Cover Portrait and Design of Steven G Fullwood by Christopher Stahling
Artwork by Keyon Monte.
25 years ago, the In the Life Archive (ITLA), originally known as the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive (BGLA), was created by archivist Steven G Fullwood to aid in the documentation and preservation of cultural materials produced by and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people of African descent.
In 2004, the BGLA was donated to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where it was renamed the In the Life Archive in June 2013. The name ITLA was inspired by In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joe Beam (1986), whose papers are housed at the Schomburg Center. The Archive contains materials dating from the mid-1950s to the present, documenting the experiences of LGBTQ people of African descent, primarily in the United States, with some files for London and several countries in Africa. Collections contain a variety of original and printed materials, including books, buttons, clippings, correspondence, films and videos, flyers, galleys, hand cards, journals, letters, magazines, manuscripts, photographs, posters, programs, reviews, t-shirts, and other items.
In honor of this project and the Black LGBTQ community who built it, Christopher Stahling, founder of Everybody Needs a Witness: In the Life Archive 2.0, an archive aimed to preserve lived experiences, and former volunteer with the ITLA, is publishing a limited edition INTHELIFE ARCHIVE 25th Anniversary zine, in addition to producing an online exhibition and community awards program.
For more information, please contact Christopher at: cstahling@gmail.com or everybodyneedsawitness.com | @inthelifearchive2.0