Happy Holidays from NQH
Happy Holidays from NQH
Make way for some yuletide gay
🎵 Listening to: “Last Christmas” by WHAM! 🎁
Hey, friends! It’s been a minute since our last newsletter, and a few fantastic things have happened, so let’s catch up.
Vanderbilt University Libraries published the first batch of items for their new online, publicly-available LGBTQ+ digital collection. Explore Nashville gay newspapers and documents from past Pride events! 🌈
Our first Community Digitization Day was a success. Held on October 15 at Vanderbilt’s Center for Digital Humanities with our grant partner Nashville Sites, people showed up with newsletters from Nashville’s Lesbian & Gay Coalition for Justice, top song lists from Warehouse 28, and photographs of gay house parties. These donated digital items will be made available through NQH’s forthcoming Digital Archive. We are expecting a beta launch of the archive in June.
We have officially narrowed down the tour stops for the upcoming historic LGBTQ+ sites driving/walking tour with Nashville Sites. NQH volunteers began working on the metadata and tour narratives this month. Our tour launch party event will be held on Thursday evening, March 30th at Thistle Farms, so MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
NQH founder Sarah Calise started writing the book!!! Y’All Come Out Now Y’Hear: Nashville’s Queer History is forthcoming from Vanderbilt University Press. Expected publication date is 2024.
Cruising into 2023
We have some tabling events lined up for early January, including the opening of a brand new art gallery: join us at FEMME on 1/7 from 7-11PM at 100 Taylor Street, Nashville, TN.
Also upcoming is a book talk and signing with Dr. La Shonda Mims, a dear friend of NQH and professor at Middle Tennessee State University. She recently published an incredible book, Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists: Queer Women in the Urban South. Stay tuned for updates on this event. 📚
Next year, NQH will also be starting monthly meetings for volunteers and the public to update each other on NQH projects, socialize, and occasionally host special guests, like LGBTQ elders from Nashville to share their stories. The first monthly meeting will take place on Thursday, January 19th at 6:00pm in the Large Meeting Room at Green Hills Public Library, 3701 Benham Ave, Nashville, TN 37215. Our plan is to make these meetings hybrid with Zoom.
CALL TO ACTION
On Wednesday, January 4th at 7pm, Pecker’s Bar & Grill (237 Hermitage Ave) will be hosting an event to write postcards against discriminatory bills in the Tennessee General Assembly. Pecker’s and Tennessee Equality Project will provide the cards, scripts, and everything to make it easy to make your voice heard. Looks like we have another intense “Slate of Hate” ahead of us. Thank you to TEP and the activists in our community for standing up to bigotry.
Happy holidays from NQH! 🌟
We hope you have a joyous and safe holiday season. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest updates and announcements.