included in this collection include the Human Rights Project, Kansas City Gay and Lesbian Violence Committee, Pink Triangle Political Coalition, ACTUP-KC, LAMBDA Legal, and the National Lawyers Guild, among others. Other information including the Mayor’s Commission of the 1980s, the Gay Marches on Washington in 1987 and 1990, and personal writings of Madden’s are also included.
Gown, photos, and scrapbook from donor’s long career as a drag performer.
This collection is not yet processed.
The Kurt Krieger Collection was donated to the Department of Special Collections in October of 2017 by Reverend Kurt Krieger. The collection contains literature related to evangelism within the gay and lesbian communities.
The Larry Sullivan Collection was a gift of Larry Sullivan in May 2011. It contains a wide array of documentation related to the Gay and Lesbian Services Network, and specific elements of that organization such as Condom Crusaders, a group that supported safe sex within the LGBT community. Along with GLSN materials, representative documents from other groups and organizations, such as AIDS ACTION Committee and The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), can also be found here. Rounding off this collection is a wide variety of Articles, both scholastic and general reading, along with other documents, Flyers, Brochures, Informational Booklets, Newsletters, Periodicals, and Postcards, all related to AIDS awareness and prevention, as well as other issues regarding the LGBT community.
The Lavender Ladies Collection was donated to the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid- America by decision of the organization’s board members in June of 2011. It consists of materials collected by club members over time, including local, regional, and national publications; books; sound recordings; audio-visual materials; and t-shirts. While some of the books were added to LaBudde Special Collections (searchable in the Library’s online catalog), the bulk were subsequently donated to the LIKE-Me Lighthouse, an LGBT community center in midtown Kansas City. T-shirts are housed with the Kansas City Museum, the GLAMA collaborating partner responsible for preserving donated artifacts. The collection features material related to the life and work of Jo-Pat Bishop, an early member of the organization, who was also active in Kansas City’s theater community. She mounted theatrical productions at the Lavender Umbrella, located at 308 E. 43rd Street in Kansas City. In the late 1980s, the Lavender Umbrella served as a meeting space for the Lavender Ladies and other groups. Additionally, the collection contains an expansive array of lesbian- and feminist-oriented publications from the late 1950s through early 2000s, including such titles as The Ladder (published by the national lesbian advocacy organization Daughters of Bilitis), Off Our Backs, and Sojourner. Also housed within the collection are video and audio tapes of local programming from the early 1990s through the early 2000s that feature LGBT content, as well as a series of episodes of the nationally-syndicated television program Network Q. The collection contains a small quantity of photographs from the life and career of Jo-Pat Bishop and from various social activities of the organization.