The Dallas Gay Alliance (The Dallas Way), 1968-1988Add to your cart.

By S. Ivie

Collection Overview

Title: The Dallas Gay Alliance (The Dallas Way), 1968-1988Add to your cart.
Predominant Dates: 1979-1984
ID: 01/ AR0838
Extent: 2.0 Boxes
Arrangement: This collection is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Date Acquired: 09/00/2014. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects:
Languages: English

Abstract

This collection contains early court cases, photographs, negatives, correspondence and clippings related to the Dallas Gay Alliance.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection contains early court cases, photographs, negatives, correspondence and clippings related to the Dallas Gay Alliance. Cases defended by Donald Maison include incidents where gay men were being targeted by the Dallas Police Department for lewd behavior at clubs. Later, the Dallas Gay Alliance vs. the City of Dallas (Parkland Hospital) case, also presented by Maison, was fought, where allegations were brought to the court's attention that AIDS patients were not being provided adequate care by Parkland Hospital. Participants in the case included members of the Dallas Gay Alliance and Ron Woodroof.

In the case of Schwiderski v. The State of Texas, Richard Schwiderski was arrested for public lewdness on October 24th, 1979 in the Village Station bar in Dallas by undercover members of the Dallas Police Department Vice Squad for allegedly having illicit contact with another man while dancing. For the next five years, Schwiderski, along with attorney Donald J. Maison, fought a lengthy appeals process for Schwiderski’s conviction. Though there were five other men arrested that night besides Schwiderski, his case received the most media attention because of his decision to appeal and fight the conviction. Throughout the collection we see testimony from Donald J. Maison, the arresting officers of the Dallas Police Department Vice Squad, character witnesses for Richard Schwiderski, as well as colored photographs of Village Station, police records and arrest reports for Schwiderski and the five other men arrested at the same time.

Collection Historical Note

The Dallas Gay Alliance was a continuation of the Dallas Gay Political Caucus. Founded in the mid-1970s, the Dallas Gay Political Caucus was first established by Dick Peeples, Steve Wilkins, Louise Young, Don Baker and others. During the early 1980s, the group changed its name to the Dallas Gay Alliance. One part of the group became the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas. During the 1980s, the Dallas Gay Alliance continued to work towards improving rights for the LGBT population through education and social work as well as its primary focus, developing ways of combatting the AIDS problem.

Subject/Index Terms

Access Information

Access Restrictions:

This collection is not restricted.

Use Restrictions:

Reproduction and publication of materials in this collection are subject to the policies of the UNT Archives and Rare Books department. Copyright restrictions may apply.

Physical Access Note:

Collection is housed in the UNT Archives and Rare Book department vault. The UNT Archives and Rare Book department requires a 24 hour notice from patrons in order to page materials from vault and ready the materials for use. Please contact the UNT Archives and Rare Book department for further information.

Reading Room or Duplication Requests

Depending on any access restrictions noted above, you may be able to request items be delivered to our reading room, or that we make reproductions for you. Just click on either the or icons in the listings below to be routed to our request form.

Administrative Information

Repository: University of North Texas Special Collections
Accruals: 2014-77
Related Materials:

Resource Center LGBT Collection of the UNT Libraries, 1940-2011 (http://findingaids.library.unt.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=164)

Lesbian Gay Political Coalition Papers (The Dallas Way) (http://findingaids.library.unt.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=721#.VICFAzHF98E)

Preferred Citation: The Dallas Gay Alliance (The Dallas Way), University of North Texas Special Collections

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