By Sarah Chikhani In the early 1990s, Sister Annette McDonagh and Sister Pauline Troncale carpooled to work at San José Clinic in Houston’s Second Ward. Every morning, Sister Annette, a pharmacist in her seventies, would bless the clinic with a splash of holy water and pray that she would not make any mistakes. Recalling the story with a laugh, Sister Pauline, who was CEO of the clinic at […]
Fifty-nine dollars is all it took to open one of the longest-running charity clinics in the United States. When Monsignor George T. Walsh decided to start a clinic in 1922 to battle high infant mortality rate in Houston’s Mexican community, he knew who to call on for help. With approval from Bishop Christopher Byrne, Msgr. […]
Letter from the Editor: Reflections on Love Debbie Z. Harwell, editor. Does anyone ever really forget their first love? Whether the relationship lasted a lifetime or ended too soon, it seems few people forget. In fact, the internet has an endless number of opinions and statistics on first loves. My first love was a gay […]
University of Houston graduate Phyllis Frye, affectionately known as the grandmother of the transgender legal and political movement, reflects on her life as an advocate and shares memories of her decades-long marriage with Trish, a beloved music teacher who passed away in 2020.
A conversation with Judy Reeves, Vince Lee, and Leandra Zarnow Judy Reeves, Vince Lee, and Leandra Zarnow discuss the history of GCAM’s origins. Judy Reeves—the lead curator who cofounded the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History (GCAM) in 1999—is a longtime Houston activist. Retired from the medical and banking […]
By Logan French Members of Hatch Youth decorate their float in preparation for a Pride parade. Photo courtesy of the Montrose Center. I knew her as a woman who sat behind dark glasses with a nearly constant, slight frown. She was quick to tell you harsh truths, exceptionally stubborn, and possibly loved more intensely than […]
By Erika Thompson On a brisk December morning, over flaky croissants and Parisian tea in dainty, porcelain cups, the answer was yes. Overwhelmingly, emphatically, unequivocally YES. There was no need to finish either the pitch or the ask; we were already completely on board. Houston LGBTQ activist Charles Law addresses a crowd during the 1979National March on Washington for Lesbianand Gay Rights.Photo courtesy of Botts Collection of LGBT History. It is a […]
By Christine Starkman Pam Francis was born in Houston, Texas, in 1954 and passed away in 2020. She received her BFA in graphic design and photography from the College of Fine Arts at The Universityof Texas at Austin. Pam Francis Photographs will be the first retrospective exhibition organized at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston on the work of Pam Francis (1954 – 2020). On display September 29 to October 6, 2021, the exhibition will feature iconic artworks depicting her technical mastery of luminous lighting and […]
By Lena Craven HAWC staff and volunteers cheerfully assist with the move to the center’s new headquarters at No. 4 Chelsea Place. All photos courtesy of Houston Area Women’s Clinic Photographs, Carey Shuart Women’s Research Collection, Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. Ellen Cohen remembers the public perception surrounding the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC) […]
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