Michael R. Nelson Papers, circa 1890-2012

Collection Number: 70140

Collection Title: Michael R. Nelson Papers, circa 1890-2012

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.

Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size	6.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2000 items)
Abstract	This collection documents white politician Michael("Mike") R. Nelson's 16 years of elected office in Carrboro, N.C., including his service from 1995 to 2005 as the first openly gay mayor in North Carolina. The collection primarily contains newspapers and campaign materials documenting Nelson's political career, beginning as campaign manager for Joe Herzenberg's 1987 Chapel Hill Town Council campaign. Materials document Chapel Hill and Carrboro election campaigns, Carrboro events, and actions taken by Nelson while serving as an alderman, mayor, and county commissioner. There collection also contains a small amount of letters, speeches, and audiovisual materials, as well as newspaper articles documenting Ray Warren becoming the first openly gay Republican officeholder in December 1998. The collection also contains newspaper articles, letters, and other documentation from the Orange County Commissioners and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen pertaining to a 1994 ordinance allowing unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and receive benefits, as well as a small amount of political memorabilia dating back to the late 19th century.
Creator	Nelson, Michael R., 1963-
Curatorial Unit	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language	English

Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access: Use of audio or moving image materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Restrictions to Use: No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice: Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], in the Michael R. Nelson Papers #Michael R. Nelson Papers, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information: Received from Michael R. Nelson in October 2022 (20221024.7).

Sensitive Materials Statement: Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Dawne Howard Lucas, December 2022

Encoded by: Dawne Howard Lucas, December 2022

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Expand/collapse Subject Headings

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

Expand/collapse Related Collections

Joe Herzenberg Papers (#5367)

Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Michael ("Mike") R. Nelson, a white politician, served as Mayor of Carrboro, N.C. from 1995 to 2005 and as a county commissioner for Orange County, N.C. from 2006 to 2009. Nelson, who is a co-founder of Equality North Carolina, was the first openly gay mayor in North Carolina. At the time of his inauguration, he was one of five openly gay mayors in the United States.

In 1987, Nelson served as campaign manager for Joe Herzenberg during Herzenberg's run for Chapel Hill Town Council. Nelson first ran for elected office in 1989, losing his bid serve on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen by 32 votes. He was elected to the Board of Aldermen in 1993. While serving on the Board of Aldermen, Nelson championed a domestic partners ordinance that made Carrboro the first municipality in North Carolina to bring benefits to same-sex couples.

Nelson has served as a leader in North Carolina's LGBTQ political movement, including his involvement with NC Pride PAC (which he co-founded in 1992), which merged with Equality NC in 2002.

Expand/collapse Scope and Content

This collection documents Michael("Mike") R. Nelson's 16 years of elected office in Carrboro, N.C., including his service from 1995 to 2005 as the first openly gay mayor in North Carolina. The collection primarily contains newspapers and campaign materials documenting Nelson's political career, beginning as campaign manager for Joe Herzenberg's 1987 Chapel Hill Town Council campaign. Materials document Chapel Hill and Carrboro election campaigns, Carrboro events, and actions taken by Nelson while serving as an alderman, mayor, and county commissioner. There collection also contains a small amount of letters, speeches, and audiovisual materials, as well as newspaper articles documenting Ray Warren becoming the first openly gay Republican officeholder in December 1998. The collection also contains newspaper articles, letters, and other documentation from the Orange County Commissioners and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen pertaining to a 1994 ordinance allowing unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and receive benefits, as well as a small amount of political memorabilia dating back to the late 19th century.

Contents list

Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

1. Political Career, 1992-2012.
2. Domestic Partnerships, 1993-1999.
3. Political Memorabilia, circa 1890-circa 1991.

Expand/collapse Series 1. Political Career, 1992-2012.

Primarily contains newspapers and campaign materials documenting Mike Nelson's political career, beginning as campaign manager for Joe Herzenberg's 1987 Chapel Hill Town Council campaign. Newspapers in the collection include: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Chapel Hill Herald, The Chapel Hill News, The Charlotte Observer The Daily Tar Heel, The Front Page, Independent Weekly, The New York Times, Q-Notes, The Raleigh News & Observer, USA Today, The Washington Blade, and The Washington Post. Materials document Chapel Hill and Carrboro election campaigns, Carrboro events, and actions taken by Nelson while serving as an alderman, mayor, and county commissioner. There is also a small amount of letters, speeches, and audiovisual materials, as well as newspaper articles documenting Ray Warren becoming the first openly gay Republican officeholder in December 1998.

Image Folder PF-70140/1	Herzenberg election night, 1987 Photograph of Nelson at the Herzenberg election night party at Cobb Terrace, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Box 1	Joe Herzenberg campaign materials 2 folders
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/2	Democratic Convention, 1992
Videotape VT-70140/1	Bill Clinton presidential campaign coverage The beginning of the videotape appears to contain recorded televised coverage of the 1992 Democratic Convention, recorded over previously-taped content.
Box 1	Board of Aldermen, 1993 2 folders
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/3	Board of Aldermen, 1994
Box 1	Mike Nelson campaign brochures, postcards, and stickers, 1995-2001, undated
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/1	Mike Nelson campaign signs, undated
Digital Video Disc DVD-70140/1	Elect Mike Nelson Four videos.
Box 1	Op-Eds, 1994-1995, undated
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/4	Op-Eds, 1995-2007
Box 1	Letters, 1994-2003, undated 2 folders
	White House visit, 1995 Pertains to Nelson's prejudiced treatment by the Secret Service during a White House visit.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/5	White House visit, 1995 Pertains to Nelson's prejudiced treatment by the Secret Service during a White House visit.
Box 1	1995 election 2 folders
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/6-7 OPF-70140/6 OPF-70140/7	1995 election
Videotape VT-70140/2	Carrboro election day, 1995
Audiocassette C-70140/1	Interview with Michael Nelson, Mayor, Town of Carrboro (cassette 1 of 2), 9 February 1996 Interview by Joseph Mosnier. Part of the Southern Oral History Program's North Carolina Politics Project.
Audiocassette C-70140/2	Interview with Michael Nelson, Mayor, Town of Carrboro (cassette 2 of 2), 9 February 1996 Interview by Joseph Mosnier. Part of the Southern Oral History Program's North Carolina Politics Project.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/8	Various policy initiatives, 1993-1998
Box 1	Various policy initiatives, 1996 Original folder title retained. Folder contains one letter from the Triangle Burma Action Group thanking Nelson for passing a resolution to bar Carrboro from making purchases from businesses in Burma (now Myanmar) and from those doing business in Burma.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/9	1997 and 1999 elections
Box 1	Carrboro events, 1997, 2002 Contains invitations to a 1997 private showing and reception of an exhibit "devoted to the Universe of Salvador Dali" at Carrboro Town Hall and the 2002 exhibit "Out & Elected in the U.S.A." at the Carrboro Century Center.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/10	"Dear Jesse" documentary, 1998
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/11	Ray Warren, 1998 Superior Court Judge Ray Warren became North Carolina's first openly gay Republican officeholder in December 1998.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/12	Elian Gonzalez, 2000 Nelson supported the Immigration and Naturalization Service decision to return the 6-year-old Gonzalez to his father in Cuba.
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/13	Carrboro Century Center opening, 2001
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/14	2001 election
Box 1	French proclamation, 2003 2 folders
Music Compact Disc CD-70140/1	Interview with Mike Nelson and Mark Kleinschmidt, 10 February 2004 From WCHL's "The Special Hour" with Robert Porter.
Box 1	Stepping aside, 2005
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/15	Stepping aside, 2005
Videotape VT-70140/3	Board of Aldermen, 6 December 2005
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/16	Orange County Board of Commissioners, 2006
Box 1	Miscellaneous
	Miscellaneous press coverage, 1995-2003, undated
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/17	Miscellaneous press coverage, 1994-2012

Expand/collapse Series 2. Domestic Partnerships, 1993-1999.

Contains newspaper articles, letters, and other documentation from the Orange County Commissioners and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen pertaining to a 1994 ordinance allowing unmarried couples to register as domestic partners and receive benefits.

Box 1	Understanding the Domestic Partner Dilemma: Perspectives of Employer and Insurer (2nd edition), 1993
	Orange County Commissioners and Carrboro Board of Aldermen, June-September 1994
	Letters, 1994-1998, undated
	Newspaper clippings, circa 1994-1995
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/18	Newspapers, September 1994-October 1994, May 1995-June 1995, March 1999 Includes newspaper articles from: The Chapel Hill Herald, The Chapel Hill News, The Daily Tar Heel, The Front Page, Independent Weekly, Q-Notes

Expand/collapse Series 3. Political Memorabilia, circa 1890-circa 1991.

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-70140/19

Votes for Women, Vol. IV (New Series), No.158, 17 March 1911

Campaign buttons, circa 1890s-circa 1991

Includes buttons and pins for various campaigns dating back to the late 19th century.

Expand/collapse Items Separated

Audiocassettes (C-70140/1-2)
Compact discs (CD-70140/1)
Digital video discs (DVD-70140/1)
Oversize papers (OPF-70140/1-19)
Videotapes (VT-70140/1-3)

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Collection Number: 70140 Collection Title: Michael R. Nelson Papers, circa 1890-2012