The materials in ACT UP Los Angeles Records comprise one of sixteen collections of records from the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, the world's largest repository of LGBTQ materials. These files document the lives of LGBTQ individuals from 1940 to 2012, the organizations they founded, the discrimination they faced, and the devastation of the AIDS crisis. Most of the items concern individuals or groups from California. The contents of this collection derive from the Los Angeles branch of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP LA). The local branch of a national grassroots organization, ACT UP LA used nonviolent direct action to promote AIDS research and improved patient care. Materials span the years 1987 to 1995, and include administrative and financial records, meeting minutes, photographs, press releases, membership materials, newsletters, clippings, fliers, and subject files. This collection is vital for anyone researching the many facets of LGBTQ life in California and the United States in the second half of the twentieth century.