Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on LGBT studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
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From Margin to Center? The Possibilities in Local Queer History Community-based History Partnerships
Prof. Dr. Stephanie Yuhl
ABSTRACT:
Drawing on my experience as the lead scholar of a local LGBTQ+, multi-year archive and oral history project, Worcester LGBVTQ+ History Project (Massachusetts, USA), this paper discusses challenges, successes and lessons learned in community-based queer history work in traditionally overlooked locations, such as rural, suburban and small city settings. What happens when we shift the focus of collecting, preserving, and disseminating LGBTQ+ history from its concentration in major US metropolitan centers, such as San Francisco and New York, to often overlooked regions of the country? How might the preoccupation with collecting LGBTQ+ histories in major urban spaces actually serve to re-marginalize an already at-risk historical population? How might partnering with local cultural and historical institutions expand but also constrain this aspirational grassroots-based work? Topic addressed include collecting and community engagement strategies, participation and representational challenges, in particular around diversity and inclusion, some of which are very particular to a small city setting. Central questions guiding this paper: Why is the collection of queer history so often overlooked in our professional spaces? How do we recreate a historic record of primary documents by utilizing alternative and grassroots methodologies, such as tapping into the variety of queer networks (racial, ethnic, elder, youth, cultural, etc.)? What models do we use to create active community partnerships and local investment? How do we integrate community-led archival initiatives into the work of institutions or organizations? How do we represent the wide diversity of LGBTQ+ life experiences and make sure that we do not replicate existing (white/heteronormative) institutions, focuses, and power structures within our archives? What paths exist for the sustaining these kinds of volunteer-based projects? Conducted ethically with local partners at the center, archive-building can result in more than just a rich repository of documents and new audiences for public historical organizations. Archives and oral history projects of this sort can function as sites of serious social justice work on the ground by encouraging political consciousness and engagement in traditionally marginalized communities. At a time when the threat to LGBTQ+ rights and safety is on the rise, collecting queer history through community partnerships in spaces on the margins of the dominant narrative is more important than ever.
keywords: public history; community partnerships; archives; oral history; social justice