The Velvet Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to establishing a National Museum of American LGBT History & Culture in Washington, DC. The museum will serve as a forum for the identification, study, and dissemination of the social, historical, and cultural contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community—and its relation within the larger society—through collections, exhibitions, research, publications, and other public programs.

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Foundation Acquires Kameny Papers

Following a successful event in Washington DC earlier this month, the Velvet Foundation is pleased to announce its purchase of the Kameny Papers Project’s remaining artifacts. The collection is now part of the Foundation’s permanent collection.

Dr. Franklin E. Kameny is one of the first leaders of the modern gay rights movement. He helped organize the first public protests for gay rights at the White House in 1965 and coined the phrase “Gay is Good” in 1968 as a radical statement challenging the belief that homosexuality was a mental illness.

The Kameny Papers document Kameny’s outspoken and unprecedented activism in the gay rights movement in the United States and include original picket signs from the groundbreaking demonstrations held at the White House, the Pentagon, and the Civil Service from 1965 to 1969.

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