Check the Library of Congress Events Calendar to stay up-to-date on Library events. This is a sample of past LGBTQ+ related programming at the Library.
The Library hosted the all-new "Fab Five" from the Netflix show "Queer Eye" in conversation with Jonathan Capehart, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with the Washington Post, exploring how LGBTQ youth empowerment has become a popular culture phenomenon. LGBTQ youth from the Washington, D.C. area participated, including the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), GenOUT Choir, Wanda Alston House, Latin American Youth Center, congressional staff and students from American University and Georgetown University.
Co-hosted by the Library of Congress, Netflix, LC-GLOBE, and the LGBT Congressional Staff Association.
Agile case display in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, which occurred June 28 to July 1, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, New York City.Curated by LGBTQ+ Studies Librarian, Meg Metcalf.
The Stonewall Uprising has come to represent a turning point in the movement for LGBTQ+ civil rights in the United States. The Stonewall 50 exhibit illuminated the context surrounding this historical event, with materials representing activism from the time periods before and after June 28, 1969.The “Before Stonewall” materials primarily dated in the 1950s, representing the education-focused homophile movement that preceded the Stonewall uprising, as well as materials from the Queens Liberation Front and Vanguard Youth. “After Stonewall” materials highlight the more radical Gay Liberation Movement.Materials were drawn from the papers of Lilli Vincenz and Franklin Kameny, two early LGBTQ+ rights pioneers.Kameny and Vincenz worked together frequently, both being present at some of the earliest LGBTQ+ protests in United States history.Kameny co-founded the D.C. chapter of the Mattachine Society, an early homophile rights organization.Vincenz was one of the first lesbian members of the D.C. branch of the Mattachine Society, going on to become editor of its publication, “The Homosexual Citizen.” In 1969, Vincenz would co-found “The Gay Blade”, known widely today as “The Washington Blade,” which is still widely considered to be the LGBTQ+ newspaper of record.
Library curators display and describe items from the collections that were part of a special pop-up exhibit, "Pride in the Library," featuring the works of LGBTQ+ creators and representations of LGBTQ+ life in America.
The materials on display highlighted the creativity, innovation and courage of the LGBTQ+ community throughout history and showcased the work of writers, performers, activists, public figures and service members through books, manuscripts, newspapers, recordings and ephemera. These voices preserve our American story and its international connections.
A selected list of materials that were on display includes the following collections and materials. In most cases, the links will display fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to digital collections and other online resources are included when available.