Saint Louis University Student Video Project
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June 12, 2017: During the spring of 2017, the Project was happy to provide assistance to Saint Louis University students TK Smith and Elizabeth Eikmann in producing a special video for a class project. The video includes interviews with Sayer Johnson, Ian Darnell, Steven Brawley, Erise Williams Jr., and many others. The interviews were also donated to the Project for future reference and research.
Last Call: Speculating Disappearing Queer Space by Elizabeth Eikmann and TK Smith, Saint Louis University describes how gay bars have a deep history of serving the LGBTQ community beyond mere social interaction. For many, gay bars have been sites for LGBTQ persons to mobilize in the face of social, political, and health crises, fostering a space for community and solidarity with one another. Gay bars have also functioned as spaces where community members can freely express, perform, and negotiate identity and proclaim affection, love, and sexual attraction to whomever they wish without fear of persecution in the process. But have gay bars always been spaces of safety, security, and representation for all? Who has been excluded? And where do those excluded from the gay bar go?
June 2017: Project's National Archives Exhibit
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June 8, 2017: The Project has created a special June Pride Month display by special invitation from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), part of the National Archives (NARA) in St. Louis.
Thanks to Archives Technician Katherine A. Terry for inviting the Project to create the display and for garnering the necessary approvals for the display. This is the first time NPRC has asked an outside group to create a LGBTQIA display at their facilities.
Items in the display include: 1989 Pride St. Louis shirt, various Pride buttons, 1977 issue of Moonstorm, Mayor Slay's NOH8 campaign photograph, Black and White Men Together brochure, the 1980 Pride Parade permit, and a 1969 police report regarding men being arrested for masquerading.
The NPRC and NARA at St. Louis are part of a nationwide network of NARA’s 44 facilities of regional archives, Federal records centers, Presidential libraries, and its Washington, D.C., and College Park, Md., offices.
The exhibit is on display in the NPRC's main lobby through June at 1 Archives Drive, Spanish Lake, MO 63138. Guests must go through a security checkpoint.
Image courtesy of Katherine A. Terry.
June 8, 2017 Missouri History Museum Presentation
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May 11, 2017: Since the 1970s, the St. Louis LGBTQIA community has organized rallies and marches, now commonly known as Pride events. Learn about the origins of Pride celebrations in the metro region and their lasting cultural and political impact. Project collaborator Jayms Andris will offer an overview of the 1970s events that led to St. Louis’ first official Pride week in 1980. Representatives from Metro East Pride of Southwestern Illinois, Pride St. Charles, Pride St. Louis, St. Louis Black Pride, and Tower Grove Pride have been invited to provide historical backgrounds about their respective festivals and comment on why the events are needed.
Thursday, June 8, 2017, 7 pm
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium, Forest Park
Free
March 8, 2017 Presentation at Missouri History Museum
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February 13, 2017: Don't miss the Project's upcoming presentation at the Missouri History Museum.
Rainbow Road: The LGBT Community on Route 66
Wednesday, March 8, 2017, 7 pm
Missouri History Museum, Lee Auditorium, Forest Park
Free