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Detroit social activist involved in GLBT organizations and activities. The collection consists of correspondence, essays and articles, e-mails, conference materials, organizational records, publications and articles on the subjects of GLBT history, gay civil rights, gay marriage, interracial and interfaith marriage, GLBT families, sexual and gender equality, violence against GLBT persons, religion and homosexuality, gay clergy, clergy with AIDS, and violence against GLBT persons. The collection also includes materials related to the development of public transportation in the Detroit Metropolitan area; election campaigns and vote suppression of ethnic minorities; and U.S. and international politics and economy.

The collection, spanning 40 years of John Kavanaugh's activism, documents both the history and challenges faced by the Michigan and national GLBT community, as well issues facing the area's racial and ethnic minorities. Of most value, the collection provides documentation regarding the position of various denominations on questions of homosexuality and gay and interracial marriage; racial and ethnic discrimination, and voters' suppression based on race and ethnicity. Kavanaugh's correspondence includes letters and hard copies of e-mails, many of them sent to individual clergy and to groups of citizens. His writings are sometimes represented in form of a self-published newsletter or e-newsletter (e.g. The bead reader and The missing lines). The collection contains a great number of non-mainstream publications, as well as articles and clippings from obscure and rare periodicals. The collection also includes a significant amount of material on the subject of public transit in Michigan, specifically, in the city of Detroit.

The collection is organized into five series: Issues; Black and White Men Together; Religion; Public Transit; and Digital materials.

An agency tasked with overseeing the mass transportation operations of the Southeastern Michigan area. Records include local transit history, project plans, other regional research, and University of Detroit Mercy transit studies.

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of Southeast Michigan records (2 linear feet and 24.8 MB) consist primarily of historical research and the project plans of the former transit agencies in the Southeastern Michigan region, arranged in alphabetical order. A large portion of the collection consists of material specifically relating to transit in the Metro Detroit area. These records consist of news clippings and brochures that document the publicity of some of the more recent RTA projects. Historical documents such as legislation and project plans predating the RTA are included as well. These were utilized as research materials for projects, as well as providing context for the other materials within the collection. A number of folders contain project plans for the M1 Rail and the Woodward Avenue Light Rail Transit Project. These materials document the implementation of new public transit systems in downtown Detroit, and contains records such as cost estimates and descriptions of the plans. The last of these Detroit related records are research materials from the transition period to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and his involvement in Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) plans during his tenure.

The other portion of the record collection consists of some regional research from other non-Michigan RTA areas, cities such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, and St. Louis. These specific materials were referenced and utilized for the University of Detroit Mercy's transit studies, many of which are also contained within the collection. Some of these studies are contained within as paper copies, as well as digital versions, which can be downloaded online. The rest of the collection more directly correlates with the broader Southeast Michigan transit projects, including multi-year transportation plans compiled by the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments. A small number of transit related legislation and policies for the state of Michigan are included, providing more context for some of the projects.