Yolanda Retter

Yolanda Retter (December 4, 1947 – August 18, 2007) was an American lesbian librarian, archivist, scholar, and activist in Los Angeles, California, United States of America.[1][2]

Yolanda Retter
Born(1947-12-04)December 4, 1947
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
DiedAugust 18, 2007(2007-08-18) (aged 59)
Van Nuys, Los Angeles, United States
NationalityLatin-American
OccupationLibrarian
Known forlesbian activist

Early life

Retter was born in Connecticut but spent most of her childhood in El Salvador. Her mother was Peruvian and her father was American. Her first encounter with racism took place when she was twelve years old, when she returned to school in Connecticut. This incident spearheaded her activism.[3]

Education

Retter attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California and graduated in 1970 with a degree in sociology.[4] In the 1980s she completed master's degrees in library science (1983) and social work (1987) from the University of California, Los Angeles and in 1996 she received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.[5]

Career

Before becoming a librarian and archivist, Retter held a variety of jobs, some as a volunteer. She worked in prison and parole programs, as a director of a rape hotline, and original publisher of the Los Angeles Women's Yellow Pages.[3] She then became the founding archivist of the Lesbian Legacy Collection at the ONE Archives and volunteered at the June Mazer Lesbian Archives.[3]

From 2003 to the time of her death, Retter served as the head librarian and archivist of the Chicano Studies Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.[6]

Personal life

She died after a short battle with cancer surrounded by women she chose, including her partner of thirteen years: Leslie Golden Stampler.[4]

Publications

Lesbian News articles by Retter
  • "Activist and Tenant's Rights Attorney Lisa Korben Dies at 55." Jun. 2005, Vol. 30, Issue 11, p. 15.
  • "ACW Founder Brenda Weathers Dies." May 2005, Vol. 30, Issue 10, p. 17.
  • "Alice Dunbar-Nelson." Dec. 1998, Vol. 24, Issue 5, p. 60.
  • "Barbara Gittings (1932-2007)." Apr. 2007, Vol. 32, Issue 9, p. 5.
  • "Djuna Barnes." Jan. 1999. Vol. 24, Issue 6, p. 52.
  • "Dyke March: A Herstory." Jun. 1999. Vol. 24, Issue 11, p. 29.
  • "Festivals: Born from Womyn's Music." [cowritten with Renee McBride] Aug. 1995, Vol. 21, Issue 1, p. 31.
  • "Herstory: Catalina de Erauso." Jun. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 11, p. 68.
  • "Herstory: Deborah Sampson." Nov. 1998. Vol. 24, Issue 4, p. 52.
  • "Herstory: Elaine Noble." Sep. 1998, Vol. 24, Issue 2, p. 52.
  • "Herstory: Eva Le Gallienne." Jan. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 6, p. 56.
  • "Herstory: Lillian Wald." Apr. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 9, p. 56.
  • "Herstory: Mary Lewis." Feb. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 7, p. 56.
  • "Herstory: Mina Meyer and Sharon Raphael." Mar. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 8, p. 56.
  • "In Memoriam of Johnnie Phelps." May 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 10, p. 64.
  • "[In Memoriam] of Alla Nazimova." Jul. 1998, Vol. 23, Issue 12, p. 52.
  • "The Ladies of Llargollen." Mar. 1999, Vol. 24, Issue 8, p. 64.
  • "Lesbian Los Angeles." March 1995, Vol. 20 Issue 8, p. 62-63.
  • "The LNs Herstory is the Chronicle of Our Story." Aug. 1999, Vol. 25, Issue 1, p. 29.
  • "Ruth Ellis." Feb. 1999, Vol. 24, Issue 7, p. 56.
  • "Sarah Josephine Baker." Apr. 1999, Vol. 24, Issue 9, p. 52.
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gollark: Too bad for them, they aren't directly piping photons into my face.
gollark: I mean why is it modifying the site.
gollark: Is it also modifying the website if a browser ships slightly different fonts as the default?
gollark: Why?

References
  1. Woo, Elaine (29 August 2007). "Obituary: Yolanda Retter, 59; controversial activist for lesbian, minority rights". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  2. "Obituaries - Yolanda Retter Vargas". American Libraries. American Library Association. 38 (9). 2007. ISSN 0002-9769. JSTOR 27771345.
  3. "Yolanda (Y the T) Retter Vargas!". Radical Reference. 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2018-06-24.
  4. "In Memoriam Yolanda Retter '70 Activist, Archivist and Scholar" (PDF). The Participant: Pitzer College Magazine for Alumni and Friends: 49. Fall 2007.
  5. "The Bay Area Reporter Online | Memorial set for lesbian scholar Yolanda Retter Vargas". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  6. "Gay Latina leader Yolanda Retter Vargas dies". 2007-08-23. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
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