Gay Rights Historical T-Shirt Collection

The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York received its initial donation in fall of 2009. It has grown over the past years from a number of individual and community donations. Currently, the collection includes over 150 boxes of materials that include photographs, local organization records, multimedia materials, pamphlets, posters, clippings, awards, signs, banners, plaques, published materials, as well as an array of ephemera items.

The Gay Rights Historical T-Shirt Collection exemplifies the community collaboration involved in this growing collection. Textile material holdings range from the early 1980s and span the last thirty-six years of advocacy in the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, queer, and transgender community. Each items was donated by a member of the community, most as a single contribution.

Currently, the Gay Rights Historical T-Shirt Collection consists of around 139 unique t-shirts that were created for pride parades and gay rights activism; community organizations; national and local rallies; AIDs activism; local LGBTQ bars and support organizations; and as individual creations. Some t-shirts are original creations, not mass produced for an event, but instead created by a member of the LGBTQ community for a particular march or protest.

For more information on the Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York at SUNY Buffalo State, Archives & Special Collections please visit: http://library.buffalostate.edu/archives

Donate YOUR Shirts! YOU are our community. We strive to represent and document your experiences. Have one shirt? Have ten? Please DONATE them to preserve our history for future generations. Please visit our webpage or contact an archivist for additional information.

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These materials are currently hosted on both the national Wearing Gay History Project and the Digital Transgender Archive.

Wearing Gay History was founded to show both the distinctness and interconnectedness of queer identities across geographic lines; to bring visibility to smaller queer archives across the country; and to uncover often ignored history of diverse LGBTQ cultures. The project connects LGBTQ Archives around the country to display textile t-shirt materials related to the LGBTQ community. To learn more about the project, please visit http://wearinggayhistory.com/

The Digital Transgender Archive strives to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world. Based in Worcester, Massachusetts at the College of the Holy Cross, the DTA is an international collaboration among more than twenty colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, and private collections. By digitally localizing a wide range of trans-related materials, the DTA expands access to trans history for academics and independent researchers alike in order to foster education and dialog concerning trans history. To learn more about the DTA, please visit https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/

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NYC Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: NYC Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project honors Yemaya & Inle; Protectors of Gay Hombres and Lesbians; June 1993

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with black lettering; blue box with images of a mermaid and merman; aquatic theme
Buffy, Jody, Sissy

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Buffy; Jody; Sissy

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with black writing; three check boxes next to the names
Pink Triangle in Mouth

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: n/a

Back Text: n/a

Description: Image of person screaming with pink triangle in their mouth; shirt has been customized by owner with glitter details
Pink Triangle in Mouth

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: n/a

Back Text: n/a

Description: Image of person screaming with pink triangle in their mouth; shirt has been customized by owner with glitter details
Someone's Baby

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Someone's Baby; Kristine Ludewig

Back Text: n/a

Description: Black shirt with white lettering; image of a woman with lingerie unzipping a man's pants
Buffalo's Community Picnic, 6th Annual

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Buffalo 6th Annual Picnic and Games; 1991

Back Text: n/a

Description: Black shirt with green lettering; image of a palm tree and pink triangle
M.C. Compton's, 1981-1991

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: M.C. Compton's; M.C. Compton's; M.C. Compton's; Doug; 1981-1991

Back Text: n/a

Description: White sweatshirt with black lettering; image of a girl sitting on the moon
Buffalo's Community Picnic, 5th Annual

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Buffalo's 5th Annual Picnic and Games; 1990

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with neon green lettering; pink triangle image; sleeveless
Bulldog Lil's, Buffalo, NY

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Image of a bulldog face outlined in white

Back Text: Image of a bull dog behind outlined in white with Buffalo, NY printed inside the outline

Description: Bulldog Lil's; black shirt with white bulldog image
Fire Island Buffalo '99

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Fire Island Buffalo 88; I Am What I Am

Back Text: M.C. Compton 8th Annual; Fire Island Day Party

Description: White shirt with red lettering; back has handwritten red menu items
Purple Capitol Building

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: October 11; 1987

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with pink triangle and purple image of Washington D.C.
Women's Encampment

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Women's Encampment for Peace and Justice; Seneca Army Depot, NY; 1983

Back Text:

Description: Purple shirt with light purple lettering; image of women holding up a globe
Women's Encampment

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Women's Encampment for Peace and Justice; Seneca Army Depot, NY; Summer 1983; Seneca Army Depot; NY

Back Text: n/a

Description: White sleeveless t-shirt with purple lettering; image of three symbols on front
Be with Other Womyn

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Be with other womyn; meet, dream, sing, dance; share in circles

Back Text: n/a

Description: Blue shirt with navy lettering; abstract image of a woman's face, a moon, and a waterfall
Howdy Jayme

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Howdy Jayme

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with black sharpie autograph; image of a ventriloquist dummy
PRIDE, 1981

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Gay PRIDE Fest '81; Buffalo; NY

Back Text: n/a

Description: Blue shirt with yellow and navy lettering; image of four people walking through a door with the Buffalo skyline in the background
PRIDE, 1981

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Gay PRIDE Fest '81; Buffalo; NY

Back Text: n/a

Description: White shirt with yellow and navy lettering; image of four people walking through a door with the Buffalo skyline in the background
Buffalo Gala Chorus

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: GNC; Buffalo's Gala Chorus; The City of Good Neighbors Chorale

Back Text: n/a

Description: Black shirt with pink lettering surrounded by a pink triangle; collared
Support Gay Schoolworkers

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Support Gay Schoolworkers

Back Text: n/a

Description: Red shirt with blue lettering; image of a woman with a fist
Westlake, Buffalo, NY

LGBTQ Historical T-Shirt Collection, The Dr. Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of Western New York

Front Text: Westlake

Back Text: n/a

Description: Black sweatshirt with grey lettering underlined in pink