Mixner goes to Yale--at least on paper.

When longtime gay activist and political strategist David Mixner officially passes his personal archives to Yale University's Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian and Gay Studies on November 3, he'll personify the growing trend of preserving of gay history as it's still being made.

Once famously pegged by Newsweek as "the most powerful gay man in America," Mixner was a key ally of Bill Clinton's until 1993 (he writes about their estrangement in his book Stranger Among Friends] and remains a force in American politics.

What are you donating to Yale?

Since my years in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements of the '60s and up to the current day, I've collected over 100 boxes of papers, memos, videos, calendars, and various other items from that journey. Included are rare documents from early meetings that led to the founding of the very first LGBT political action committee, from the early AIDS years, from the gay movement's early' involvement with President Clinton, from the "don't ask, don't tell" debate, and from other key milestones in LGBT history,

Why are you donating this stuff now?

Quite honestly, because Yale University and the Larry Kramer [Initiative] asked for it. I've saved my huge collection because I saw so many of the papers o[my nearly 300 friends who died flora AIDS being destroyed by their families after their deaths. I saw our community's history vanishing right in front of me, and I was devastated that so many of their stories were being lost, Most of their papers were burned by their families in shame. Meanwhile, my own papers have just been sitting in boxes in my father's basement in Denver.

Do you have any advice for others who may possess materials but are unsure about donating them to an archive or special collection?

Our young, as they struggle to come to terms with their sexualities, often feel they come out of nothing and are not aware of the brave men and women who have risked so much for their freedom. Few know of the roles of LGBT people in the resistance in World War II or of how our community responded to HIV/AIDS in the early years with such courage and dignity or of the early pioneers campaigning for public office, such as Elaine Noble and Harvey Milk, whose lives were threatened every day. So it's essential we have a place to study our history--not only for ourselves but for everyone who wants to be inspired by a brave and noble community.