ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, the oldest and largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Formed in 1952 by several members of the Mattachine Society, an early 'homophile' group, ONE Inc. published the first issue of ONE Magazine in 1953. ONE was the first widely distributed sexual minority publication in the United States.

ONE Archives is holding a series of events in Los Angeles to celebrate its six decades of existence. In June, the organization hosted a month-long exhibition at City Hall titled 'Defiant Spaces: 60 Years of Queer Organizing in L.A.' This exhibit chronicled the history of 44 LGBT organizations in Southern California. This Saturday, October 6, ONE will present 'Letters to ONE: From Fringe to Forefront,' a special evening featuring dramatic readings of heartfelt, poignant, and deeply personal letters written to ONE Magazine. Performed by several LGBT actors and directed by Zsa Zsa Gershick, this performance will offer insight into the incredible resilience, creativity, and adaptability of the LGBT community during the intolerant McCarthy era.

ONE Archives currently houses more than two million items, including periodicals, books, films, video and audio recordings, photographs, artworks, organizational records, and personal papers. The collections are a part of the University of Southern California libraries and are open to the public free of charge.

For more information on ONE Archives, visit www.onearchives.org.

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