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LGBTQ+ · Los Angeles

One Institute: Los Angeles’ Long-Running Home for LGBTQ+ History

Founded in 1952, One Institute has remained headquartered in Los Angeles while preserving LGBTQ+ stories through education, the arts and social justice work.

By KLGBT News Desk ·

Contextual Wikimedia Commons photograph: The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The Center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain
Contextual Wikimedia Commons photograph: The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The Center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0

One Institute is a Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ organization with roots in the early years of organized gay rights advocacy in the United States. Founded in 1952, it is identified as the country’s oldest active LGBTQ+ organization. Its work centers on documenting and sharing LGBTQ+ history and stories through education, arts programming and social justice efforts.

The organization began as ONE Inc., a name that later changed as the institution developed. It was established in November 1952, following an October discussion about creating a magazine devoted to homosexual issues. That conversation took place at the home of Harry Hay, who had helped form the Mattachine Society two years earlier.

The incorporation documents were signed on Nov. 15, 1952, by Antonio “Tony” Reyes, Martin Block and Dale Jennings. The founding group also included Merton Bird, W. Dorr Legg, Don Slater, Chuck Rowland and Hay. Several of those founders were connected to the Mattachine Society, including Jennings and Rowland. Together, the founders sought to build greater unity and encourage social action among homosexual people.

The name ONE reflected the founders’ emphasis on connection and collective identity. It was also intended to evoke the idea of belonging within a shared community. In January 1953, the organization published the first issue of ONE Magazine, extending its original discussion into a public platform focused on homosexual life and issues.

For Los Angeles, the institution’s history is inseparable from its location. Since its founding, One Institute has been headquartered in the city, making it a longstanding local presence in the preservation and interpretation of LGBTQ+ history. Its evolution from a magazine-centered organization into an institution working across education, arts and social justice illustrates how LGBTQ+ archival and storytelling efforts can expand over time while retaining a connection to their earliest organizing work.

The organization has been known by several names, including ONE Inc. and One Archives Foundation. Across those changes, its stated purpose has remained tied to making LGBTQ+ experiences visible, teaching that history and supporting cultural work. For readers seeking context on Los Angeles LGBTQ+ life, One Institute offers a lens on the city’s role in a national movement—and on the importance of community-led institutions in keeping that history available for future generations.

Source and reuse information This automatically generated backgrounder adapts text from “One Institute” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Institute The adapted text is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. The source article’s linked references are provided below where available. This story has not been independently reviewed or fact-checked.

Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://books.google.com/books?id=Pez9AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA648 - https://web.archive.org/web/20071021101420/http://www.tangentgroup.org/mediawiki/index.php/Before_Stonewall - https://web.archive.org/web/20071021103014/http://www.tangentgroup.org/mediawiki/index.php/Leading_the_Parade - https://web.archive.org/web/20060221073017/http://williamapercy.com/pub-Outing.htm - https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8765gnz/entire_text/ - https://web.archive.org/web/20190626122922/https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8765gnz/entire_text/ Image rights Photograph description: The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion Center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles. The Center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled hovertrain Creator: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA. License: CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGetty_Center%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California_(3125794200).jpg. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.