Mariel Castro, GLBT Historical Society Deputy Director Daniel Bao, curator Gerard Koskovich and activist Cleve Jones in the Front Gallery of The GLBT History Museum. Photo: Jane Philomen Cleland.

Mariela Castro, a sexologist and the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, visited The GLBT History Museum on Friday, May 25, for a private tour. Joining Castro was her husband, Italian photographer Paolo Titolo, and Jeff Cotter, director of the Rainbow World Fund, one of the hosts of her visit to San Francisco.   

At the end of the tour, Castro commented in Spanish in the museum guest book, "I feel very honored to have visited this small museum, where I  learned a lot. History helps us understand the present. With this visit, I want to honor Harvey Milk and everyone who fights for the emancipation of all human beings."

Mariela Castro Espín is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana. Her group campaigns for effective AIDS prevention as well as recognition and acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transvestite and transgender human rights.       

Author Talk 

Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader

Thursday, June 7  |  7:00 - 9:00 p.m. 

Performance & Discussion  

Collaborative Practice and the Future of Queer Memory

Sunday, June 10  |  6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Atlanta-based performance collective John Q, GLBT Historical Society artist-in-residence E.G. Crichton and artist and Queer Cultural Center cofounder Rudy Lemcke come together for an early evening of performance and conversation exploring the intersection of archival research and the creative process. Crichton, Lemcke and John Q members Joey Orr, Andy Ditzler and Wesley Chenault will present examples from their current collaborative project on the future of memory, crafting a dialogue based on actual material from queer archives in Atlanta and San Francisco. The program is cosponsored by the Queer Cultural Center as part of the 15th Annual National Queer Arts Festival.

Film Discussion

Submerged Queer Spaces: Urban  

Archeology and Architectural Remains

Wednesday, June 13  |  7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Composer-filmmaker Jack Curtis Dubowsky discusses Submerged Queer Spaces, his documentary feature that views San Francisco queer history through the lens of urban archeology. As the city grew and gentrified, bars, restaurants, parks, alleys, bathhouses and other gathering spots of the queer community were remodeled, repurposed, rebuilt or destroyed. Premiering on June 16 at the Frameline Festival, Submerged Queer Spaces looks at the queer architectural remains of such historic sites. Local interview subjects from the film will be present to recount their memories of these spaces. Cinematographer Wilfred Galila will talk about his innovative camerawork, and the filmmakers will discuss working with the GLBT Historical Society, which provided archival sources for the film.

Joint Lecture 

Religion and Homosexuality in  

20th-Century America: Two Views  

Thursday, June 14  |  7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The recipients of the 2011-2012 LGBT Religious History Award from the LGBT Religious Archives Network will provide overviews of their award-winning research. Rebecca L. Davis, associate professor of history at the University of Delaware, will present "The Marriage Cure: Liberal Protestant Advice About Same-Sex Desires in the 1950s." Anthony Michael Petro, assistant professor of religious studies at New York University, will present "Protest Religion! ACT UP and the Ethics of Sex."

Author Panel

GuyWriters Presents Three  

San Francisco Queer Novelists  

Monday, June 18  |  7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Three San Francisco queer novelists will read from their recent work: Jim Provenzano, author of Every Time I Think of You (CreateSpace/Myrmidude Press, 2011) and other novels; Lewis DeSimone, author of The Heart's History (Lethe Press, 2012) and other works; and Michael Alenyikov, author of Ivan and Misha: Stories (Triquarterly, 2010). Following the readings, writer James Siegel will briefly interview each of the authors. The event is presented by GuyWriters, a Bay Area community network that celebrates and supports gay men's literary creativity.   

Living History Talk

Gilbert Baker in Conversation With Cleve Jones:  

1978 and the Birth of the Rainbow Flag

Tuesday, June 19  |  7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Artist Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag for the Pride Parade in San Francisco in 1978 -- a momentous year in GLBT history that included the inauguration of Harvey Milk as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, the defeat of the antigay Briggs Initiative and Milk's assassination after just 11 months in office. In the subsequent three decades, the flag has become an international symbol of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride. Baker joins his friend, longtime gay activist Cleve Jones, who served as an intern in Milk's office and who later founded the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, in discussing the birth of the rainbow flag and the tumultuous year of 1978.