remembering yolanda
today i learned that a colleague and inspiration of mine passed away. yolanda retter was the archivist at the chicano studies research center at ucla. while notorious for being militant and sometimes abrasive, she was unfailingly dedicated to the preservation of latina lesbian history and was adamant about imbuing the archivist profession with activism. to me, she embodied what an archivist should be, not a passive collector of "history" but an active documenter of histories that are excised from the dominant historical narrative.
my first encounter with yolanda was just a few months ago at the information studies internship fair. when i introduced myself, she said, "so, you're t-kay. i've heard a lot about you. you're another activist archivist." apparently, some of my classmates had told her about me and my interest in latin american studies and social movements. we talked in spanish a bit and she told me about a poster processing project that i could work on and use my spanish and chicano studies background. i asked if i should leave my resume with her and she said just to email her when i was interested in coming in for an internship. she was very no-bullshit and cabrona. i was a bit intimidated, but i had an immediate respect for her.
the last time i saw her was at the "pluralizing the archival paradigm" workshop in june. some dude from the education department was talking about incorporating critical race theory into academic education curriculum and yolanda totally called him out for not having any female critical race theorists, such as gloria anzaldua or cherrie moraga, in his proposal. she not only called him out, but persisted in asking how he could have such an oversight. while many people were uncomfortable by her confrontational attitude, i thought it was awesome how she consistently fought to have third world women / lesbian / feminist at the forefront at the discussion since they are always marginalized in academic circles, even within ethnic studies and gender studies departments.
just this morning greg and i were talking about yolanda and her health. he temporarily took over the archive while she was out sick. neither of us knew she had cancer. i came back home to read the email announcing her passing.
this fall i was supposed to take community archival practices with her. i was really looking forward to doing an internship with her this year as well.
yolanda, you, your work, and your dedication will be missed. ya nos haces falta.
Born December 4, 1947 in the
United States, her mother was Peruvian and her
father American. She was raised first in El Salvador
and then in Connecticut.
She is survived by her partner of 13 years Leslie
Stampler who said, "She would want to be remembered
for how she lived, not how she died." Leslie said a
memorial will take place in 6 to 8 weeks. I will
send an email when I receive information.
Most recently, Yolanda worked as archivist for the
UCLA Chicano Studies Resource Center. She also
volunteered as the chief coordinator of the Lesbian
Legacy Collection at ONE Gay and Lesbian Archives at
the University of Southern California where she
built an extensive collection of Los Angeles lesbian
history.
She also devoted time, energy and vision to the West
Hollywood-based June Mazer Lesbian Archives. In the
90s Yolanda was the librarian overseeing the Chicano
Resources Center at the Los Angeles County Public
Library community library in East Los Angeles.
Yolanda also ran Lesbian Central in the late 80s at
the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center when
it was located on Highland Avenue.
She was a passionate advocate for lesbians as well
as the need to expand community history to include
and celebrate women of color. She never tired of a
life-long passion for ensuring that less-empowered
communities not themselves exclude as they fought
oppression.
As community historian and scholar Stuart Timmons
relates, Yolanda wrote more than
a dozen articles and co-authored at least four books
on LGBT topics. To quote Stuart Timmons:
"She called herself a lesbian history and visibility
activist and preferred the term herstorian." Her
dissertation (University of New Mexico) was called
"On the Side of the Angels: Lesbian Activism in Los
Angeles 1970 1990."
"As an Internet author Yolanda created web sites for
LA lesbian history, for lesbians of color, and other
projects. I believe due to her health these may not
be posted, but were important at a critical time. In
its day, her lesbian site was rated among the top 5%
by Lycos. Yolanda was an exemplary resource manager,
especially for disenfranchised people."
"One of the most important parts of Yolanda's work
was her relentless insistence that people of color,
especially lesbians, speak for themselves. This
used to be a somewhat controversial idea, but has
become broadly accepted. On the Internet, in her
work as a librarian (both at USC and UCLA), as a
historian, and over and over and over again in
individual circumstances, she really dedicated
herself to preserving otherwise overlooked history,
and in the most authentic possible context.
"Yolanda was a very strong personality, unafraid to
ruffle feathers, but she earned very wide respect in
the community."
Yolanda's uncle was Alberto Vargas, the famous
pin-up artist, and her grandfather was a Peruvian
photographer of note. She held a Master's degree in
Social Work and a Master's as well in Library
Science. She held a PhD in American Studies.
-- Ann Bradley
i just got chills. as i was writing this, i realized that the pablo milanes song that was playing is called "yolanda."
my first encounter with yolanda was just a few months ago at the information studies internship fair. when i introduced myself, she said, "so, you're t-kay. i've heard a lot about you. you're another activist archivist." apparently, some of my classmates had told her about me and my interest in latin american studies and social movements. we talked in spanish a bit and she told me about a poster processing project that i could work on and use my spanish and chicano studies background. i asked if i should leave my resume with her and she said just to email her when i was interested in coming in for an internship. she was very no-bullshit and cabrona. i was a bit intimidated, but i had an immediate respect for her.
the last time i saw her was at the "pluralizing the archival paradigm" workshop in june. some dude from the education department was talking about incorporating critical race theory into academic education curriculum and yolanda totally called him out for not having any female critical race theorists, such as gloria anzaldua or cherrie moraga, in his proposal. she not only called him out, but persisted in asking how he could have such an oversight. while many people were uncomfortable by her confrontational attitude, i thought it was awesome how she consistently fought to have third world women / lesbian / feminist at the forefront at the discussion since they are always marginalized in academic circles, even within ethnic studies and gender studies departments.
just this morning greg and i were talking about yolanda and her health. he temporarily took over the archive while she was out sick. neither of us knew she had cancer. i came back home to read the email announcing her passing.
this fall i was supposed to take community archival practices with her. i was really looking forward to doing an internship with her this year as well.
yolanda, you, your work, and your dedication will be missed. ya nos haces falta.
Born December 4, 1947 in the
United States, her mother was Peruvian and her
father American. She was raised first in El Salvador
and then in Connecticut.
She is survived by her partner of 13 years Leslie
Stampler who said, "She would want to be remembered
for how she lived, not how she died." Leslie said a
memorial will take place in 6 to 8 weeks. I will
send an email when I receive information.
Most recently, Yolanda worked as archivist for the
UCLA Chicano Studies Resource Center. She also
volunteered as the chief coordinator of the Lesbian
Legacy Collection at ONE Gay and Lesbian Archives at
the University of Southern California where she
built an extensive collection of Los Angeles lesbian
history.
She also devoted time, energy and vision to the West
Hollywood-based June Mazer Lesbian Archives. In the
90s Yolanda was the librarian overseeing the Chicano
Resources Center at the Los Angeles County Public
Library community library in East Los Angeles.
Yolanda also ran Lesbian Central in the late 80s at
the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center when
it was located on Highland Avenue.
She was a passionate advocate for lesbians as well
as the need to expand community history to include
and celebrate women of color. She never tired of a
life-long passion for ensuring that less-empowered
communities not themselves exclude as they fought
oppression.
As community historian and scholar Stuart Timmons
relates, Yolanda wrote more than
a dozen articles and co-authored at least four books
on LGBT topics. To quote Stuart Timmons:
"She called herself a lesbian history and visibility
activist and preferred the term herstorian." Her
dissertation (University of New Mexico) was called
"On the Side of the Angels: Lesbian Activism in Los
Angeles 1970 1990."
"As an Internet author Yolanda created web sites for
LA lesbian history, for lesbians of color, and other
projects. I believe due to her health these may not
be posted, but were important at a critical time. In
its day, her lesbian site was rated among the top 5%
by Lycos. Yolanda was an exemplary resource manager,
especially for disenfranchised people."
"One of the most important parts of Yolanda's work
was her relentless insistence that people of color,
especially lesbians, speak for themselves. This
used to be a somewhat controversial idea, but has
become broadly accepted. On the Internet, in her
work as a librarian (both at USC and UCLA), as a
historian, and over and over and over again in
individual circumstances, she really dedicated
herself to preserving otherwise overlooked history,
and in the most authentic possible context.
"Yolanda was a very strong personality, unafraid to
ruffle feathers, but she earned very wide respect in
the community."
Yolanda's uncle was Alberto Vargas, the famous
pin-up artist, and her grandfather was a Peruvian
photographer of note. She held a Master's degree in
Social Work and a Master's as well in Library
Science. She held a PhD in American Studies.
-- Ann Bradley
i just got chills. as i was writing this, i realized that the pablo milanes song that was playing is called "yolanda."