1. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute:

• 5th Annual Creating Change Conference 1992, Los Angeles, CA

• 6th Annual Creating Change Conference 1993, Durham, NC

• 7th Annual Creating Change Conference 1994, Dallas, Texas

• 8th Annual Creating Change Conference 1995, Detroit, MI
  

2. HIV /AIDS Regional Summit II, 1991, New Orleans, LA
3. 13th National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference, 1991, New Orleans
4. The National Lesbian Conference, Atlanta, GA
5. National Commission on AIDS "Sex, Society and HIV Hearings” 1992,
New Orleans

These conferences provide animated depth to the LGBT liberation struggles of the times. Focus was on equal rights and how to achieve that for a minority segment of the population that was largely invisible due to the real fear homophobic backlash.

Political, religious, academic thought and cultural attitudes were rarely supportive. Presentations, keynotes and panels from these conferences demonstrate the growth of political clout and political allies, setbacks, remedies, lessons learned and the result of local and national efforts to gain equality (if not safety) so that LGBT people could have the same rights as other US citizens.

The progress of AIDS, AIDS research and changing public attitudes is clearly documented through these conference discussions and presentations.

Gay Games III and Cultural Celebration
Held every four years GGIII was held in Vancouver Canada in 1990 and attracted approximately 18,000 athletes and spectators from around the world. A live multi camera feed for the opening and closing ceremonies was supplied to all those in the press box and is preserved in this collection along with original footage recorded throughout the event.

Coverage of individual events included: swimming, Physique, Ice Hockey, Diving and volleyball, along with interviews from participants and spectators. Several competitors from New Orleans are also featured.

The March on Washington 1993
The march attracted approximately one million LGBT+ and their allies. Footage includes speaches, parades, ACTUP, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, religious protesters and much more.

Several UFMCC General, Leadership, and District conferences were recorded. Invited speakers included prominent liberation theologians of the era.

Other recordings include interviews with UFMCC founder the Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry, and Rev. Dr. Mel White, former ghost writer of many religious right preachers of the times and founder of “Soul Force” a non-violent activist network.

In addition, there are recordings of prominent church services and a recording of the blessing of the new UFMCC Mother Church, built to replace the original that was destroyed in the LA earthquake.

The collection documents almost a decade of New Orleans, including LGBT annual events - Gay Pride and the Bourbon Street Awards held during Mardi Gras day; Southern Decadence; events anat local bars - drag; crawfish boils; AIDS fundraisers - including interviews with owners or organizers about the event.

Other local entertainment footage includes the New Orleans Women’s Music Collective concerts and performances by the New Orleans Gay Men’s Chorus. Additionally, the planning, introduction, debate and passage of the 1991 LGBT Civil Rights Ordinance by the New Orleans city Council is comprehensively documented.

There are many interviews and presentations from local community organizations such as: Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); Louisiana Chapter of the ACLU; Louisiana Gay Political Action Caucus (LAGPAC); Gay/Lesbian Business Association (GLBA); Mayors Advisory Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues; Sappho’s Circle, New Orleans Women of Color; Vieux Carré Metropolitan Community Church (VCMCC); NO/AIDS Task Force; United Services for AIDS; Buzzy’s Boys and Girls; Lazarus House and many others. Several forums were taped including a panel of local thought leaders discussing the topic "Is there a Lesbian and Gay Culture?"

Regular monthly segments for the cable program Just for the Record included: Alan Robinson owner of the Farbourg Marigny Bookstore, who showcased new LGBT books on the market and interviews authors from time to time; Mindy Milam, a local therapist talks about issues particular to the LGBT community such as developing dating skills, grief counseling, couple skills and so forth. The Louisiana chapter of the ACLU president Ginger Berrigan provided updates on LGBT related issues, David Schwartz presented regular segments on financial advice, and Rusty Bonin introduces gay travel opportunities.

Coverage in Dallas spans just a few years in the early 1990s. Additional footage and archive material is being gathered, an interviews are planned to to complete the story.

Valda Lewis was the original producer of the Cathedral of Hope TV that was broadcast on public access in Dallas and in 39 other markets around the country.

Footage includes Cathedral of Hope, The Allan Ross Freedom Day Parade, National Coming Out Day, the Turtle Creek Corale and the Women’s Chorus of Dallas.

Coverage in Wichita KS from 1995-2000 includes the Pride Parade, performances; protest at the Wichita Eagle for refusing to run a strip column that included a gay kid; services and holy unions at First MCC; Kansas University "And Justice for All" Conference, and Positive Directions, a nonprofit AIDS service organization in Wichita.

Forbidden Fruit Fight Back was produced in 1990 by Valda Lewis as part of a series on Censorship for Paper Tiger TV in New York. The series was aired via satellite and public access TV channels across the nation in 350 markets..

It was a finalist for a National Federation of Local Broadcasters award.

A major nationwide effort to known producers, was launched, soliciting video clips germane to the concept. This proved very successful and many tapes were submitted for consideration.

All this was done via regular US Mail, there was no internet or email on the planet at that time.

Topics covered include; Hate speech, Jessie Helms, Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition, the Irish/Catholic parade in NY city, a look at youth attitudes, and the passage of a civil rights ordinance in Boston, MA

Running time: 28 mins.