Picture of the Month
Around
the turn of the 20th century, when private publishers received
government permission to sell picture postcards, they quickly added farcical images
to their stock of famous landmarks and cute pets. Often portraying embarrassing
or suggestive situations, they thought GLBT people were especially amusing. In
this Bamford card from 1910, the attempted humor comes not only from the
lovelorn spinster hoping for a man -- a stock character -- but also from the
poor soul's actually being a man in drag.
"Oh! Father Christmas hear my prayer,
And grant it if you can.
I've hung a pair or trousers there,
Please fill them with a man."
Whether
you hang trousers or stockings by the chimney with care, may all your holiday
wishes come true.
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Panel Discussion: Bay Area Black Lesbian Organizations and Publications
 Saturday, December 5th
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
657 Mission Street, Suite 300
San Francisco
Join us for a conversation with Bay Area black lesbians about their organizations and history. The participants will include Lenn
Keller, photographer, filmmaker, and archivist; Mary Midgett, author,
founder of NIA and Bay Area Black Lesbian and Gays; Terry King of African
American Lesbians Over 40; and Peggy Moore, founder of Sistahs Steppin' in
Pride. The panel will be moderated by Lisbet Tellefsen, archivist and founder of Aché: A
Journal For Lesbians of African Descent.
Be sure to view both of the Historical Society's exhibits on the lives of African American lesbians. The two exhibits will run through Dec. 23 at the GLBTHS.
The image above is Creating Onyx, cover art for Onyx by Sarita Johnson.
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Launch for the GLBT Historical Society's
Bay Area Reporter Obituary Project
The online obituary project began as an attempt by Tom
Burtch to locate the published obituaries of members of the San Francisco
Gay Men's Chorus. (268 members have died since the chorus formed.) Tom realized that a much larger audience would benefit from a complete listing of all the obituaries that have
appeared in the Bay Area Reporter (B.A.R.).
Arguably, the vast majority of
obituaries published by the B.A.R. are of people who have died of AIDS or AIDS-related
diseases. Nevertheless, this project is not intended to infer any causes of death beyond the causes
specified in the individual listings. Included in the project are victims of crimes reported in
the paper, as well as memorial listings that often appear on the anniversary of
a person's death.
The online, searchable obituary database will be available at http://www.glbthistory.org/obituaries beginning December 1st, 2009 in honor of World AIDS Day.
Tom is happy to consult with others
interested in starting a similar project in their communities. You can reach him at
obituaries@glbthistory.org.
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Women:
Have a Voice in Your History!
Join us at the GLBT Historical Society's next Women's Committee meeting on December 14th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., 657 Mission Street, #300.
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Ongoing at the GLBT Historical Society
Research Hours:
Tuesdays - Fridays by appointment only.
Saturdays: open to the general public 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Museum Hours:
657 Mission Street, Suite 300,
Tuesdays - Saturdays 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.:
- Main Gallery Closed Until January 2010
*Please note that the exhibits, archives, and research center will be closed from Thursday, December 24 through Monday, January 4. |
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Support the GLBT
Historical Society
Raise money for the GLBTHS by donating unwanted items to Community Thrift Store and by shopping there!
Community Thrift Store!
624 Valencia Street
(between 16th & 17th)
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 861-4910
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DECEMBER
HISTORICAL MOMENTS
December 5, 1984
Berkeley, California, becomes the first city in the United States
to extend spousal benefits to the domestic partners of city employees.
December 10, 1924
Henry
Gerber, a German-born immigrant and early gay rights activist, receives a
charter from the state of Illinois
for the Society for Human Rights (SHR), the nation's oldest documented homosexual organization. African
American clergyman John T. Graves becomes the group's first
president.
December 11, 1975
David
Kopay -- a former running back for the San
Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins,
New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers -- becomes the first major professional
athlete to come out voluntarily.
December 15, 1973
After
years of controversy and of frequently stormy debate, the Board of Trustees of the
American Psychiatric Association declares that "by itself, homosexuality
does not meet the criteria for being a psychiatric disorder."
December 22, 1970
The
San Francisco Free Press publishes
Carl Wittman's Refugees from Amerika: A Gay Manifesto, which, when reprinted
and distributed all across the country in the next year, quickly becomes a
guide to gay activism.
December 29, 1971
Wakefield
Poole's trend-setting film Boys in the Sand
premieres at the 55th Street
Playhouse in New York City.
A dramatic departure from the low-budget pornography previously available, the
slickly produced film prompts Variety
to remark, "There are no more closets."
December 31, 1964
San Francisco police harass some 600 guests attending a New Year's
Ball sponsored by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. The police photograph guests
as they arrive, and then demand entry to the auditorium without search warrants. It
is the first time many liberal heterosexuals have witnessed police harassment
of lesbians and gay men. |
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DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
December 7, 1873
Willa Cather, author
December 8, 1626
Christina, Queen of Sweden
December 9, 1717
Johann Winckelmann,
archaeologist
December 11, 1908
Quentin Crisp, raconteur
December 15, 1861
Vida Dutton Scudder, educator, author, social activist
December 16, 1899
Noel
Coward, composer, playwright
December 17, 1904
Paul
Cadmus, artist
December 19, 1910
Jean
Genet, novelist and playwright
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