From Dumpster Diving to Dallas Buyers Club: Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History
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 […]
The Legacy and Career of Deb Murphy
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 […]
Preserving Black LGBTQ+ History
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 […]
The Life and Times of Diana
By Christian Kelleher Tom “Ava” Osborn, David Moncrief, Charles Hebert, and the statue of Diana in the earliest known photograph of the Diana Awards, 1969, at the Windmill Theater. This photograph was scanned by Brandon Wolf from Tom Osborn’s collection, but the location of the original copy is currently unknown. Digital scan courtesy of The […]
The Pam Francis Portraits
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 […]
Houston Area Women’s Center
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) […]
The History of Hospital Care in Waller County
By Michael Zhou and Mark Tschaepe Illustrated in the 1926 PVAMU yearbook, the second iteration hospital has clearly upgraded from the first iteration, embodying the foundation for PVAMU’s College of Nursing. Photo courtesy of Prairie View A&M University Special Collections/Archives Department. A cross-shaped, one-story, beige building stands on 6th Street in Hempstead, Texas. Some old […]
It Is There I Feel the Spirit: Houston’s Third Ward
By Marie-Theresa Hernández and Naomi Mitchell Carrier The objects you find in Third Ward show you everything you’re willing to see. You look at this car, and what do you see? I see time. The time before the transition. A car that is the 1960s equivalent of a Mercedes today. The Civil Rights Movement is […]
18.1 Resilient Houston: Documenting Hurricane Harvey Letter from the Editor
Debbie Z. Harwell, Editor Letter from the Editor: In the aftermath of local storms, many Houstonians claim the frequency of flooding has increased, raising the question: how accurate are those statements? The city’s first flood occurred in April 1837, just eight months after Houston was founded at the confluence of Buffalo and White Oak Bayous. […]