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© 2008 ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. All rights reserved.
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Box #, folder #, Alcoholics Together Records, Coll2008-051, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Method and date of acquisition unknown.
Formerly box 103-34. Processed by Sócrates Silva and Michael C. Oliveira, September-October 2008.
In 1969, in Los Angeles, a group of seven gay alcoholics met to establish an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting that provided an environment affirming gay/lesbian identity. They attempted to have their meeting listed in the Los Angeles AA directory; however, AA would not recognize any "closed," meeting, such as a gay/lesbian only meeting. The organizers subscribed to AA tenets, traditions, and meeting format with the permission of AA, however AA requested that the meeting not use the Alcoholic Anonymous name. AA did allow the use of their materials and guidelines, only requesting a credit line on copies. The organizers subsequently chose the name "Alcoholics Together" also known as AT. In 1971, the organization opened the "AT Center" a location for meetings, AT meetings quickly expanded and unaffiliated AT meetings spread nationally. The AT Center continues to provide a variety of meetings for gays and lesbians alcoholics.
The bulk of the collection consists of the Alcoholic Together (AT) building committee minutes and AT financial statements. The collection also includes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) correspondence, AT Federal tax returns, and related information, along with a general correspondence file. The IRS correspondence includes AT’s request for tax-exempt status, their exchange of correspondence, and supporting documentation which provides information on AT and their mission. The general correspondence file includes correspondence with the Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) Central Office in New York and other miscellaneous organizational correspondence such as letters related to seventh tradition obligations. The remaining folders contain meeting directories, 1977-1981, the bylaws and related documents of AT, 1977-1985, and a check register, 1971-1974.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.