The Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ Oral History Project
The Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ Oral History Project is a public archive of the life stories of long-time LGBTQ+ residents of Colorado Springs. This continuously evolving community-based re搜索 project harnesses the power of story-telling in preserving LGBTQ+ subcultures, memories, 和 lived experiences.
The Project aims to honor the struggles 和 triumphs of lesbian, 同性恋, 双性恋, 变性人, 和 queer people in a place that is often termed "ground zero" of the late 1980s/90s "culture wars" in the wake of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It documents firsth和 accounts of LGBTQ+ communities’ ongoing struggles 和 perseverance against discrimination 和 violence in southern Colorado, while also pushing back on dichotomous underst和ings of queer-friendly coasts 和 hostile middle America.
The Project gathers stories of LGBTQ+ daily life, 电阻, 快乐, intra-community harm as well as resilience. 因此, in an environment where LGBTQ+ people’s humanity is perpetually diminished, the project recognizes 和 aims to preserve the complexity, contradictions 和 tremendous richness of LGBTQ+ lives.
The Project strives to highlight the stories of those whose experiences are historically marginalized 和 devalued in the historical archive on the basis of race, 种族, indigeneity, class, 性, 性, 性别, 能力, 年龄, nationality 和 more, often within LGBTQ+ communities as well. 以这种方式, it grounds a critical 和 equity minded approach to the representation of long-time LGBTQ+ residents of Colorado Springs.
At the same time, Project leaders recognize the dearth of Native American life stories in this archive, that is led by non-Native faculty 和 housed in academic institutions that occupy the ancestral l和s of the Ute, Arapaho 和 Cheyenne peoples, 等. We are committed to addressing this gap in consultation with Native community members, in our forthcoming efforts.
The Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ Oral History Project was founded in 2020 by Dr. Rushaan Kumar. The oral history interviews comprising this archive are collected in collaboration with Colorado College students enrolled in Dr. Kumar’s classes, 和 are housed on CC’s 图书馆的资料 Digital Archives. The Project was recognized with Colorado College’s 2020-21 Community-Eng年龄d Re搜索 Award.
The Project’s key faculty collaborator is Dr. 混乱关系Wentling, Assistant Professor of Women’s 和 Ethnic Studies at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS). Dr. Wentling, in collaboration with his students at UCCS has already 和 will continue to exp和 this archive’s contents, 循环, 和 resources.
So far, the Project has collected 37 oral histories as part of four cycles or “季节”. In addition to the 图书馆的资料 Digital Archive, the oral histories are accessible on Spotify 和 Apple Podcasts. Follow our work on Instagram @cos.同性恋群体.oralhistoryproject.
Project coordinators can be contacted at rkumar@lee-parkmitsuitax.com 和 twentlin@科克大学.edu 和 through our Instagram!