Community Corner

LGBT Center Calls On New Yorkers For Stonewall Riots Archive

The center is asking New Yorkers to submit their memorabilia from the 1969 riots for a new digital archive.

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A new project aims to digitally archive historical documents and objects from the 1969 Stonewall Riots and the surrounding years of activism for the queer community.

The West Village's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center has launched Stonewall Forever to tell the diverse stories of the five days of riots that were a watershed moment for gay rights. Activist materials from 1968-1971 will also be collected.

"While historians have an understanding of the events, there is a need for a greater variety of voices to reflect the diversity of participants in the riots and the LGBTQ rights movement as a whole," according to the project's website.

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The center is calling for submissions in an array of forms including photographs, films, oral histories, interviews, protest materials, unpublished writings such as letters and diaries and more to help illuminate the historic period and the experiences of those who lived it.

Contributions will be considered for digitization and preservation in an online collection that will be available at Google Arts & Culture and at The LGBT Community Center's National History Archive in the West Village. The project is supported by Google.org.

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If you were part of this history, knew someone who was and have historical materials to contribute to the archive, contact The LGBT Community Center through this form.


Photo credit: Shutterstock

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