Abstract
The Lee Plotkin papers document Plotkin's political work and associations as an LGBT activist and spokesman for the Las Vegas gay community, and include correspondence, press releases, copies of his columns, institutional and legislative documents, brochures, fliers and other ephemera from 1955 to 2006.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Lee Plotkin Papers document Plotkin's political work and associations as an LGBT activist and spokesman for the Las Vegas gay community, and include correspondence, press releases, copies of his columns, institutional and legislative documents, brochures, fliers and other ephemera from 1955 to 2006. The papers document Plotkin's positions with the Southern Nevada Association of Pride, Inc., Golden Rainbow, National Coming Out Day, Aid for AIDS of Nevada, and the Campaign for Liberty. Additionally, they include information on his time as executive director in Nevada of the National Conference for Community and Justice and his appointment by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn to the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
- 1959
- Lee Plotkin born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1968
- Plotkin moved with his family to Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1977
- Plotkin came out of the closet
- 1993
- Plotkin worked as a lobbyist to repeal Nevada's sodomy law
- 1994
- Plotkin worked with the Campaign for Liberty to defeat an anti-gay initiative by the Nevada Citizens' Alliance
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Biographical / Historical Note
Born July 8, 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, LGBT activist Lee Plotkin emerged as the de facto spokesman for the Las Vegas gay community in the mid-1980s after coming out of the closet in 1977. Plotkin was an effective public voice of the community for more than two decades. In addition to serving as the community's media point man, Plotkin had positions with the Southern Nevada Association of Pride, Inc., Golden Rainbow, Aid for AIDS of Nevada, and the Campaign for Liberty. Plotkin worked as a lobbyist in the 1993 repeal of Nevada's sodomy law. In 1994, he successfully helped the Campaign for Liberty defeat an anti-gay initiative petition effort mounted by the Nevada Citizens' Alliance. He also helped organize local demonstrations of National Coming Out Day. Additionally, he wrote political commentary for the Las Vegas Bugle, Q-Tribe, and Las Vegas CityLife. Twice honored at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center's annual Honorarium, Plotkin also served as executive director in Nevada of the National Conference for Community and Justice and was appointed by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn to a three-year term on the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
Preferred Citation
Lee Plotkin Papers, 1955-2006. MS-00518. Special Collections and Archives, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated by Lee Plotkin in 2006. Accession number 2006-021.
Processing Note
Material was processed by Dennis McBride in 2006. In 2014, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Lindsay Oden revised and enhanced the collection description to bring it into compliance with current professional standards.