Robert Ashworth is a politically active member of the gay and lesbian community in Bellingham, WA. During the 1970s and 1980s, Ashworth compiled a collection of papers documenting the activities of the Union of Sexual Minorities Center (USMC) of Western Washington University. The USMC was a student association created "to actively promote and defend human and civil rights for all sexual minorities."*

The USMC provided outreach and support to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students at Western Washington University. Through various conferences and symposia, the USMC advocated for fair and equal treatment of all individuals, regardless of sexual preference. In 1976, the coordinators of one symposium were interviewed on the "Radio Impact Show" on KGMI, a local Bellingham radio station.

The USMC has since been renamed the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Alliance (LGBTA), which remains an active advocacy organization at the university. The Robert Ashworth collection on the Union of Sexual Minorities Center of Western Washington University is a rich resource for the study of gender and sexuality, and gay and lesbian political activity in the Pacific Northwest region.

* Source: Union of Sexual Minorities Center bylaws (1977-1978), located in the Robert Ashworth collection on the Union of Sexual Minorities Center of Western Washington University, available at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.