Lesbian Herstory Archives
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| Established | 1974 |
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| Location | 484 14th St. Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York 11215 |
| Coordinates | 40°39′42.79″N 73°58′49.2″W / 40.6618861°N 73.980333°WCoordinates: 40°39′42.79″N 73°58′49.2″W / 40.6618861°N 73.980333°W |
| Type | Archive, history museum |
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| Website | lesbianherstoryarchives.org |
The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians.
The Archives were founded in 1974 by lesbian members of the Gay Academic Union who had organized a group to discuss sexism within that organization. Co-founders Joan Nestle, Deborah Edel, Sahli Cavallo, Pamela Oline, and Julia Stanley wanted to ensure that the stories of the lesbian community were protected for future generations. Until the 1990s, the Archives were housed in Nestle's Upper West Side, Manhattan apartment. The collection eventually outgrew the space and was moved to a brownstone that the group had purchased in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood. The Archives hold all manner of historical artifacts relating to lesbians and lesbian organizations and have grown to include some 11,000 books and 1,300 periodical titles, as well as an unknown number of photographs.
Following the Stonewall riots of 1969, many groups devoted to gay liberation were formed. Joan Nestle credits the creation of the Lesbian Herstory Archives to the Stonewall riots "and the courage that found its voice in the streets." The Gay Academic Union was founded in 1973 by gay and lesbian academics interested in contributing to the movement. Lesbian members of the union started a consciousness raising group to discuss sexism within the GAU. The women were concerned with how easily lesbian herstory had been lost and didn't want their story to be told by patriarchal historians. Joan Nestle later elaborated on the impetus for the Archives, writing "The roots of the Archives lie in the silent voices, the love letters destroyed, the pronouns changed, the diaries carefully edited, the pictures never taken, the euphemized distortions that patriarchy would let pass." The motto of the Lesbian Herstory Archives is "In memory of the voices we have lost." The original statement of purpose for the organization provided that the collection must never be bartered or sold, that it should be housed in a lesbian community space staffed by lesbians, and that all women should have access to it.
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