LGBT Hampton Roads

by Charles H. Ford, Jeffrey L. Littlejohn

Virginia's Hampton Roads region has long attracted diverse and mobile people, some of whom embraced same-sex love or fluid gender identities long before lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities identified as such. By the mid-1900s, Hampton Roads would lead the state in its development of LGBT institutions and infrastructure. Our Own Press would chronicle the extraordinary burst of creativity and activism that seemed to place LGBT developments in the region on a national stage. In the late 1980s and 1990s, however, military crackdowns and the HIV/AIDS epidemic devastated the leadership of local LGBT communities. Only in the new century would there be a renaissance of networking and engagement to bring the annual Pride Festival to center stage at Town Point Park in Norfolk.

96 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2016

Reviews

[Julianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is hard to articulate fully how important this book was for me. Being able to learn the history of my community (in both the sense of the place I grew up and of people like me) really deepens my understanding of my home. It helps me to contextualize my own existence. I'm so glad that this book included as many photographs as it has, so that I can literally see places I've lived, worked, and visited as not just background for my own stories but places with a deep history, where we've always existed and fought and loved.

[matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

an informative yet harrowing experience to learn all about the queer history of an area i’ve called home my whole life. i like to think i know a lot about my city and it’s neighborhoods, history and present, but all of this was relatively new. i suppose it was hidden for a reason. it was great to hear about so many places that were so revolutionary for their time, yet so sad to see me trying to look them up on google maps and theyve turned into banks, fast food places, gas stations etc. it chilled me to the bone to see genuine protests and riots take place at places that now just have pride fests and celebrations. glad to see places like the naro and ODU have always been allys, really the whole city of norfolk, which is the surprise of absolutely no one probably. especially the naro considering that they’re literally known for putting on rocky horror.

one frame in particular is when the tears started flowing. a picture of people at a pride fest at mt trashmore, and the description saying that this festival in particular stopped during the height of the AIDS crisis, bc there stopped being such a large turnout. from fear of hatred and people passing away and there just not being enough bodies to pack into the venue. it completely broke my heart


we’ve come so far and i’m so happy about that. being queer is never easy but i’m so thankful and grateful to everyone who’s ever come before me. y’all are my heroes.❤️

[John Musgrove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good effort, but there should have been more history of Our Own, the newspaper that served as one of the most important communication streams for our community.

The materials are easy to find - ODU has an archive, as well as other organizations.
https://archivesguides.lib.odu.edu/re...
https://lux.collections.yale.edu/view...
https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/co...