Ep. 5 & 6: "Silences in the Archives" and "'Guardians of our History': A Love Letter to Grassroots Archiving"
"Topics around LGBTQ history have become less taboo in more recent years. But despite the many strides this history has made to the mainstream periphery, it's often fallen into the same trappings as its heteronormative historical predecessors, creating a narrative that often excludes non white, non cisgender and disabled individuals who have not only help shaped LGBT history, but US History entirely."
– Akaelah, episode producer, Ep. 5: Silences in the Archives
Dorothy Living Archive Project
Dorothy, a local lesbian cocktail lougne in Chicago, is a current hub of queer community in the city. A team of volunteers has been recording performances, preserving the bar’s unique blend of burlesque, live music, stage performance, open mics, and more. These recordings will serve as a rare and invaluable resource in queer history, especially in the growing face of anti-drag and anti-trans legislation.
The collection encompasses physical artifacts like menus, event flyers, matchbooks, and photobooth photos, along with digital records, including performance photos, promotional graphics, and event planning materials.
Emphasizing the history of trans, non-binary, and gender-non conforming community, Enby Night: Archive Party with Gerber/Hart was an event held in Febuary 2025 where community members came to Dorothy to add materials to contribute to the Dorothy Living Archive collection.
Lavender Noire Project
The Lavender Noire Project is a grassroots initiative to seek out and preserve Black LGBTQ+ History in Chicago. This project addresses the disparities within LGBTQ+ archival collections and academic research which often omit or diminish the work on Black LGBTQ+ people, communities and their contributions to history. The collection features oral histories of Black LGBTQ+ people and will grow to include flyers, photos, letters, etc.
The Lavender Noire Project is currently housed in the Gerber/Hart collection and will continue through an internship program. The Lavender Noire Project: Fundraiser & Archive Party was a night of raffles, drag performances, DJ sets, and ticket sales to fund a stipend for the internship with Gerber/Hart to continue the active collecting and growth of our understanding of Black LGBTQ+ history in Chicago.
"Grassroots archiving could be something really small. You don't need a degree or an institution to preserve history, and you don't need a degree to be a historian.
Activism looks different for everyone, and it can look like recording conversations with your best friend', or saving flyers from a night out at a bar. In a world that is trying to erase us, every act of preservation is important because all of our history matters."
– Akaelah, episode producer, Ep. 6: Guardians of our History
GPLXC
The Gage Park Latinx Council (GPLXC) was founded in 2018 by Samantha A. Martinez, Katia A. Martinez, and Antonio D. Santos, three residents of Gage Park. Per their website, it was founded as “...a mutual aid effort to create physical spaces in Gage Park where residents could receive support for their immediate needs and also serve as spaces for community to engage in popular education, organizing work, and arts-based projects.” They provide programs like Pequenos Lectores and Pequenos Sonadores which focus on literacy and artmaking for children ages 6 - 10, at no cost to the families.
Queer Riot
“Queer Riot is a program for high-school aged youth interested in learning about the history of LGBTQIA+ activism in the United States. The program focuses on the experiences and organizing efforts of QTBIPOC from 1890 to 1990. Queer Riot equips youth with knowledge and skills, while providing a physical space for youth to put their knowledge into practice through organizing youth-led events and projects.” -GPLXC website
GPLXC Online Organizing Map
Note: if the embedded map does not load, please view in on the GPLXC website.
Featured from the Gerber/Hart Collection
Asian and Friends Newsletter, 1995
Asians and Friends Chicago (AFC) was founded in 1985 to provide a supportive enviroment for LGBTQ+ Asian folk and are still active. They send out a newsletter, host monthly events, as well as hosting the International Friendship Conference, an annual gathering of LGBTQ+ Asians, Asian-Americans, and those interested in Asian cultures.
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville
Lorrainne Sade Baskerville is a Black trans woman who founded Chicago’s first trans-run, trans-serving social agency called transGenesis. Her life, work, and transGenesis was the topic of Unboxing Queer History Season 1 Episode 5.
Amigas Latinas
Amigas Latinas was a volunteer-run organization that specifically served the LBTQ Latina community. More about the organization and community can be found in Unboxing Queer History Season 1 Episode 3.
Black & White Men Together (BWMT) Collection
From the Paul Stensland collection finding aid: “Black and White Men Together was a social and service club for gay men in interracial relationships to find community and participate in discussion, activism, and activities within their chapter’s city. Activist efforts and discussions focused on racism, homosexuality, and racism within homosexuality.” Gerber/Hart has several collections of members, past and present, who were part of BWMT.
Guy Estinvil Collection
From Estinvil’s finding aid: “Guy Estinvil is a gay author of both long- and short-form fiction and nonfiction materials. A native of Haiti, he immigrated to Chicago, Illinois in 1975. He holds several degrees in French, Philosophy and Urban Teaching. He has also studied at several seminaries, including the Sacred Heart Seminary in Oak Park, Illinois, the Scalabrini House of Studies in Toronto, and the Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. His writings cover a broad range of themes and subjects, including but not limited to religion, philosophy, political theory, gender and sexuality, erotica, and his experiences as an immigrant from Haiti to the United States.” Estinvil is passionate about his collection being used and still hopes to publish his work.