The Secret Libraries That Saved LGBTQ History
For LGBTQ communities, the work of preservation has always been personal. When governments raided bars, they seized membership lists. When families discovered letters between two men or two women, those letters went into fireplaces.
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5 Questions to Reflect On
- 1. Jim Kepner saved newspaper clippings… Jim Kepner saved newspaper clippings even when the coverage was hostile because he believed any documentation was better than none.
- 2. The Lesbian Herstory Archives was… The Lesbian Herstory Archives was built on the principle that every lesbian's life is worth preserving, not just the famous ones.
- 3. Several of these archives were… Several of these archives were started in people's apartments and spare bedrooms, funded by community donations rather than institutions.
- 4. The Nazi burning of Hirschfeld's… The Nazi burning of Hirschfeld's archive in 1933 is one of the most stark examples of deliberate erasure in LGBTQ history.
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