Provenance
The papers of Pam Elam were donated to the archive by Ms.Elam herself in 2004.
Scope and Content
Theses are papers of Pam Elam who is a Lesbian rights and feminist organizer in groups on local and national levels. The collection includes articles, resumes, minutes of meetings, announcements, flyers, membership lists, history statements, newsletters and campaign material for Lesbian/Gay and Lesbian/Gay-friendly candidates. This collection is a good source for Women's History, feminist issues and lesbian rights. The size is 2 feet, dating from about 1982 to 2000.
History or Bio
The papers of Pam Elam include Lesbian rights organizing in New York City from 1980-2000. She helped to found groups such as Lesbians in Government (LIG played an important role in the adoption of NYC's Lesbian & Gay Rights Law, acts to support group members facing hostile work environments, and seeks to provide information to Lesbians and Gay men on actions by all levels of government which affect our Community) and Lesbians United (a city-wide Coalition of over forty Lesbian groups which seeks to increase Lesbian visibility, address issues relevant to our Community, and develop an agenda for political action). She also helped rebuild groups such as the NOW (National Organization of Women) Lesbians Rights Committee, Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats and the New York State Women’s Political Caucus. She also served on the Board of the National Woman’s Party and volunteered for groups like the National Women’s History Project and the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites. She worked on several campaigns to help elect lesbian/Gay candidates to public office as well as on the campaigns of Lesbian/Gay-friendly candidates. In her life's work, she has concentrated in government and public service and has held positions such as Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Human Resources Administration, Assistant NYC Comptroller and Legislative Aide to the NYC Council (where she organized over 100 hearings for the Council’s Committee on Women). She is currently (2004) Chief of Staff to NYS Senator Tom Duane.
Folder List
Box 1:
1. Elam, Pam, Biographical Sketch, Articles (“The Militant State of Mind Organizing the Congressional Union, Inc,” Women’s Studies Int. Forum, Vol. 12, No.1, pp. 101-105, 1989; Newsletter, “Congressional Union; 1999 Directory Master of Arts Program in Women’s History at Sarah Lawrence College)
2. NOW Lesbian Rights Committee 1986-1987
3. NOW Susan B. Anthony Award, 2/16/1988
4. NOW Lesbian Rights Committee, Sharon Kowalski
5. NOW Lesbian Rights Committee, Past Programs-1987
6. NOW “Lesbian Identity Empowerment” Conference 05/16/1987
7. NOW NYC Board of Directors, Minutes 1985
8. NOW Lesbian Rights Federal Statues
9. NOW Lesbian Rights Committee, Lt. Ellen Nesbit
10. NOW Lesbian Rights Committee, Addresses
11. Friedlander, Miriam, Legislative Aide to Council Member (Women’s Issues – Working Women, Alcoholics, Battered Women, Minorities, sports, Pay Equality, Sexual Harassment, Older Women, Poverty, Day Care, UN Nairobi, Public School, Business Women, Homeless Women, etc.)
12. Newsletter “Notes” by Miriam Friedlander 1982-1989
13. Friedlander, Miriam, Legislative Aide to Council Member (Nuclear, AIDS, Ladder Companies, Pets)
14. Lesbians in Government (1984-1990 founder and coordinator) Meetings
15. Lesbians in Government Discrimination, City Park Employee
16. Publication “Women in Government” June 1985
17. Summary of L/G Rights, Statutes, Executive Orders in US 1984
18. Lesbians in Government Grants 1985-1986
19. Lesbians in Government Correspondence 1985-1988
20. Gay & Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID) Feminist Issues Committee (Chair)
21. Lesbian Board Game
22. Glick, Deborah, Correspondence 1990
23. Glick, Deborah, Campaign Material
24. Duane, Tom, Campaign Material
25. Duane, Tom City Council
26. Abzug, Liz (running for City Council)
27. National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) (Director of Special Projects) Correspondence 1988
28. NWPC NYC Special Events
29. NWPC New York State Reception Honoring Congresswomen (Bella Abzug, Geraldine Ferraro, Elizabeth Holtzman) 3/18/1988
30. NWPC History, By-laws, 1970s – 1980s
31. Presidential Candidates Forum on Women’s Issues 1988 (First Ever – Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson)
32. Presidential Candidates Forum on Women’s Issues 1988 Press
33. Elam, Pam, Resume
34. National Lesbian Conferences
35. Lesbian United (Founder and Coordinator 1987-1990) Calendar of Events
36. Lesbians United Letters “Dear Friends”
37. Lesbian United, Newsletter other Lesbian Groups 1989
38. Lesbian United Membership forms and lists
39. Lesbian United Meetings 1988-1989
Box 2:
40. Women’s History Month 1988-1989
41. Women’s History Month Calendar 19888-1989
42. New York Women Against Rape Grant 1990
43. Holtzman, Liz, for Comptroller
44. Holtzman, Liz, (Director of Community Relations and Assistant Comptroller) “REPORT” 1990-1993
45. Holtzman, Liz, “A Study of Gender Bias in Children’s Reading Materials” 1991
46. Holtzman, Liz, “How to Dispose of Garbage” 1992
47. Holtzman, Liz, “Employment Discrimination Against Catholics in Northern Ireland” 1990
48. Holtzman, Liz, “Report on Sate of the City Economy” 1992
49. Holtzman, Liz, “Poverty & Breast Cancer in New York City” 1990
50. Holtzman, Liz, “Contracting Guide,” “Doing Business in the City of New York” 1992
51. Holtzman, Liz, Correspondence 1993
52. Stein, Andrew, Policy Book
53. Stein, Andrew, (Deputy Campaign Manager, Stein for Mayor) Schedules Jan-June 1993
54. Stein, Andrew, Speaking Engagements 1993
55. Stein, Andrew, Borough Campaign Centers 1993
56. Stein, Andrew, Campaign 1993
57. Stein, Andrew, Bio, Events & Correspondence 1992-1993
58. Stein, Andrew, Polls 1993
59. National Women’s Party (NWP) (Board Member 1990 – Dec 2000), Correspondence 1998
60. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board Meetings 1996 & 1999
61. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board Meetings 1997-1998
62. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board Meetings 1999
63. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board Meetings 2000
64. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board By Laws
65. National Women’s Party (NWP), Board Members, “Crisis in Leadership” 2000
66. National Women’s Party (NWP), Award to Hillary Clinton 1997
67. National Women’s Party (NWP), Correspondence to Law Schools, nth Anniversary of ERA 1997
68. National Women’s Party (NWP), Background
69. National Women’s Party (NWP), Resignation December 2000
70. National Women’s Party (NWP), Retreat May 1997 (founded by Alice Paul in 1913 for purposes of achieving the right to vote for all women. Passsage of the Suffrage Act came in 1920.)
71. National Women’s History Project
72. National Women’s History Project, Grant & proposal 1996
“Celebrate 1998,” 150th Anniversary of First Women’s Rights Convention
73. Newsletter: “Susan B. Anthony House” 1996-1998
74. Newsletter: “Passing The Torch” Alice Paul Centennial Foundation 1996-2000
75. Working Women Count: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow Conference, 1995
76. President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History 2000
77. “Sisterhood is Powerful,” Documenting Activist Women’s History 2000 (New York State Archives, Society of American Archivist Women’s Collections Roundtable Directory 1997) (Betsy Meyers)
78. Women’ Initiatives and Outreach, The White House Conference 1995
