San Francisco
— The program series for May 2019 sponsored by the GLBT Historical Society will highlight Two-Spirit activism, the Stonewall riots from the perspective of California, the life of Mr. S Leather founder Alan Selby, the relationship between organized labor and the LGBTQ community, and gay fiction set during World War I. The events take place at the GLBT Historical Society Museum at 4127 18th St. in the Castro District.
For more information, visit
www.glbthistory.org
.
Living History Discussion
Two-Spirit Voices: Still Here, Still Queer
Wednesday, May 1
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum
4127 18th
St., San Francisco
Admission: $5; free for members
For 20 years, Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits has been committed to activism and service for the Two-Spirit community. This program offers a look at the history and activism of the organization over the past two decades. Founding members of BAAITS, including Randy Burns, who also founded Gay American Indians in 1975, will engage in a dialog with current board members and community leaders. BAAITS is the subject of the ongoing exhibition “
Two-Spirit Voices: Returning to the Circle” at the GLBT Historical Society Museum. Tickets are available online at
https://bit.ly/2FyyHZw.
Book Launch
California and the Stonewall Riots
Thursday, May 9
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum
4127
18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5; free for members
The 1969 Stonewall riots, when LGBTQ people fought back against police harassment at a New York bar, are often described as the starting point of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Author Marc Stein will discuss his new book
The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History
(NYU Press),
which situates Stonewall in a broader perspective
. After reviewing pre-Stonewall LGBTQ protests in California, Stein will explore how news about the riots reached the West Coast, how Californians viewed the uprising and how Golden State residents responded to the news from New York. Stein is the Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History at San Francisco State University and serves as vice chair of the GLBT Historical Society Board of Directors. Tickets are available online at
https://bit.ly/2JDWH1q.
Exhibition Opening
The Mayor of Folsom Street: The Life and Legacy of Alan Selby
Friday, May 16
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5; free for members
A new exhibition at the GLBT Historical Society Museum uses archival documents, photographs, artifacts, fine art and digital displays to document the life of Alan Selby, also known as Mr. S, who opened the iconic leather and kink retail store Mr. S. Leather in the SoMa district in 1979. One of San Francisco’s longest-lived and best-known queer retail establishments, Mr. S. Leather grew into a de facto community center as well as an international destination.
Curated by Jordy Jones, Jeremy Prince and Gayle Rubin, and drawing on the Alan Selby papers preserved in the society’s archives, this transdisciplinary exhibition situates Selby’s life within the context of a changing SoMa neighborhood, AIDS charities and the emergence of a distinct queer leather and kink culture. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are available online at
https://bit.ly/2UairWO.
Fighting Back
Unions, Workers and Queers
Thursday, May 23
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5; free for members
The latest in the GLBT Historical Society’s monthly “Fighting Back” series exploring contemporary queer issues in a historical context, this panel will discuss the mutual support of organized labor and the LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Organized labor and LGBTQ activists have made common cause in San Francisco since the mid-1970s, when Harvey Milk helped create the connection. Panelists will consider how workers, unions and members of the LGBTQ community have built a worldwide relationship based on shared struggles, similar goals and common values. Tickets are available online at
https://bit.ly/2Oqpdmf.
Performance
Gay in the Great War
Thursday, May 30
7:00–9:00 p.m.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum
4127 18th St., San Francisco
Admission: $5; free for members
In this unique performance, author Lance Ringel will present a dramatized reading with music from his novel
Flower of Iowa (Smashwords), a carefully researched work about two soldiers, one American and one British, who fall in love on the Western Front in 1918 France. A tale of bravery and hidden love between men during some of the darkest hours of the 20th century,
Flower of Iowa showcases unforgettable characters, meticulous historic research and exhilarating storytelling. Tickets available online at
https://bit.ly/2HUSZOz.
ABOUT THE GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM
Open since January 2011, the GLBT Historical Society Museum (formerly known as the GLBT History Museum) is the first full-scale, stand-alone museum of its kind in the United States. Its Main Gallery features a long-term exhibition on San Francisco LGBTQ history, "Queer Past Becomes Present." Its Front Gallery and Community Gallery host changing exhibitions. The institution also sponsors forums, author talks and other programs.
The GLBT Historical Society Museum is a project of the GLBT Historical Society, a public history center and archives that collects, preserves and interprets the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and the communities that support them. Founded in 1985, the society maintains one of the world's largest collections of LGBTQ historical materials. For more information, visit
www.glbthistory.org
.
