Accessibility and promotion of the LGBTQ+ collections is a top priority at the Historical Society of Long Beach (HSLB). Since reopening to the public in 2021, there have been multiple people from as far away as Germany visit HSLB to research the history of the LGBTQ+ community in Long Beach—a pioneering community in this country.
More than 20 Individual collections are housed at HSLB. They include photographs and photo albums, event programs, flyers, matchbooks, bumper stickers, clothing, Long Beach Pride souvenirs, pins/buttons, banners, posters, magazines, travel and guidebooks, newsletters, newspapers, art pieces and portfolios, tickets, advertisements, business cards, oral histories, videos, correspondence, and manuscripts.
Subjects and themes include Long Beach Pride, LGBTQ+ nightlife in Long Beach and the greater Los Angeles area, the International Imperial Court of Long Beach, AIDS activism, healthcare, and education in the 1980s and beyond, artists and art, and organizations and clubs, and political activism.
Highlights of LGBTQ+ History in Long Beach
The LGBTQ+ Collection Finding Aid
The LGBTQ+ Collection consists of a variety of photographs, art work, posters, brochure, documents and ephemera related to LGBTQ+ history in Long Beach.
Click here to view the LGBTQ+ Collection Finding Aid.
Hidden Histories: Discovering Los Angeles’ LGBTQ+ Collections
HSLB is working as a community resource partner with the ONE Archives at USC
and has items featured in their virtual exhibition, “Hidden Histories: Discovering Los Angeles’s LGBTQ+ Collections.”
Click here to learn more about the virtual exhibition and learn more about the ONE Archives.
The Long Beach LGBT History Project
The Long Beach LGBT History Project involved many people including a Steering Committee, HSLB staff, historians, and volunteers. The project’s goal was to document LGBTQ+ history in Long Beach through the collection of photographs, documents, artifacts and oral histories.
Click here to visit the Long Beach LGBT History Project page.
Watch a Short Video Describing the LGBTQ+ Collections kept in the HSLB Archive
Resources
The ONE Archive at USC Libraries https://one.usc.edu/
Jamie Ross, “Neptune’s Closet” http://jamieross.org/portfolio_page/neptune/
The Center, Long Beach https://www.centerlb.org/
Long Beach Pride https://longbeachpride.com/
Available at HSLB, LGBTQ+ Long Beach by Gerrie Schipske with Foreword by Billie Jean King
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