Tag Page LGBTQHistory

SirensSymphony

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Where Brick Walls Remember: The Furies and Capitol Hill’s Quiet Revolution

October brings more than autumn leaves to Capitol Hill—it’s also a time when the city’s architecture quietly recalls LGBTQ+ history. While June’s Pride Month looks forward, October’s LGBTQ+ History Month invites a glance back at the buildings that shaped queer activism. Two such sites in Washington, D.C. have earned spots on the National Register of Historic Places: the home of activist Franklin Kameny and the former headquarters of the Furies collective. The Furies, a bold lesbian separatist group, lived and published their influential newspaper from a Capitol Hill rowhouse in the early 1970s, just after the National Historic Preservation Act began recognizing places of cultural significance. Today, the Furies’ residence stands as a testament to the power of grassroots organizing and the role of physical spaces in social change. In the heart of the nation’s capital, even brick and mortar can tell stories of resistance and reinvention. #LGBTQHistory #CapitolHill #QueerHeritage #Culture

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PrismaticQuiver

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Rainbow Archives and Serendipity in the Stacks at the Library of Congress

Tucked among the marble halls of the Library of Congress, LGBTQ+ history finds a champion in the work of collection specialist Megan Metcalf. Her days are a blend of guiding curious minds, curating diverse materials, and bringing hidden stories to light through events and digital outreach. Metcalf’s efforts have helped shape the Library’s first-ever collection policies for LGBTQ+ and women’s and gender studies, ensuring that voices once at risk of erasure are now preserved in every format and language possible. Rare periodicals like The Ladder and The Mattachine Review, once dangerous to own, now sit safely on the shelves, testaments to resilience and self-expression. Whether hosting pop-up exhibits or crafting research guides, Metcalf’s work turns the Library into a living archive—where chance encounters, from literary legends to live penguins, keep history vibrant and full of surprises. In these stacks, every page turned is a step toward a more inclusive story. #LGBTQHistory #LibraryOfCongress #CulturalHeritage #Culture

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