On Friday, November 17, NOAGE (New Orleans Advocates for LGBT Elders) held their annual Gala. The event was dubbed NOAGE goes on Safari and was held at the Audubon Zoo. Roughly 150 people attended the Gala. In addition to food, music, and a live auction, the event also featured the presentation of two awards. Liz Simon was given the Trailblazer Award and Rip and Marsha … [Read more...] about NOAGE Goes on Safari
World AIDS Day
December 1 marked the 29th annual World AIDS Day. Since its inception in 1988, World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people around the world to raise awareness about HIV / AIDS, to support those living with HIV, and to remember those who have succumbed to the disease. The idea for the annual day began with James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, who in 1987, worked for the Global … [Read more...] about World AIDS Day
Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing
Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing It has been four months since Circo, a popular gay bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was firebombed in what was apparently a vicious hate crime. No arrests have been made and the investigation appears to be at a standstill. On Saturday, October 28, 2017, a group of masked persons dressed in all black attacked the gay club by throwing … [Read more...] about Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing
Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost
Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost When candidate Trump first proposed building a wall along the Mexican border, the old English Professor in me immediately thought of Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall.” Then the old political observer in me thought of Ronald Reagan’s famous line at the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Frost opens his poem with … [Read more...] about Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost
Cityscapes of New Orleans
Cityscapes of New Orleans. Richard Campanella. LSU Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-0-8071-6833-2. 400 pages. Local Tulane Professor Richard Campanella’s latest offering is especially appropriate given the city of New Orleans is celebrating its 300th birthday. Cityscapes of New Orleans is a collection of 77 previous published articles on a variety of topics ranging from vice … [Read more...] about Cityscapes of New Orleans
20 Years of HIV/AIDS Headlines
The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana recently hosted a panel discussion on the history of HIV / AIDS in New Orleans. In preparation for the event, Archives Project intern Philip Ross, a student at Tulane University, compiled the following bibliography of early newspaper coverage of the crisis in New Orleans. Mulvhill, Kathleen A. “AIDS: Mystery Disorder” The … [Read more...] about 20 Years of HIV/AIDS Headlines
Republicans & Pedophilia
I have always been bamboozled by the fact that Southern voters consistently vote republican, against their own best interests. As a historian, I understand why the South turned red: white voters were pissed off when Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Johnson thought the Democrats had lost the South for a generation, but 53 years later, … [Read more...] about Republicans & Pedophilia
The Inheritance of Shame by Peter Gajdics.
The Inheritance of Shame. Peter Gajdics. Brown Paper Press, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-941932-08-7. 355 pages. $17.99. Unfortunately, a book about surviving conversion therapy is still necessary. Author Peter Gajdics spent six years in a bizarre form of conversion therapy that attempted to “cure” him of his homosexuality. Kept with other patients in a cult-like home in British … [Read more...] about The Inheritance of Shame by Peter Gajdics.
Upstairs Inferno is Now Available on DVD and Blu- Ray
In 2013, during the 40th Anniversary of the deadly Up Stairs Lounge Arson (one of the most significant, yet often overlooked events in LGBT history), Camina Entertainment publicly announced the production of Upstairs Inferno, a comprehensive and compassionate documentary recounting (what was) the “Largest Gay Mass Murder in U.S. History”. Today, Camina Entertainment proudly … [Read more...] about Upstairs Inferno is Now Available on DVD and Blu- Ray
Moments in Gay New Orleans History
The Year in LGBT+ Scholarship This is an exciting time for LGBT+ history enthusiasts. Consider the following Christmas presents: Out for Queer Blood Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice by Clayton Delery was recently published by Exposit, an imprint of McFarland & Co. Fernando Rios was a tour guide from Mexico City … [Read more...] about Moments in Gay New Orleans History