LGBTQ+ at UR

In recent years, there have been efforts to honor and celebrate the history of LGBTQ+ activism that began on the University of Rochester campus. Below are just a few easily accessible articles and websites recounting the beginnings of the Gay Liberation Front in 1970:

• “Archival LGBTQI+ Collections.” Archival Material - Special Collections: LGBTQI+ Resources - LibGuides at the University of Rochester. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://libguides.lib.rochester.edu/lgbtqiplus/archival.
• “Forty Years Out.” Rochester Review (July-August 2013), LD4749.R671, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester. https://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V75N6/0401_emptycloset.html.
• “History- Rochester’s Early Days.” Rochester Rainbow Union. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://rochesterrainbowunion.com/history.
•  “Todd Union (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. Accessed September 16, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/places/todd-union.htm. 

A simple Google search will yield some useful information, including news articles celebrating the designation of Todd Union as a historic landmark because of its ties to Gay Liberation. It is wonderful that this moment in history is gaining recognition, but a movement is so much more than its beginnings. More work must be done to reflect a fuller LGBTQ+ history at the University of Rochester. Countless LGBTQ+ students have passed through the university, adding to the narrative and fighting for progress. This project is one step towards a fuller celebration of the LGBTQ+ life that has been present on campus for over half a century. 

Below are some further resources on LGBTQ+ and campus history.

Where can LGBTQ+ subjects, individuals, and references be found in the University Archive?

• Course Listings and Descriptions
• Student Newspapers
• Student Yearbooks
• Alumni Newsletters
• Ephemera (new collection dedicated to LGBTQ+)
• Susan B. Anthony Institute 
• Burgett Intercultural Center
• Theatrical Productions

Further Resources for Rochester LGBTQ+ History:

• Documentary:
  • Shoulders to Stand on: The LGBT History of Rochester (Indovino, Kevin, and Evelyn Bailey. Shoulders to Stand on : The LGBT History of Rochester. Rochester, New York: Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, 2013.)
    • Can be found in the University of Rochester Art and Music Library or the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Department.
    • Connected Blog: “About Stso.” Shoulders to Stand On Blog. https://shoulderstostandonblog.org
• The Empty Closet (Newspaper):
  • Mains, Tim, ed. The Empty Closet (Rochester, N.Y.). Rochester, N.Y: University of Rochester Gay Liberation Front, 1971.
• Past Student Project:
  • Wright, Rebecca, et al. Mapping Queer Rochester, rwrig17.digitalscholar.rochester.edu/PuttingRochestersLGBTQHistoryontheMap/. 
• ImageOut Film Festival:
  • “Our History.” ImageOut. https://imageout.org/about/our-history/.
• Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Collections:
  • AIDS Education Collection, D.500, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
  • Backstreets Bar Scrapbook, D.554, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
  • Gay Brotherhood of Rochester Papers, D.541, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
  • RJ Alcalá Gay Rights and Culture Collection, D.602, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
  • Rochester, New York Voices of LGBT History collection, D.640, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester