Living History DiscussionTwo-Spirit Voices: Still Here, Still Queer
Wednesday, May 17:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5.00 | Free for members For 20 years, Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits has been committed to activism and service for the Two-Spirit community. This program offers a look at the history and activism of the organization over the past two decades. Founding members of BAAITS, including Randy Burns, who also founded Gay American Indians in 1975, will engage in a dialog with current board members and community leaders. BAAITS is the subject of the ongoing exhibition “Two-Spirit Voices: Returning to the Circle” at the museum. Tickets are available online here.
Book LaunchCalifornia and the Stonewall Riots
Thursday, May 97:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5.00 | Free for members The 1969 Stonewall riots, when LGBTQ people fought back against police harassment at a New York bar, are often described as the starting point of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. In this presentation, San Francisco State University professor Marc Stein, who also serves as vice chair of the society’s board of directors, will discuss his new book The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History(NYU Press, 2019),which situates Stonewall in a broader perspective. After reviewing pre-Stonewall LGBTQ protests in California, Stein will explore how news about the riots reached the West Coast, how Californians viewed the uprising and how Golden State residents responded. Tickets are available online here.
Exhibition OpeningThe Mayor of Folsom Street: Alan Selby’s Legacy
Thursday, May 167:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5.00 | Free for members An opening reception for our new exhibition, “The Mayor of Folsom Street: The Life and Legacy of Alan Selby,” which uses photographs, artifacts, fine art and digital displays to document the life of Alan Selby, also known as Mr. S, who opened the iconic leather and kink retail store Mr. S. Leather in San Francisco’s SoMa district in 1979. One of the city’s longest-lived and best-known queer retail establishments, Mr. S. Leather grew into a de facto community center as well as an international destination. Curated by Jordy Jones, Jeremy Prince and Gayle Rubin, and drawing on the Alan Selby Papers preserved in the society’s archives, this transdisciplinary exhibition situates Selby’s life within the context of a changing SoMa neighborhood, AIDS charities and the emergence of a distinct queer leather and kink culture. Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are available online here.
Walking TourThrill Spot: A Lost Queer History Walking Tour
Sunday, May 192:00–4:00 p.m.Meet in Jack Kerouac Alley (behind City Lights bookstore)261 Columbus Ave., San FranciscoFree The 1954 police raid on Tommy’s Place, a lesbian bar in San Francisco’s North Beach, is the stuff of legend. Lurid headlines describing the seduction of teenage girls in a “vice academy” were followed by sensational stories teeming with swaggering butches, police graft and political intrigue. Lambda Award–winning author and visual artist Katie Gilmartin leads this literary walking tour that explores the raid through performance, music and visits to key historical sites, including the infamous “happy hunting ground for adult debauchees.” The tour covers 10 blocks with two steep grades. Cosponsored by the GLBT Historical Society, this program is offered in collaboration with Openhouse and is made possibly by grants from the Queer Cultural Center and the Creative Work Fund. More information is available here.
Fighting BackUnions, Workers and Queers: An Enduring Alliance
Thursday, May 237:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5.00 | Free for members The latest in our monthly “Fighting Back” series exploring contemporary queer issues in a historical context, this panel will discuss connections between organized labor and the LGBTQ community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Organized labor and LGBTQ activists have made common cause in San Francisco since the mid-1970s, when Harvey Milk helped create the coalition. Panelists will consider how workers, unions and members of the LGBTQ community have built a worldwide relationship based on shared struggles, similar goals and common values. Tickets are available online here.
PerformanceGay in the Great War: A Dramatized Reading
