In 1994, the editor of the quarterly magazine of the Missouri Historical Society (MHS), then called Gateway Heritage, had to push hard to bring to publication an article I had written about Rev. Carol Cureton, the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, and the impact the twenty-seven-year-old out lesbian and the nascent “homosexual church”…
Missouri History Museum Illuminates St. Louis’ LGBTQ+ History in Gateway to Pride Exhibit
It’s the museum’s first-ever exhibition dedicated to celebrating the history and contributions of LGBTQ+ St. Louisans.
St. Louis Arts Community Teams up to Promote Dance, Poetry and Voter Registration at the Missouri History Museum through “Dance the Vote”
The St. Louis arts community has teamed up to promote voter awareness and registration through the “Dance the Vote” campaign. This project brings together local artists who seek to make a difference during this election season by getting people registered to vote before the October 10th Missouri voter registration deadline for the upcoming November 6th…
History’s Hellcats Brought to Life by Ian Darnell
Long before speaking truth to power became standard operating procedure for those of us on the margins, St. Louisan Mabel Thorpe was doing it with panache. Her first official scrape with the law was in 1913 during a strike by female telephone operators downtown. She was arrested for disobeying and insulting a police officer. Then,…
World AIDS Day 2017
Today is World AIDS Day, and it’s worth taking a moment to take stock. First celebrated in 1988, it’s a day for people worldwide to show solidarity against the disease. The breathtaking devastation of the epidemic’s mysterious and stigma-filled beginnings in the 1980s is not today’s reality. Fewer people are dying and we understand far…
Drawing a Map to LGBT History
A spiffy new enterprise is making use of technology and research to tell tales of the past. It’s an online map that shows you exactly where — to the pinpoint — LGBT history happened in St. Louis. Mapping LGBTQ St. Louis is an interactive digital history project that combines the mapping and research efforts of…