The Mr. Ebony Leather contest was held first in 1997 in San Francisco, CA. It was proceeded by the Ebony in Leather model search held in San Francisco in 1992. The winner of the Ebony in Leather contest was Jimmy Lee Murray. The contest moved to Chicago, IL in 1998 when Cain Berlinger started producing the contest. The contest was open to men of color. The winner of the contest competed in the following year's International Mr. Leather competition. Winners of the contest include Davian O. Nelson (1997), Andre J. Marcial (1998), Ariq Robinson (1999), Rick Morris (2000), Hilary Napoleone-Williams (2001), Vince Edd (2002), and Peter Mitchell (2003). The contest provided awareness and outreach about People of Color within the leather community. The contest also raised funds for charities, including the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom [NCSF] and the Leather Archives and Museum. The Mr. Ebony Leather contest was succeeded by the Leatherman of Color contest, produced by the Men of Onyx in Chicago, IL beginning in November of 2004. Cain Berlinger was the producer of the Mr. Ebony Leather contest from 1998 to 2003. He resided in Chicago, IL and New York City, NY during the run of the contest. Cain was the author of "Cain's Views", an Internet publication about news items from the leather community.
The collection contains records from the 1992 Ebony in Leather model search and the 1998 - 2003 Mr. Ebony Leather contests. The 1998 - 2003 contests were produced by an individual rather than an organization, as such no administrative records such as by-laws, articles of incorporation or meeting minutes exist. There are no financial records in the collection. The collection consists mainly of promotional materials and press clippings from the contests. Contestant applications are included for the 2001 and 2002 Mr. Ebony Leather contests. Personal contact information, such as addresses and phone numbers, were removed by the record creator / donor prior to accession. The 1998 records indicate that a 1997 Mr. Ebony Leather contest was held, but the collection contains no information about the 1997 contest.
Mr. Ebony Leather leather sash, LA M record 2004-00299
Gold medallion, LA M record 2004-00328
This collection was donated in a black three ring binder, with materials residing in plastic sleeves. The materials were removed from the binder and the sleeves, as a preservation measure. In some cases, "producer's notes" were taped to the outside of a plastic sleeve. In these cases, the plastic sleeve was photocopied. All press clippings on newsprint were photocopied on acid free paper. The materials were arranged in the order donated, except for a few pieces in the back folder pocket of the three ring binder. These pieces were artificially arranged according to the pertinent year.
This series contains promotional materials and the program from Ebony In Leather : A Model Search for African - American Leathermen. This contest was produced by Gregory Adams and Graylin Thorton. The contest was held at Cocktails in San Francisco on Saturday, November 21, 1992.
This series contains materials from the Mr. Ebony Leather Contests between 1998 and 2003. Cain Berlinger produced each of these contests. The 1998 contest was held at the Leatherneck bar in Chicago. The 1999 through 2002 contests were held at the Cellblock bar in Chicago. The 2003 contest was held at the Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago. All Mr. Ebony Leather contests between 1998 and 2003 were held during the International Mr. Leather, Memorial Day, weekends. The folders include promotional materials, program books, photographs, press clippings and contestant information. The last folder in the series contains an overview of the contest, written by producer Cain Berlinger.