Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

This collection is comprised of various administrative materials created or gathered by the Mattachine Society's Regional Council in Detroit. These materials were created and/or gathered between 1957 and 1995, with the bulk of the material coming from 1959-1960.

The collection contains primarily administrative material surrounding the daily business of the Detroit Area Council of the Mattachine Society. The Administrative Series is the largest series in the collection and includes budget information, meeting minutes, membership information, workshop materials, and a copy of the Daughters of Bilitis Policy. The series also includes a file of holograph notes, most of them undated and un-signed, though it is likely that they are in Hal Lawson's hand. The Administrative series also includes a Correspondence sub-series, with a folder of Lawson's incoming and outgoing correspondence that is both personal and professional in nature. There is also a folder of official correspondence from the Detroit Area Council. The Printed Material Series includes a few articles, primarily on homosexuality, and copies of newsletters from numerous councils of the Mattachine Society, across the Country. The series also includes a folder of flyers, magazine subscription forms and advertisements on various programs and topics of pertinence to society members. The Typescripts Series includes a small number of press releases, and several articles. The article from Between the Lines, written in June, 1995, is an interesting historical look at the Society and its actions during the 1950s.