World AIDS Day 2011: Collection highlights LGBTQ advocate and activist Duncan Teague



A quick look at personal photos and ephemera from the Duncan Teague Collection, which is available for research.  photo courtesy Kesah Peace



Over twenty years ago, HIV/AIDS awareness got its first global platform via World AIDS Day. Celebrated every year on Dec. 1, the day of global unity was created in honor of those whose lives had been claimed by the pandemic and to spread awareness about the nearly 33 million people infected today.  In commitment to our mission, AARL has made efforts to contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS by providing materials that highlight the unselfish work of activists like Duncan Teague.

In August 2009, AARL welcomed and celebrated the donation of the Duncan Teague Collection. Teague, a socio-political activist, writer, performance artist, minister, and advocate of the black gay and lesbian community, has been working in HIV/AIDS prevention for the last twenty years. A former two-time grand marshal of the Atlanta Gay Pride, Teague is deeply rooted in advocacy and the Atlanta community, having served in the African American Lesbian Gay Alliance, Georgia Equality, AID Atlanta, Georgia Equality, the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum, and ARCA (AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta).

At almost 50 cubic feet, the collection contains Teague’s papers, those of artist/activist Tony Daniels, and the records of ADODI Muse: A Gay Negro Ensemble.

For more information on Teague and his legacy of fighting to combat HIV/AIDS in the Atlanta community, visit AARL to browse our African American Gay and Lesbian Print Collection.

Also, to learn more about World Aids Day go to: www.worldaidsday.org.


Yewande Addie, AARL Intern

Donors as Advocates: Duncan E. Teague

I was doing a bit of housekeeping recently when I came across an overdue idea for a post -- donors as advocates. Earlier this year, February 11th-12th, readers may recall that AARL held a two day program to announce and celebrate the donation of the Duncan E. Teague collection, which includes the invitation pictured above. (Teague is a founding member of ADODI Muse.) On Saturday, February 12th, WABE aired Rose Scott's interview with Teague, who spoke about the importance of preserving the past, especially that of underrepresented communities.  Listen here.

While advocacy in the field is not a new topic, per say, it is one that remains relevant, especially in uncertain economic times. These days we all are expected to do more with less, and AARL is grateful to have the support of patrons and donors, like Duncan Teague, whose familial, social and professional networks reach far beyond the walls of the library.  

Two publications are listed below for those interested in reading about advocacy and archives.

References:

Finch, Elsie Freeman. Advocating Archives: An Introduction to Public Relations for Archivists. Chicago: Society of American Archivists and Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1994.

Hackman, Larry J., ed. Many Happy Returns: Advocacy and the Development of Archives. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2011.


Posted by Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate

The Final Touches: Opening a Collection for Use

For an archivist, one of the most satisfying moments before a collection officially opens to researchers is affixing labels to boxes. In terms of the tasks associated with processing, there is no more to do. All arrangement and description is complete. All folders are labeled. All extraneous bits and boxes have a home. Everything is in its final place.

Pictured above, AARL Intern Nicole Carmolingo attaches the last label to the Shirlene Holmes papers, which opens soon, after final revisions are made to the finding aid. Details about the collection will accompany the announcement posted here. For now, Nicole has a deserved happy moment for processing, arranging, and describing 35.19 linear feet of materials comprising 50 boxes and 5 oversize boxes.

Posted by Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate

Archives and Publics: Duncan Teague + Social Activism + Scholarship

This weekend the Archives Division of the Auburn Avenue Research Library proudly presents a two day program to announce and celebrate the donation of the Duncan E. Teague collection and to bring together scholars and activists in a symposium inspired by Teague's numerous contributions to communities in Atlanta and beyond. Details are provided in the flyer above.

In the image below, Kerrie Cotten Williams, Archivist, describes the significance of the collection in the Winter 2010 edition of Traditions, AARL's newsletter. More about Teague and the event can be read in a recent article written Dyana Bagby for the GA Voice; see here.  At almost 50 cubic feet, the collection contains Teague’s papers, those of artist/activist Tony Daniels, and the records of ADODI Muse: A Gay Negro Ensemble.

After moving from Kansas City (MO) to Atlanta in 1984, Teague went on to become a recognized and respected community leader and worker for social change as an artist and advocate. He has been involved in numerous civic, social, and political organizations, both local and national. Among them are the African American Lesbian Gay Alliance, In The Life Atlanta, Georgia Equality, the Lambda Center, Xtreme Entertainment, AID Atlanta, ARCA (AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta), Black and White Men Together, the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum, and Gay Spirit Visions. In 1993 and 2000, Teague served as grand marshal for Atlanta Gay Pride.

For more than twenty years, Teague has worked in HIV/AIDS prevention, education and research. In addition to being a senior member of ADODI Muse, he is a facilitator of spiritual and health related workshops throughout the United States. Today, Teague is a third year seminarian in the Master of Divinity program in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is married to his long-time companion, David Thurman.

Please join us for a memorable evening of celebration and an afternoon of engagement.  

Posted by Wesley Chenault, Library Research Associate