Queer Resistance, Queer Joy

The path of progress is rarely linear, but one thing remains constant: queer and trans people have always been here, and we always will be. The History Project will remain a solid foundation for Boston’s LGBTQ+ community to connect with our shared legacy. 

Our queer and trans predecessors fought for our lives, visibility, and community. We have weathered countless storms with resilience and joy, grieving our losses while continuing to strive toward liberation. Learning from the past is not just an act of remembrance but also an act of resistance against those who want to erase us.

The lessons from our history—found in the stories, photographs, and voices preserved in our archives—remind us of the strength and courage that lives within us. We invite you to reflect with us in our new digital exhibit—Queer Resistance, Queer Joy—to explore the strength and enduring spirit of our community.

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Filmmaker Marlon Riggs holding up a fist at a 1990 Lesbian and Gay Studies Conference at Harvard University.

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Members of the Combahee River Collective at the March and Rally for Bellana Borde against police brutality, Boston, January 15, 1980.

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Members of Mass Act Out, a precursor group to Boston ACT UP, under a canopy of balloons, shouting while police officers hold them back, circa 1987.
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James (Jimmy) Saslow, in costume, standing on top of the Gay Community News car in the 1974 Boston Pride.

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Two members of Black and White Men Together march in protest.

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Man poses and makes a heart-shape with his arms on a beach in Provincetown, Mass., circa 1950s.
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Gay men's guerrilla theater troupe, United Fruit Company, 1986.

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A promotional photo of members of the band Casselberry-Dupree laughing.

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Celebrating a triple gay wedding at Jacqui Mac's club, 1976.

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Four members of Adult Children of Heterosexuals, including Abe Rybeck, posed in song, circa late 1980s or early 1990s.
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Two men kissing during a Labor Day protest in Provincetown, 1970.
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Sabrina Sojourner and Debbie Lenter at the 1987 National Women's Studies Association Conference held at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.
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Members of "El Comite Latino y Sus Amigos" march with raised arms down Boylston Street (probably Pride 1989).
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Protester holding TRANS RESISTANCE FOR BLACK TRANS LIVES sign at Trans Resistance March, Boston, 2020.

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GCN staffers Cindy Patton and Neil Miller holding a banner that reads "Fighting for our lives," 1983.

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Four LESLA (Lesbianas Latina) members march with banners in 1990 Pride march.
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AIDS activists Reggie Williams, John Teamer, and Eric Rofes presenting a check for the Township AIDS Project, circa 1990.
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Jaqui Mac and Steve Blevins smiling at bar entrance, circa 1976.
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A Daughters of Bilitis softball game, undated. The Boston chapter of the lesbian organization Daughters of Bilitis was founded in 1969.
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Three Batucada Bells, an all-women percussion troupe, in a Pride march, 1986.
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Chicana feminist writer and activist Cherríe Moraga reading into a microphone, 1981.
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Protesters holding BLACK TRANS LIVES ARE SACRED [in English and Hanzi] and BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER signs at Trans Resistance March, 2020.

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Club Antorcha (initially Latinos Unidos) was founded in 1989 from a focus group and survey conducted by Orlando Del Valle on Latino gay men's health sponsored by Latino Health Institute. Pride 1991.

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Photograph of Labor Day protest in Provincetown, 1970.
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Two people, one wearing glasses and one wearing a "Foster Equality" sticker on their shirt. From Mike Riegle collection, 1986.

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Sophie Pann and Nancy Hughes, members of the Boston Women's Theater.

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Drag performer Sylvia Sidney marching in drag at Boston Pride 1974.
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Drag performers Sylvia Sidney and Gloria Gaynor posing together, circa 1977.
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Demonstrators from the Boston Area Gay Schoolworkers standing under a balcony on which a cameraman can be seen filming, 1985.
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Activist Beverly Smith speaking at Boston Pride, 1979.
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Athena Vaugh, organizer, speaks at the 2020 Trans Resistance March, Franklin Park, Boston.

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Black and White Men Together with banner marching in front of MA State House.

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Musician June Millington (of Fanny) performing circa 1981.
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Lesbian activist and educator Mary Midgett smiling, circa 1985.
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A promotional photo of members of the band Casselberry-Dupree smiling.

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Chastity Bowick with megaphone outside of Boston Police Department, Trans Resistance March, 2020.
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Amy & Roberta's Wedding, November 2004.
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Group photo of Gay Community News staffers, 1984.

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Singer Woody Simmons performing at Passim's, 1981.
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The Boston Gay Men's Chorus poses outside of a stone building on a sunny day in May, 1988.

Words from the Archive

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Queer Resistance, Queer Joy