Guide to the Dell Richards Papers MC 95
James C. Scott
Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento Room
Copyright 2021
Sacramento Public Library. All Rights Reserved
828 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 264-2795
Email: sacroom@saclibrary.org
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento Room
Title: Dell Richards Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MC 95
Physical Description:
3.75 Linear Feet
9 Archival Boxes
Date (inclusive): 1960-2007
Abstract: The Dell Richards Papers are composed of newspaper articles, correspondence, photographs, and electronic media that document
the professional and personal life of the creator, with a particular focus on Sacramento and her role as a writer and activist
in the gay and lesbian liberation/civil rights movement of the 1980s and 1990s.
Dell Richards was born in the copper-mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, in 1947. Soon after that her family settled in Southern
California. Even at a young age, Richards was acutely aware of the sexism women – and girls – faced at the time. As a feminist
who opposed the Vietnam War, Richards left the United States in 1967. She married and lived in London until 1972 when she,
in her words, "decided to become gay" and return to California.
Calling it a political weapon – one in three women being raped in their lifetimes at the time – Richards used her anger and
her writing skills to document the experience, becoming one of the first women to come out publicly about it. Her 1974 book
of poems, the rape journal, was published by Women's Press Collective. The first half of the 25-poem The Woman Fables later
was excerpted in Judy Grahn's 1981 anthology, True to Life Adventure Stories. Richards also contributed a chapter to the 1988
book You Can Do Something about AIDS, edited by Sasha Alyson, published and distributed free by the book publishing industry.
Her journalism career began with profiles of gay men and lesbians living everyday lives. Syndicating the stories to alternative
newspapers nationwide, the profiles eventually reached an audience of 350,000.
Her first book Lesbian Lists: A Look at Lesbian Culture, History, and Personalities came out in 1990. It spanned lesbian culture,
history and personalities up to 1970. Her second book focused on women who seemed to be lesbians, but had to hide their sexuality
because of the era. Superstars: Twelve Lesbians Who Changed the World, had chapters on Florence Nightingale, Jane Addams,
A'Lelia Walker and Anna Freud, among others.
While also having written for the mainstream press, Richards eventually moved to public relations, helping non-profits and
small businesses gain recognition for their services.
All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Sacramento Public Library must be submitted in writing
to sacroom@saclibrary.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of
the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained
by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
[Identification of item], Dell Richards Papers, MC 95, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California.
The collection consists of nine series. Note that Series VIII and IX are restricted to researchers for 75-years past the date
of creation. Series I, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, is comprised of newspaper and magazine articles written by Richards
between 1985 and 2001, covering a series of topics affecting the gay and lesbian community in Northern California and across
the nation. Content has been arranged in chronological order. Series II, Book Notes, covers reviews, interviews and promotional
material created for three of Richards's published works. Items – articles, press releases, notes, advertisements – have been
left in their original order. Series III, Photographs, occupies a single folder. The series has been left in original order
and is made up of several photographic prints, both color and black and white, of the creator and others taken between roughly
1960 and 2007. Series IV, Mainstream Articles, occupies a single folder and contains several articles that Richards wrote
for mainstream publications between 1976 and 2006. All articles are left in their original order. Series V, Electronic Media,
is comprised of audio and video content, including interviews conducted by the creator as well as media appearances by her.
Formats include in 11 VHS tapes, 34 MC-60 microcassettes, and five 1/8-inch compact cassettes. Series VI, Public Relations,
relates to Richards's founding and operation of a Sacramento-based public relations firm from 1993 to 2017. Supporting articles,
photographs, and ephemera are in original order. Series VII, Personal, contains images, articles and ephemera relating to
the creator's personal interests. Original order has been maintained. Series VIII and IX, Family Correspondence and Correspondence,
respectively, are maintained in the creator's original order and are restricted to researchers for 75-years past the date
of creation. Postcards and stationery formats are primary in both series, in addition to period greeting cards and scratch
paper.
Newspaper and Magazine Clippings Series I
Material Specific Details: Newspaper and Magazine Clippings occupies boxes 1 through 3. Notable subjects include Cleve Jones and his promotion of the
Names Project; lesbian and gay parenting; writer Armistead Maupin; attorney Gloria Allred; the economics of living in a domestic
partnership; Legal Action for Women founder Ginny Foat; philanthropist Audrey Mertz; philanthropy within the gay and lesbian
community; marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples; publisher Sasha Allyson; gay Republican Frank Ricchiazzi; San Francisco
Mayor Art Agnos; gay and lesbian teen advocate and Project 10 founder Virginia Uribe; legislative consultant Stan Hadden;
Sacramento School Board member Gary Miller; politician and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson; Sacramento gallery owner Michael
Himovitz; Rick Saporito; the Shanti Project's George Voigt; discrimination activist Paul Jasperson; Elizabeth Harrison of
the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights; animal rights activist Rick Haze; Santa Cruz Mayor John Laird; Fleet
Feet founder Sally Edwards; filmmaker Gus Van Sant; female impersonator Robert Decker; outreach to gay youth; discrimination
against gay and lesbian servicemembers; AIDS treatment advocate Michael Ritter; artist and writer Michael Willhoite; writer
and philosopher Judy Grahn; Reverend Jerry Sloan of Sacramento's Metropolitan Community Church; Psychotherapist Ellie Zacks;
Shireen Miles of the National Organization of Women; youth advocate Liz Huesemann; research psychologist Joan McKenna; Rutgers
University professor Susan Cavin; Cornell University clinical psychiatrist Richard Isay; advertising executive Howard Wallman;
gay rights activist Peri Jude Redecic; Washington State legislator Cal Anderson; gay greeting card creator Laura Baker; Colorado
gubernatorial candidate Tea Schook; comedian Robin Tyler; lesbian contributions throughout history; author and relationship
consultant Celeste West; publisher and gay activist Alan Bell; author and film critic Vito Russo; artist Tee Corinne; butch-femme
modeling; notable gay African Americans in history; homosexuality, genetics, and evolution; impacts of philanthropy and investment
on gay rights; gay cable television; California Assembly Bill 101 (AB 101); novelist Blanche McCrary Boyd; androgyny; gay
activist Jeanne Cordova; lesbian erotica; Vivian Shapiro of New York's Stonewall Community Fund; Deneuve Magazine; Diane Mosbacher;
the work satisfaction of gays and lesbians; philanthropist James Hormel; Torie Osborn of the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force; Sacramento police officer Shawn Hansen; lesbian greeting cards; Quentin Crisp; Don't Ask, Don't Tell; political strategist
David Mixner; writer Paula Gunn Allen; writer Robert Plunket; gay adoption; gay and lesbian bookstores; gay men and lesbian
couples; writer Kim Chernin; actor Kathy Najimy; and acting California Secretary of State Tony Miller.
Book Notes Series II
Material Specific Details: Book Notes occupies Boxes 4 and 5. Material appears in the following order: Superstars: Twelve Lesbians Who Changed the World
(1993), Lesbian Lists: A Look at Lesbian Culture, History, and Personalities (1990), and the rape journal (1974). The original
manuscript for the rape journal is included.
Mainstream Articles Series IV
Material Specific Details: Mainstream Articles is housed in Box 5. Subjects include California PERS investment manager Greta Marshall, artist Patricia
Szymanowski, information technology professional Steve Kolodney, policy specialist Jananne Sharpless, New Age promoter Paulette
Pitner, physician David Katz, attorney Delicia "Dee Dee" Abdur-Rahim, attorney Gene Livingston, and artist Steve Running Stream
Phillips.
Electronic Media Series V
Material Specific Details: Electronic Media can be found in Box 6. Notable content includes a December 1990 audio interview of Richards on KRCC radio
called "Concerning Gays and Lesbians"; a June 1990 audio interview of Richards with Bay Area journalist David Lamble; a 1990
audio recording of a panel for the OUT Write Conference entitled "Cultural Workers: The Roles of Gay Journalism"; and a May
1990 audio interview of Richards regarding Lesbian Lists on the "Coming Out Show." Also included is a video interview of Richards
on an August 1988 segment of the evening news on KXTV; a video interview for Superstars on the Gay Cable Network in October
1993; a video interview on "Spectrum News" in June 1990; a video interview for "Gay Fairfax" in January 1991; a video interview
for the "Lambda Report" in September 1990; and "Gay Talk" in November 1991. 34 microcassette interviews, conducted by Richards,
are also included.
Public Relations Series VI
Material Specific Details: Public Relations lives in Box 7 and relates to Richards's founding and operation of her Sacramento-based public relations
firm. Clients of note include Mutual Housing California, Sacramento Piano Conservatory founder Tanya Plescia, Brian Witherell
of Witherell's auctions, and artist and lighting designer Michael Sestak. Richards was also influential in securing and promoting
the Sacramento visit, in 1996, of Huichol Indian, shaman, and yarn painter Jose Benitez Sanchez. The trip was highlighted
by appearances at the Himowitz Gallery and California State University, Sacramento.
Personal Series VII
Material Specific Details: Personal can be found in Box 7 and is composed of content relating to Richards's interest in studio dance, fire dancing, and
birding watching, which has taken her to various continents. Formats are articles, photographs, and CDRs that contain digital
images. A VHS cassette contains the July 2004 Sacramento DanceSport event "Dance-Dance-Revolution," conducted at North Sacramento's
Musicians Hall.
Family Correspondence Series VIII
Correspondence Series IX