Moments in Queer New Orleans History

As 2019 draws to a close, the New Orleans-based LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana can look back on a year of solid accomplishments. In addition to facilitating the donation of material to area libraries and museums across the state, the Archives Project also launched an Oral History Initiative and opened a new exhibit space. As a statewide collective, the Archives … [Read more...] about The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana Year in Review

In 1977, Tom M. Horner, a former Episcopal priest, had two things on his mind—finishing his book on homosexuality in the Bible, and opening a gay & lesbian-themed bookstore.  By 1978, Jonathan Loved David: Homosexuality in Biblical Times was published by the Westminster Press and Horner signed a lease on a space for a bookstore at the corner of Frenchmen and Chartres … [Read more...] about The Bookstore on Frenchmen

Christopher Daigle was a banker before he became a gay activist in the early 1990s.  Educated at Loyola University, Fairfield University and Dartmouth College, Daigle settled in New Orleans and took a job as the Director of the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Life at Tulane University, Daigle became involved in LAGPAC and led the organization for roughly … [Read more...] about Remembering the Legacy of Chris Daigle

There have always been queer people in New Orleans, and while the city currently looks favorably upon us, it wasn’t always so.  It wasn’t too long ago that rainbow flags on Rampart Street and Mayoral proclamations for Pride and Southern Decadence would have been inconceivable.  The New Orleans Police Department was still raiding gay bars as recently as the … [Read more...] about The Rose Room, the Goldenrod Inn, and Police Raids

I recently had an especially memorable and quite perfect lunch with Katie Nachod.  Although Katie is a long-time reference librarian with a career’s worth of experience at Tulane University and the Louisiana Supreme Court Law Library, and although I serve as President of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, and although we both have degrees in English, and although we … [Read more...] about The Gentlemanly Last Years of George Dureau

Like so many trans people, Courtney Sharp’s journey to self-realization was a long one.  Growing up, she knew she was different but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.  All she knew for sure was that she had better keep that difference secret.  Her family was religious, and this was North Louisiana, after all.  When her “difference” began to manifest, her … [Read more...] about Courtney Sharp: Unsung Trans Hero

The recent controversy surrounding Wood Enterprises seems to have quieted down.  For those readers who have been in a coma or may not otherwise know, Tom Wood aroused the anger of a significant portion of the leather community earlier this year when it was revealed that he was responsible for the closure of the Phoenix’s upstairs darkroom.  A boycott of Wood owned … [Read more...] about Gay Bars, Gender Discrimination, and Boycotts—1980s Style

Now that Pride month is over and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising has come and gone, the marking of this milestone year will now be written into the history books.  The most significant—perhaps “remarkable” is the better word—legacy of this year’s celebration is the official apology issued by the NYPD.  Commenting on the raid that helped spark the modern … [Read more...] about Police Can Be So Adamant