Unboxing Queer History

Every year, groups of volunteers at Gerber/Hart work for months researching for two large yearly exhibits. In 2019, five volunteers, Whit Sadusky, Veronica Rodriguez, Chase Ollis, Kurt Conley, and James Conley worked to create an exhibit on 1990s Queer Activism in Chicago.

Q: Activism at the Margins of Identity was set to open at Gerber/Hart in April 2020. When the Covid 19 pandemic hit, the exhibit opening was canceled and the library was closed for several months during shelter-in-place. While the curators were able to do an in-person closing event with Homocore Chicago members, most of the exhibit programming was done online.

What work goes into making an exhibit at Gerber/Hart? What does Queer Activism in the 1990s in Chicago look like? What was the “Homocorner”? Listen in to hear more from the curators about the Q exhibit - from Homocore Chicago, zines, Joan Jett Blakk, Queer Nation Chicago, The Pink Angels, and more.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville!

Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project!

Episode 7 of Unboxing Queer History is all about William B Kelley - a lifelong Chicago LGBTQ activist. The William B. Kelley and Chen K. Ooi collection is the cornerstone collection of Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, taking up more than an entire wall of the archives.

Want to know more about Bill Kelley and his activism? And about how his collection ended up at Gerber/Hart? Stay tuned and listen in on June 14th to the penultimate episode of Unboxing Queer History!

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville!

Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project!

“It was just an idea and we just went for it, and it turned out to be a heck of a lot of fun.”

GALS (the Great Angling Lesbian Society) was founded in 1994 by Sherry Pethers and Susan McCann. Sherry and Susan met in the late 1980s at a house party in the late 1980s. Sherry moved up to Chicago where she worked at a law firm while Susan worked in corporate America. Looking for ways to destress, they decided to form a fishing club and advertise in the gay papers.

At its largest, GALS boasted over 60 members. Anybody who they got their name and address, they sent out a “dear Jane” letter welcoming them. They set up a voicemail network where you could call in to leave messages about where you were fishing so other people could join. GALS grew to include fishing trips, training seminars, and various other activities. The GALS newsletters are a wonderful insight into the group, and are incredibly funny. This episode profiles one of the smallest but most beloved collections at Gerber/Hart. Why are small collections like GALS so important? How did this collection end up at Gerber/Hart? What did GALS mean to the women that were part of it? This episode includes an interview with co-founders Susan McCann and Sherry Pethers. Listen in to learn more!

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville! Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project

“I did not come out of the closet. I stepped out on the scene.”

Lorrainne Sade Baskerville is a Black trans woman who founded Chicago’s first trans-run, trans-serving social agency called transGenesis. Between 1995-2003, its services included street and community outreach, education, social support, counseling, and a HIV prevention program called T-PASS (Trans People Advocating Safer Sex). During her time in Chicago, she served on the boards of the Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) and the Chicago Police Department’s 23rd District Gay and Lesbian Advisory Group. Bringing transGenesis to life was Lorrainne’s dream, and its impact on Chicago’s trans community remains part of her legacy. In 2000, Lorrainne was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame.

In this episode Lorrainne shares her story with Gerber/Hart, many years after donating her collection to our archive. Her incredible collection of awards, transGenesis ephemera, and artwork sparked the interest of many volunteers, including archivist Whit Sadusky and Gerber/Hart Programs and Social Media Coordinator Jennifer Dentel. Listen to them discuss the importance of outreach and diversity in archival collections.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville! Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project

"An Exclusively Gay and Lesbian Bookstore for Chicago"

Time travel with us to a very special place in episode four of Unboxing Queer History!

Between 1988 and 1997, Carrie Barnett and Brett Shingledecker founded and ran People Like Us: Chicago’s only exclusively LGBTQ bookstore, located just north of Belmont at 3321 N. Clark Street.

The bookstore was unique at a time when many queer spaces were segregated into women’s or men’s spaces. Carrie and Brett did not separate lesbian and gay male literature, but instead shelved everything together by genre. Erotica was separated out, but otherwise the collection was integrated. This created an overlap; an interaction between two cultures that were often polarized even within the queer spectrum.

Of course, People Like Us became much, much more than just a bookstore - it was a cultural center: an everyday anchor for Chicago’s queer community, a tourist hotspot for queer visitors to Chicago, and a foundation for the development of queer literature by publishers. PLU even hosted an incredible number of queer legends and icons–polaroid photos from events show speakers from Alison Bechdel and Lea DeLaria to Rupert Kinnard, John Preston, Leslie Feinberg, Greg Louganis, Rita Mae Brown, and beyond.

Listen in to learn more about this incredible space and to hear from Carrie, Brett, and patrons of People Like Us on why having an exclusively LGBTQ bookstore was so important for the Chicago LGBTQ community, as well as where to find that touchstone today.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville! Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project

"What Does It Mean To Be Latina And Lesbian?"

Founded in 1995, Amigas Latinas was a volunteer-run organization that specifically served the LBTQ Latina community through monthly discussion groups, support groups, workshops, educational training, public programs, and events.

Amigas Latinas was founded by Evette Cardona and Mona Noriega. The group began as a small discussion group and grew to a large volunteer-led organization with monthly pláticas (discussion groups) at members’ homes, salsa nights, workshops, and a variety of other groups to address the needs of Chicago’s LBTQ Latina community. Workshops included assistance for women with children, coming out to family members, navigating the legal system, and education.

This episode includes a long-form interview with founders Mona Noriega and Evette Cardona as well as the voices of other members of this incredible community group.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville! Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project

“Finding our history is going to be a tool for our liberation”

On January 30th, 1981, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives opened its doors to the public. It was the first LGBTQ library in the Midwestern United States, brought to life through the efforts of the Chicago Gay and Lesbian History Project and Gay Horizons. The starting collection was entirely donated and managed mostly by volunteers. Volunteers are still “the backbone of Gerber/Hart”, doing everything from processing the archive and assisting patrons to curating exhibits and hosting events.

In addition to being a circulating library and an archives, Gerber/Hart hosts a variety of in-person and virtual events, from book talks, exhibit openings, and panels to a very popular used booksale.

In this episode, librarian and archivist Erin Bell discusses the early history of Gerber/Hart. Historian and author John D’Emilio describes queer history in the 1970s, bisexual and trans activism, and how individual donations were (and still are) crucial to the development of community archives and queer history.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville! Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project

In 2014, Gerber/Hart received a collection of photo albums that belonged to a performer named Miss Tillie “The Dirty Old Lady of Chicago.” The collection is incredibly rich, with over a thousand images of Miss Tillie performing throughout the 1940s-1990s as well as a VHS tape with a short documentary created by Daniel Lee that aired in 2002 at the Reeling Film Festival.

Much of Miss Tillie’s life is shrouded in mystery. We know that she moved to Chicago in 1961 from Dayton, Ohio. Tillie’s first show was at The Front Page, where she “screamed above a Sophie Tucker record.” Performer Roby Landers added “The Dirty Old Lady” to Tillie’s name, and from then on, she became known as Tillie “The Dirty Old Lady of Chicago.” Tillie performed all over Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. She was one of the early performers at The Chesterfield and was arrested in several bar raids that occurred there in the early 1960s. She also frequently performed at House of Landers and later worked with Chuck Renslow to start a drag show at Sparrow’s. Tillie passed away in 2005.

Listen in to learn more about Miss Tillie and her collection. Episode features interviews with grassroots historian Owen Keehnen, Gerber/Hart volunteer and staff member Jen Dentel, and former Gerber/Hart board president Carrie Barnett.

Want to learn more? Visit gerberhart.org!

Teaser trailer for Unboxing Queer History. Episode One - The Dirty Old Lady: Chicago Drag History and the Mystery of Miss Tillie is released February 1st, 2022.

Unboxing Queer History is a podcast from Gerber/Hart Library and Archives.

Unboxing Queer History is created by Ari Mejia, Jen Dentel, and Erin Bell. Produced by Ari Mejia with Hannah Viti. Artwork by Mere Montgomery & theme music by Danny Robles! And special thanks to Jules Gordon for co-producing the episode on People Like Us books and Alyssa Edes for producing the episode on Lorrainne Sade Baskerville!

Special thanks to RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) for the "My Library Is... " grant that funded this project!