Records of the Queer Asian Pacific Alliance, 1989-2008
Overview
Grant applications; minutes, newsletters, flyers and other printed materials; clippings; correspondence; etc. of members of the Queer Pacific Alliance and earlier iterations, as well as other gay and lesbian groups.
Dates
- Creation: 1989-2008
Creator
- Queer Asian Pacific Alliance (Organization)
Language of Materials
Most materials in English. Some materials may be in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Devanagari (alphabet)
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research. Researchers must contact Research Services for access to audiovisual material as well as E.1 and E.2.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the papers created by the Queer Asian Pacific Alliance is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Material may not be digitized for the World Wide Web until 2055.
Extent
.42 linear feet ((1 file box) plus 1 folio folder, 2 audiotapes, 1 archived web site).315 Megabytes (4 files)
The collection includes grant applications; minutes, newsletters, flyers and other printed materials; clippings; correspondence; etc. of members of the Queer Pacific Alliance and earlier iterations, as well as other gay and lesbian groups. Also included are two electronic files containing correspondence and two interviews of Kenji Oshima and Joyoti Grech.The Queer Asian Pacific Alliance website is also included. Folders remain in their original order followed by electronic material. Folder titles were created by the archivist.
HISTORY
A support group for Asian gay men and lesbians in Massachusetts and the surrounding New England states, The Queer Asian Pacific Alliance was founded as Boston Asian Gay Men and Lesbians (BAGMAL) in 1979 by Siong-huat Chua, "as a place where Asian gay men and lesbians [had] come together to learn to 'confront all the big lies...' [such as] 'internalized gay stigmatization,' which included feelings and cultural messages that being gay was a sign of 'Western corruption.'" In 1989 the group changed its name to the Alliance of Massachusetts Asian Lesbians and Gay Men (AMALGM). By 2000 it had changed its name to the Queer Asian Pacific Alliance (QAPA). The organization offers social events for its members such as monthly Sunday brunches (the collection includes "The Gay Guy's (and Gal's) Guide to Dim Sum and Other Appetizers" by Siong-huat Chua, and a 25th anniversary boat cruise.; organizes special events, and coordinates with gay/lesbian organizations nationally and/internationally in order to raise awareness and understanding in Asian communities about gay people. Activities include AIDS education and fund-raising; participation in the creation of a Boston History Project exhibit on the history of LGBTQ Asians in Boston and Boston Pride; an anti-racist boycott of Boston women's bar, Indigo; participation in the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Speakers Bureau of Boston; and several political efforts to protect transgender rights and establish legalized same-sex marriage.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2014-M94
The records of the Queer Asian Pacific Alliance were given to the Schlesinger Library by Sharon Bromberg-Lin in June 2014.
Processing Information
Processed: June 2022
By: Mark Vassar
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
Creator
- Queer Asian Pacific Alliance (Organization)
- Title
- Queer Asian Pacific Alliance. Records of the Queer Pacific Alliance, 1989-2008: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by gifts from the Martha Meisels Miller Fund, the Elsie Rodd Fund, and the Sibyl Shainwald Fund at the Schlesinger Library.
- EAD ID
- sch02151
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.