Photo albums, diaries, correspondence, minutes, manuscripts, clippings, posters, memorabilia, audiotapes, computer files and other material from lesbian activist, writer and publisher, Jeanne Córdova. In the early 1970s, Córdova began her career as a leader in the Los Angeles gay and lesbian and feminist movements by becoming President of the Los Angeles chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis; founding the publication, The Lesbian Tide; and becoming Human Rights Editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Free Press. In 1973, she was a key organizer of the first National Lesbian Conference, and in 1981, she founded the Community Yellow Pages, currently the nation's largest and most comprehensive LGBT directory. Her collection includes organizational records from publications she founded and several activist organizations she led; manuscripts and clippings of articles and books she wrote; personal diaries and correspondence with former lovers. Her collection also includes extensive photo albums with detailed annotation documenting her life and major events in the gay and lesbian liberation movement.

Jeanne Robert Córdova was born on July 18, 1948 in Bremerhaven, Germany. Daughter of Federico Benito and Joan McGuinness, Jeanne is one of twelve siblings. In the 1950s, the family immigrated to New York and eventually relocated to Southern California. As a child, she attended Catholic school in West Covina and, in 1966, entered the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent in Santa Barbara, California. While she was a postulant, she began questioning her sexuality and subsequently became dissatisfied with the Catholic Church. She left the convent a year later, going on to earn Bachelor's and Master's degrees in social work from the University of California, at Los Angeles (UCLA.)

21 linear feet + 1 linear foot (unprocessed, awaiting conservation). (9 archive boxes + 3 archive cartons + 8 flat archive cartons + 1 map drawer + 1 box [unprocessed])

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