In 2001, noted gay rights activist Madeline Davis founded the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Archives of Western New York as a way to collect, safeguard, and provide access to materials that document the LGBTQ+ communities of Western New York and Southern Ontario.
In 2009, the archives were transferred to SUNY Buffalo State’s E. H. Butler Library. Housed in the Archives and Special Collections, the archives have expanded to more than 300 linear feet of items and become the region’s largest LGBTQ+ collection. More than 80 individuals, groups, and diverse organizations are represented in the tens of thousands of documents and items that include photographs, local organizational records, multimedia materials, pamphlets, posters, clippings, awards, signs, banners, plaques, published materials, as well as an array of ephemeral items and other pieces that date back to the 1920s.
The LGBTQ Pin/Button Collection has been donated by many various community members and organizations, and amassed over a lifetime of activism and political efforts. It is our great honor to display them in this digital exhibit. Please contact an archivist if you wish to donate to the collection or have further questions concerning the materials. https://library.buffalostate.edu/archives/giving
To view the full collection, please visit: https://library.buffalostate.edu/archives/LGBTQ.
