Abstract
The Ron Lawrence Photograph Collection contains mainly photographs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) events (approximately 1980-1994, 2013) around Las Vegas, Nevada taken by Ron Lawrence. The collection consists primarily of photographs of the First Annual Gay Pride Banquet and Awards hosted at the Moyer Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), events at the Gay Academic Union at UNLV, and the first Gay Pride celebration in Las Vegas. Also included are photographs of the First Annual Honorarium by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, personal photographs of Ron Lawrence and his friends, and parties at the home of Ron Lawrence and Ernie Egyd.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Ron Lawrence Photograph Collection contains mainly photographs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) events (approximately 1980-1994, 2013) around Las Vegas, Nevada taken by Ron Lawrence. The collection consists primarily of photographs of the First Annual Gay Pride Banquet and Awards hosted at the Moyer Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), events at the Gay Academic Union at UNLV, and the first Gay Pride celebration in Las Vegas. Also included are photographs of the First Annual Honorarium by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, personal photographs of Ron Lawrence and his friends, and parties at the home of Ron Lawrence and Ernie Egyd.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Ronald “Ron” Lawrence is an activist and counselor who moved to Las Vegas, Nevada from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1979 with his husband, Ernie Egyed. Lawrence received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1982 and his master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from California Lutheran University in 1987. hE has been an active member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in Las Vegas since 1979. Lawrence worked as a clinical director for Bridge Counseling in Las Vegas BEGINNING in 1987 where he created programs specifically for the LGBTQ community and support groups for HIV-positive individuals.
In 1989, Lawrence created the Community AIDS Intervention Project (CAIP) as a division of Bridge Counseling. CAIP supported LGBTQ-specific outreach programs funded by the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Centers for Disease Control. Programs under CAIP included an HIV support group, the Gay Men’s Health Project, Significant Others, and a survivors group comprised of individuals who had lost loved ones due to AIDS.
Lawrence later created his own agency to support the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas, establishing the Community Counseling Center in 1990 to provide mental health care services to the LGBTQ community, and in particular the HIV and AIDS population. As of 2019 the Community Counseling Center offers mental health care services for all populations in Las Vegas. Lawrence remains actively involved with the Community Counseling Center and serves as a staff member and executive director.
Sources:
McBride, Dennis. “Community Counseling Center.” OutHistory.org, Accessed December 12, 2019. http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/las-vegas/articles/ccc.
Sodoma, Brian. “Mental health workers a much-needed field in Nevada.”
Preferred Citation
Ron Lawrence Photograph Collection, approximately 1980-1994, 2013. PH-00424. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated by Ron Lawrence in 2018 and Dennis McBride in 2022; accession numbers 2018-032, 2022-032.
Processing Note
In 2019, Tammi Kim rehoused the materials and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. In 2022, Tammi Kim rehoused the 2022 addition and updated the finding aid.