Research Catalog

Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement records

Title: Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement records, 1973-2003.
Author: Gay Freedom Movement (Jamaica)
Supplementary Content: Finding aid

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4 Items

Item details
Status	Container	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 1	Mixed material	Use in library	Sc MG 902 box 1	Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 2	Mixed material	Use in library	Sc MG 902 box 2	Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 3	Mixed material	Use in library	Sc MG 902 box 3	Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 4	Mixed material	Use in library	Sc MG 902 box 4	Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives

Details

Additional Authors

Jewel Box Revue (Musical group)

Description

5 linear feet (4 record cartons and 1 flat box)

Summary

Laurence Chang, the General Secretary of the Gay Freedom Movement, kept numerous records, correspondences, and ephemera pertaining to the organization, as well as other gay-related clippings and publications by international gay rights organizations. Spanning from the 1970s to the 2000s, Chang's collection highlights the GFM's activity in Jamaica, largely through correspondence and publications. The collection provides insight into the thoughts and feelings of gay and lesbians in Jamaica and abroad. The collection also reflects the GFM's impact within the context of the global gay liberation movement, documenting the collaborative activities and exchange of information between the GFM and international organizations in raising gay consciousness and combatting anti-gay prejudice and oppression. The material includes correspondence with international gay rights organizations and individuals from the Americas and Europe such as the Revolutionary Marxist League, the Caribbean Homosexuals Association and Paz y Liberacion, as well as pamphlets, flyers and publications advocating for gay liberation from around the world, including the Spartacus International Gay Guide, Gay Community News, Gay News, and Christopher Street.
The Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement Records, 1973-2003, is organized into two series, the Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) and International Material. The Gay Freedom Movement series, approximately 1973-1986, contains organizational documents, publications and ephemera of the GFM, as well as correspondence, the Jamaica Gaily News (JGN) newsletter and related documents, and handwritten notes by Laurence Chang documenting the activities of the GFM and the JGN. The International Material series, approximately 1973-2003, contains flyers, brochures, newsletters, publications by international gay rights organizations, newspaper clippings reporting on LGBT individuals, topics and issues, events such as a program for the 30th edition of the Jewel Box Revue Program, conference proceedings, and miscellaneous material on Jamaica.

Subjects

Genre/Form

Records (documents)

Access (note)

Access restricted. Researchers are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Source (note)

International Resource Network and the Gay Freedom Movement

Biography (note)

The Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) of Jamaica was founded by Laurence Chang, Michael Davis, Gary Muirhead, Father Joe Owens, Clive Wilson and Winston Witter in 1977 as the first publicly gay organization in Jamaica and one of the first gay rights organizations in the Caribbean. The GFM was established to represent the Jamaican gay community with the aim of fighting homophobic prejudice and discrimination through public education. Other goals included raising gay consciousness and awareness in gay communities and the larger society, providing counseling and support, protesting against anti-gay oppression, calling for the repeal of anti-gay laws, raising funds for a gay community center, and providing necessary social services.
Chang was the General Secretary and organizer of the Gay Freedom Movement. Born in Jamaica to Hakka Chinese immigrant parents, Chang was the first openly gay Chinese-Jamaican man. From 1977 to 1981, he was the publisher and editor of the Jamaica Gaily News (JGN), a newsletter created to address the needs and issues of the local gay community in Jamaica and subscribers from around the world. Chang would later help establish the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) in 1998, the oldest and most visible LGBT advocacy organization in Jamaica. In 2000, Chang immigrated to the United States, where he was granted political asylum in 2004.

Call Number

Sc MG 902

OCLC

935732253

Author

Gay Freedom Movement (Jamaica)

Title

Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement records, 1973-2003.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Access

Access restricted. Researchers are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Biography

The Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) of Jamaica was founded by Laurence Chang, Michael Davis, Gary Muirhead, Father Joe Owens, Clive Wilson and Winston Witter in 1977 as the first publicly gay organization in Jamaica and one of the first gay rights organizations in the Caribbean. The GFM was established to represent the Jamaican gay community with the aim of fighting homophobic prejudice and discrimination through public education. Other goals included raising gay consciousness and awareness in gay communities and the larger society, providing counseling and support, protesting against anti-gay oppression, calling for the repeal of anti-gay laws, raising funds for a gay community center, and providing necessary social services.

Chang was the General Secretary and organizer of the Gay Freedom Movement. Born in Jamaica to Hakka Chinese immigrant parents, Chang was the first openly gay Chinese-Jamaican man. From 1977 to 1981, he was the publisher and editor of the Jamaica Gaily News (JGN), a newsletter created to address the needs and issues of the local gay community in Jamaica and subscribers from around the world. Chang would later help establish the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) in 1998, the oldest and most visible LGBT advocacy organization in Jamaica. In 2000, Chang immigrated to the United States, where he was granted political asylum in 2004.

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Finding aid

Added Author

Jewel Box Revue (Musical group)

Research Call Number

Sc MG 902

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