Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. donates papers to Special Collections
Greg D. Kubiak, Board Chair of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW), announced today that an agreement has been reached between GMCW and The George Washington University to allow the University’s Gelman Library to collect, preserve and make accessible the Chorus’s archives as part of the library’s Gay and Lesbian Collections. “The GMCW board’s approval of this agreement was reached this spring after meeting with Gelman Library officials,” said Mr. Kubiak. “The GMCW Archives will offer a great resource for scholars, researchers or anyone interested in local GLBT history,” he continued, “while providing a secure home for the Chorus’s papers and other materials. The women and men of GMCW are honored to have their history included in the Gelman Library Special Collections.” The Chorus’s archives, including Board of Directors’ minutes and official documentation, financial and tax statements, publications, performance and promotional materials, concert programs, membership rosters, correspondence, newsletters, newspaper articles and clippings, video and audio recordings, and other archival material, will be transferred to Gelman Library this summer.
Steve Mandeville-Gamble, Head of Special Collections at Gelman Library, added: “With the generous donation of their organization’s records to the Gelman Library, GMCW has ensured that a vital voice of the cultural and social fabric of Washington, DC will be preserved and made available to this and future generations. These records document how the gay community of DC not only withstood adversity but also did so with its head held high and with a creative rejection of the intolerance that it encountered. This response ultimately lead to a greater acceptance of — and respect for — the GLBT community as a whole.” The official contract signing between the Chorus and the Library took place on June 28, 2007, at 11 AM in the Kiev Room (#710) of Gelman Library, 2130 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20052. June 28th is significant in that it is the 26th anniversary of the Chorus’s founding as well as the 38th anniversary of New York City’s Stonewall Riots — a pivotal moment in the U.S. GLBT rights movement. Closely aligned is the gay choral movement, as evidenced by GMCW’s mission — to entertain through excellent musical performance, to affirm the place of Gay people in society and to educate about the Gay experience. Signing the contract for GMCW was Kathy McGee, Board of Directors Secretary, who was accompanied by C. Michael Baker, Jack Gerard, Steve Herman, and Phil Rogerson — founding and continuing members of the Chorus since 1981.”