DOCUMENTING QUEER VOICES in the SOUTH by Ashley D. Cole A
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“I WANTED TO BE JUST WHAT I WAS:” DOCUMENTING QUEER VOICES IN THE SOUTH by Ashley D. Cole A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Public History Middle Tennessee State University December 2016 Thesis Committee: Dr. Kelly Kolar, Chair Dr. Pippa Holloway ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Kelly Kolar for her guidance and patience with me during my extended stay in the Public History program at MTSU. Dr. Kolar has continuously offered support and encouragement throughout my thesis writing process. She has been dedicated to the completion of this thesis, even when I was not. Dr. Pippa Holloway has also been an invaluable resource for developing my historiographical background for this thesis. Completion of this program would not have been possible without the love, support, and encouragement of my parents, Valorie and Curt Cole. I am so grateful to them for continuously helping me in my educational endeavors (and throughout my life in general). Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Rachel Rogers, for reading drafts even when she would rather not, for being my constant cheerleader, and for providing me with the stability and support to pursue my academic career. Rachel has been a source of inspiration for this thesis in that she lives authentically and lets her queer Southern voice be heard, even when met with resistance and rejection from those whom she loves. ii ABSTRACT This thesis explores themes in queer history and the concept of archival activism to argue for development of LGBT archival collections in the South that adequately reflect the region. Chapter One discusses trends in queer history with an emphasis on regional variations in the South, as well as the obstacles historians have faced in gaining access to queer archival material. Chapter Two engages archival theory to build a framework for supporting queer archives. Chapter Three examines current collections of LGBT archival material at universities and public institutions in the South, to show how oral history projects developed in cooperation with queer community organizations have the ability to capture the experiences of queer people who would otherwise be unrepresented in the historical record. The inclusion of participants who lived in the South before the rise of gay rights activism broadens the scope to reflect unique aspects of the region: experiences with religious institutions, rural life outside of urban queer communities, and the roles of race and class in shaping sexual identities. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review .................................................................................................. 3 Scope and Approach ............................................................................................ 11 Structure ............................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER ONE: DOCUMENTING QUEER HISTORY .............................................. 17 Development of a Queer Identity ......................................................................... 18 A Specifically Southern Narrative ....................................................................... 26 The Legacy of Homophobia in the Archives ....................................................... 36 “Outing” Those from the Past .............................................................................. 40 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER TWO: QUEER VOICES IN THE ARCHIVES ........................................... 46 Activist Archivists ............................................................................................... 48 Archival Silence ................................................................................................... 59 Grassroots Archives and Mainstream Institutions ............................................... 65 Queer Sources for Queer Archives ...................................................................... 74 Oral History as Evidence ..................................................................................... 81 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 85 CHAPTER THREE: QUEER COLLECTIONS WITH A SOUTHERN ACCENT ....... 86 Building on Activist Foundations ........................................................................ 90 Using Oral History to Fill in the Gaps ............................................................... 103 Community Engagement ................................................................................... 111 iv The Brooks Fund History Project ...................................................................... 114 Web-Based Initiatives ........................................................................................ 123 Recommendations for the Development of Southern Queer Archives .............. 127 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 135 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 137 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 144 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 154 Appendix A: Collections in North Carolina ...................................................... 155 Appendix B: Collections in Georgia .................................................................. 161 Appendix C: Collections in Louisiana ............................................................... 166 Appendix D: Collections in Tennessee .............................................................. 169 Appendix E: Collections in South Carolina ....................................................... 170 Appendix F: Collections in Virginia .................................................................. 171 v 1 INTRODUCTION “I’ve been an actor most of my life.”1 This statement, made by a Southern gay man as part of an oral history project, exemplifies the challenge faced by archivists who attempt to document lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lives in the South. When the historical subject has lived a hidden life, intervention by the archivist is required to facilitate the inclusion of queer lives in the documentary record. For many queer Southerners, threats to family and community relationships, employment opportunities, and physical safety have prevented them from living openly and authentically. Another oral history participant, who did not live as an openly gay man until age 65, discussed “coming out”2 to a close friend from school: “I told her that there was a secret that I had that only God knew, only God and I knew. And during that weekend while we were together … I told her that I was homosexual, that I had kept this from her, that I had kept it from my family. I tried to keep it from other people as much as I could.”3 Southern voices like these create a narrative that is different from those of the struggle for equality in New York or San Francisco, therefore the preservation of the Southern record requires a unique approach. 1. K.C. Potter, “A Secret Only God Knows,” The Brooks Fund History Project, http://www.cfmt.org/thebrooksfundhistoryproject/ (accessed Jan. 30, 2016). 2. “Coming out” is a colloquial term for self-disclosure of one’s queer sexuality or gender identity, and “coming out of the closet” is a colloquial term for living as an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer person. 3. Jere Mitchum, The Brooks Fund History Project, http://www.cfmt.org/thebrooksfundhistoryproject/ (accessed Jan. 30, 2016). 2 With the mission of collecting, preserving, and providing access to the documentation of the past, the archivist is charged with the responsibility of maintaining evidence of our cultural heritage. According to The Society of American Archivists Core Values Statement, “Archivists embrace the importance of identifying, preserving, and working with communities to actively document those whose voices have been overlooked or marginalized.”4 While several American cities in other parts of the country have archival collections that are dedicated to queer life, those living in the South often do not have a similar framework of political activism and community organizing upon which to build collections. However, the stories of individuals who managed to survive in an environment that is often hostile to queer people provide important insight into the daily struggle that goes beyond the successes of the modern-day movement for equal rights. The first-person accounts of the ways in which queer people lived in Southern communities yield invaluable resources for examining methods of resistance outside of the political arena and revealing basic means of survival. While historians are able to read between the lines of news stories, court cases, and census records, personal accounts in the form of oral histories and personal papers are a researcher’s gold mine for stories of both struggle and acceptance, as well as the agency of everyday people. This thesis examines the following concepts to make the case for developing