Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) records, 1998-2018

The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) is a social justice organization located in Charleston, South Carolina dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The organization was founded in 1998 and is active as of 2020. AFFA has advocated for the equality of LGBTQ people in South Carolina through promotional campaigns, legislative action, and social events. Some of AFFA’s important campaigns include buying space on billboards on Interstate 26 in South Carolina, and producing TV, radio, newspaper, and Internet ads promoting LGBTQ equality and acceptance. AFFA was heavily involved in the campaign to oppose the 2006 referendum on Amendment 1 to the South Carolina constitution, which made it unconstitutional to perform or recognize same-sex marriages in the state. AFFA produced a radio show called “Equal Time” from 2006 to 2007, which was broadcast on station 730AM in the Charleston area. The show reported on local LGBTQ group activities, and state and national LGBTQ issues with local and national community members as guests. AFFA has provided small grants to projects serving LGBTQ youth in North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia. AFFA has also held training sessions for schools, police departments, psychologists, and other groups on LGBTQ issues.

The collection includes administrative records, subject files, correspondence, photographs, audiovisual materials, born-digital files, including digital images, text files, and audio and video recordings, and objects. The records document AFFA’s activities in advocating for LGBTQ equality in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. Currently, only transcripts of selected “Equal Time” transcripts have been digitized. Support for the acquisition, processing, and digitization of materials is made possible by the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelly Foundation.