Overview
The Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive team members conduct a variety of research projects, develop public exhibitions of archival materials, and work with regional faculty to incorporate local LGBT history into courses and student projects. Since 2016, archival team members have designed public history courses and supported graduate and undergraduate students with research projects, created exhibitions about the history of Pride Festivals in the Lehigh Valley and regional LGBT publications, and developed oral history projects. With archival projects, we prioritize engaging public audiences and students in exploring the value of regional LGBT history.
Current Grants and Projects
“Pride in Print: Moving Above Ground and Embracing Our Gaydar.”
Funded by Lehigh University’s Office of Creative
Inquiry and South Side Initiative, 2020-2021.
A team of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students worked with archivists to create the archives webpage and to design an online and physical exhibition titled “Pride in Print: Moving Above Ground and Embracing Our Gaydar.” These exhibitions focus on two regional LGBT publications, Above Ground and Gaydar, and their contributions to political consciousness-raising, community formation, and celebration of local LGBT culture.
“40 years of Public Health Experiences in the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community: Collecting and Curating Local LGBT Health Experiences From HIV/AIDS to COVID-19.”
Funded by Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium
Grant, 2020.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center and Muhlenberg College partnered to collect oral histories from 10 individuals who had experienced the worst of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s-90s and 22 interviews with people about their experiences during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Community members were also invited to submit text-based responses regarding their experiences during COVID-19. A virtual exhibit showcasing the collected information will be shared at the end of 2020.
“Stories from LGBT Older Adults in the Lehigh Valley: Reflections Upon Regional Activism from Gay Liberation, AIDS Activism, and Marriage Equality as an Oral History Contribution to the Larger Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive.”
Funded by Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium Grant, 2019-2020.
Archival team members collect oral histories from LGBT elders who participated in major LGBT political and social organizations from 1969 to the present. In our first round of oral histories, we have recorded stories about the following regional organizations: Le-Hi-Ho (1969-1990s); Pennsylvania/Lehigh Valley Gay and Lesbian Task Force (1994-1997); Pennsylvania League of Gay and Lesbian Voters; PA-GALA (1997-2005); the Lehigh Valley chapter of the National Organization for Women; PDN (2004-2009); and Eastern PA PFLAG (early 1990s – present).
“HIV/AIDS in the Lehigh Valley: Gathering Information on an Outbreak.”
Public Health Special Topics course, Muhlenberg
College, 2019-Present.
Using the lens of science communication and archival studies, this course invites students to explore local archival collections and other primary sources relating to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s to understand how the outbreak was experienced in a small urban center, distinct from and related to better-known narratives from coastal metropolises.
Past Projects
“Pride Guides and the Early Years of Lehigh Valley Pride Festivals.”
Funded by Lehigh University’s Office of Creative
Inquiry and South Side Initiative, 2019-2020.
Faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students designed an exhibition that explored the value of regional Pride Guides, annual publications distributed at Pride Festivals. With a focus on the first 11 years of Pride Festivals in the Lehigh Valley (1994-2004), the exhibition presented the political import of festivals as well as their value for fostering LGBT community.