The states of Mississippi and North Carolina made it illegal just this year to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. In 2016! And other state legislatures are rushing to propose similar laws.

This is exactly why LGBTQ history is so important. By educating the public about decades of discrimination, we confront the mistakes of the past. By sharing the story of our struggles and triumphs, we inspire our community and our allies to work for equality.
Click here to watch managing archivist Joanna Black and Executive Director Terry Beswick discuss the archives move!
At the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco, we've built an extraordinary trove of personal and organizational histories going back over 100 years. Historians, authors, filmmakers and students from around the world rely on these materials to tell our stories. 

With the help of our community over the past 30 years, we've brought together collections so extensive that we have run out of space. Now our lease is up at our current location -- and we need more room so the archives can continue to grow.
Fortunately, we have found a bigger space -- which was no easy task in San Francisco. It's accessible, secure and climate controlled to protect the archives. We'll have plenty of room to add to our holdings in the coming years.
 
But the move will not be cheap. Archives must be handled by expert movers, and the sheer volume of irreplaceable papers, recordings, film, photographs, art and artifacts is challenging.
So we've launched an Indiegogo campaign to pay for the move -- and if you donate $50 or more ($30 for low income), you'll receive membership benefits for an entire year, plus you'll get special GLBT History Museum gifts and an invitation for you and a guest to a special preview opening of the new Market Street archives!
Here's a partial view of the new 8,900 sq ft archives and office space at 989 Market Street, prior to build-out. With your help, soon it will be filled with our history!
 
We've raised about $6,000 towards our $25,000 goal -- and our board members have pledged to match the first $10,000 raised by the end of the campaign on April 30. That's in less than two weeks! To double the impact of your donation today, click here.

Monthly installments are also welcome. If you prefer to make a monthly recurring donation, please click here. You can also donate by mail, addressing a check to the GLBT Historical Society and mailing to 657 Mission St., Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105-4113.
We know you share our belief that preserving and presenting the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities is critically important to creating respect for LGBTQ people everywhere.
Let's make sure our country doesn't go the way of Mississippi and North Carolina. Let's make sure we know and learn from our past. A first step to that knowledge starts right here in the archives of the GLBT Historical Society.

Thank you for supporting our history!


Terry Beswick, executive director
& Joanna Black, managing archivist
  
The GLBT Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization; donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law. Tax ID #94-29890044.