The discrimination facing the LGBTQ community for centuries from governments, religions, community groups, families, and individuals has forced LGBTQ people to form their own networks of allies and resources as a means of social, emotional, and financial support. Manifesting first as secret clubs or societies that shared information amongst members, as visibility grew these networks and clubs became outspoken organizations for LGBTQ rights with self-published newsletters that addressed many of the issues early LGBTQ groups faced. Many of these grassroots publications went on to become nationally recognized and professionally published resources for the LGBTQ community. They covered political activism efforts and the AIDS epidemic, ran ads for LGBTQ-friendly businesses, and created a social network that helped promote the visibility and ensure the safety of members of the community.
Publications in the exhibit such as the Lesbian Connection, the Gayellow Pages, and the Lesbian Herstory Archives Newsletter represent nationally distributed resources. Others, like Sunset People, the Lambda, Inc. newsletter, and The Hericane newsletter, represent the LGBTQ community in the southeastern United States, a region where people’s acceptance of the LGBTQ community falls behind the national average. The Alabama Forum, published from 1977-2002 in Birmingham under editor June Holloway, was one of the longest-running news sources for the LBGTQ community in the state of Alabama. These resources reveal the determination of southern LGBTQ communities in the face of adversity and their continuing efforts to advocate for equal rights and establish a vibrant and safe community.
 |
Program for Club My-O-My, New Orleans |
 |
Advertisement: “Nancy’s Bed” Private Lesbian Home for Women Travelers |
 |
Lesbian Connection |
 |
Sunset People |
 |
Gayellow Pages Advertisement |
 |
1989 National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Conference and Aids Institute Press Release |
 |
Lambda, Inc. Newsletter |
 |
National Lesbian Conference: 2nd Southern Regional Planning Meeting |
 |
“Toward the Nineties: Conscious Community and Lesbian/Gay Empowerment” Community Forum Schedule |
 |
The Hericane Newsletter |
 |
National Lesbian Conference Southern Regional Planning Meeting Pamphlet |
 |
Gay and Lesbian Association Political Action Committee Press Release: “First Gay New Orleans Politician Makes Run Off” |
 |
Press Release: “World’s Only Gay and Lesbian Arab Group Seeking Members; Branch Opens in San Francisco” |
 |
Southern Lesbians and Gay Men in Exile flyer |
 |
Two Eagles: An International Native American Gay and Lesbian Quarterly |
 |
LAMBDA Resource Center Newsletter |
 |
The Forward Observer: The Newsletter of the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America |
 |
Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come |
 |
Announcement: “First International Conference on the Lesbian Woman and Gay Man in Sport” |
 |
Lesbian Herstory Archives Newsletter |
 |
Birmingham SHOUT Film Festival Program Cover |
 |
Tuscaloosa Lesbian Coalition Resource List |