The papers include writings, newspaper clippings, fliers, organizational records, correspondence, and photographs relating to the activism of Margaret Flowing Johnson. The papers are arranged alphabetically by topic/name of organization and date from 1979 to 2003. The earliest items in the papers relate to Women Take Back the Night (B2/f.20) and to the St. Louis Abused Women’s Support Project (presently known as The Women’s Safe House), for which the St. Louis Women’s Choir performed a benefit concert in 1979 (B1/f.21). In 1983, Johnson attended the first Women Gathering held in Washington D. C. which culminated in a demonstration at the White House concerning the Reagan administration’s discriminatory policies toward women. She led the planning for the second Women Gathering event in St. Louis in 1984. The first two events published a chronicle for participants, which included a welcome by Johnson in 1984. Throughout the papers are several articles, conference papers, and speeches written by Johnson from 1982 to the 1990s. She contributed to local and national publications, writing about abuse, civil disobedience, and timely issues in the lesbian community. In 1984, following several cases of violence against girls and women in the St. Louis area, Johnson led the St. Louis chapter of Women Rising in Resistance. The papers include notes on meetings and specific cases, fliers relating to activities, and newspaper clippings and press releases. After the February1986 murder of Susan White by her husband, the group worked to highlight the plight of women in domestic abuse and the cross-jurisdictional issues between the City and St. Louis County regarding protective orders. Johnson also participated at the national level, attending and speaking at the Women Take Liberty event at the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Johnson joined the national civil disobedience planning committee of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights which planned the action at the U. S. Supreme Court on October 10, 1987. The committee held meetings, training sessions, and provided training packets. Johnson attended meetings and reported activities to the Midwest region committee. She also spoke at a press conference about the demonstration in Washington. The papers include Johnson’s notes, meeting minutes, fliers, training materials, correspondence, and photographs. In 1988, Johnson helped form the group St. Louis Acts Out whose mission was to bring media and public attention to oppression of lesbian and gay people in St. Louis via direct action and civil disobedience. The folder contains primarily meeting minutes and notes from the groups formation in 1988. It also includes a press release and holiday flier distributed by the group, “This holiday season, give the gift of love,” and a Stop the Church fact sheet. Stop the Church was a protest coordinated by Act Up/StL and which Queer Nation/St. Louis and Catholics for Free Choice also endorsed on April 19, 1992. The first organization meeting for Queer Nation/St. Louis (QN/STL) was held on July 17, 1991. The papers include fliers for its first meeting, mission statement, and information on a protest relating to New York City’s exclusion of gays from its St. Patrick’ Day parade. Its first major action was a nonviolent protest against Cracker Barell on September 22, 1991. Prior to the demonstration, QN/STL released their plan to the press along with an information packet (B1/f.17). In 1993, Show Me Equality, a state-wide organization, formed to fight the efforts of the Amendment Coalition. The Amendment Coalition began a petition campaign to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the 1994 ballot that would restrain Missouri’s power to pass laws to protect citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Johnson served on the coordinating committee of Show Me Equality. The files include meeting minutes, updates from news sources and other committees, and an array of index cards and fliers from Show Me Equality’s Don’t Sign On Campaign. Soulforce, based in California, coordinated nonviolent demonstrations at the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis in June 2002. Johnson served as the St. Louis point of contact for planning and coordinating the Institute for Nonviolent Change. The files include notes on conference calls and meetings, training materials, and photographs.