Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 285

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The records of the Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community contain much information of the openly gay and lesbian Fargo, N.D.-Moorhead, Minn. community from the 1980s into the 1990s. The minutes, though only covering a year and a half, give a good indication of the level of activity in the organization. The newsletters of the PLGC, though, spanning fifteen years in three separate incarnations, provide the most detailed look at the organization’s activities and concerns. They also provide educational information to their audience to address the gay and lesbian concerns of the day. Unfortunately, information from other sources than the newsletter is limited, especially in the formative and later years of the organization. The minutes of the Prairie Lesbian Gay Community record much concerning their group’s affiliation with both Dignity and Lutherans Concerned organizations. The newsletter records that the 1982 name change reflected a reorientation of the group’s concerns, and the minutes mention political and religious issues involved in associating with them. The Administrative Files Series includes a budget, by-laws, correspondence, and a co-director’s report. The Minutes Series contains the board meeting minutes of the Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community from 30 April 1982 to 11 December 1983. During this brief time, the board considered may items including organizational activities (mostly dances) outreach proposals, newsletter concerns, and membership records. The minutes also record an organizational name change, by-law amendments, and constitution changes. The Subject Files Series includes, among other items, newsletter and newspaper clippings. Among the miscellaneous brochures are dance schedules, programs, regional Lutherans Concerned publications, and educational leaflets. The miscellaneous documents series contains lists of organizations to which the Impact was sent, a Dignity chapter development document, a publications list, and a Minnesota Civil Liberties Union record of gay rights civil liberties cases. Two papers are included in this series: “Homosexuality: The Report of a Campus Ministry Study Group” and “They Gay Children of God” or “A View From the Back of the Church.” In addition, two liturgical services for gay and lesbian audiences are included. The Newsletters Series, the bulk of the collection, contains newsletters for the Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community. The Impart (1979-1985) is the earliest newsletter for the then-named Fargo/Moorhead Area Dignity/Lutherans Concerned and later (1982) Prairie Gay Community. Around 1986, a member vote changed the name of the newsletter to Communique. These organizational newsletters contain messages from board members, activity schedules, regional and national event coverage, poetry, and various medical and legal information which concerns gay and lesbian individuals. It appears that the newsletter changed names again in May 1993 to The Moving Finger. There is also a 1983 copy of The Concord, the national newsletter of Divinity/Lutherans Concerned. This series also contains newsletters from other organizations. In Touch, a newsletter from Bismarck/Mandan, N.D., was published for two or three years in the 1970s. Two issues (1991) of the Living Positive newsletter published in Moorhead, Minnesota, which was designed for individuals with AIDS and their friends and families, are included. Out Here!, an unaffiliated newsletter, was published in Fargo in the early 1980s by Sharpe Publications. Among the miscellaneous newsletters are Integrity Forum (1979), Parents and Friends of Gays, MCGLR News (1981), My Place (1983), and Gay Times (1984).

Dates

1979-1994.

Creator

Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community. (Organization)

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the Institute for Regional Studies.

History

The Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community (PLGC), an incorporated non-profit organization, was founded to “promote a climate of understanding in all areas of life so as to foster the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against gay men and lesbians; to work for the defense of gay mens’ [sic] and lesbians’ human and civil rights; and all other activities as shall from time to time be found appropriate” according to the organization’s by-laws (1985). The organization was originally the Fargo/Moorhead Area Dignity/Lutherans Concerned. The minutes of 30 April 1982 and the May 1982 Impart document the group’s name change to Prairie Gay Community. The first issue of the Communique (c. 1986) records a further name change to Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community. Intending to create a state-wide organization for the support of gay and lesbian individuals, the PLGC made much effort to attract attention from wide geographic areas. Their regular dances, the largest single source of income for the group, were attended from across the state. The PLGC newsletter, in its various incarnations, was sent to a wide variety of organizations not only in North Dakota, but also to umbrella organizations in San Diego, Atlanta, and Canada, among others. Not surprisingly, dances and publications encompass most of the organization’s expenses, though outreach, public relations, fundraising, and programming also consume significant amounts of money. Sources consulted: Prairie Lesbian/Gay Community Records