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Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

Florida Queer History (FQH)

The Florida Queer History Project, founded in June 2016, is a growing archive of oral histories dedicated to highlighting the queer experience throughout the last century. The project aims to provide a means for queer-identified individuals to express and document how their sexual orientations and gender identities have shaped their lives. The Project also seeks to document the contemporary LGBTQ+ Movement through a variety of fieldwork initiatives—most recently by attending the 2017 Pride weekend in Washington, DC.

Aliya Miranda interviewing in Washington, D.C., 2017. Photo courtesy of Andrea Cornejo.

Archival Collections

  • Oral history interviews for the Florida Queer History Project are currently undergoing processing, and interview audio is available to access through the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program offices. Please contact us for more information.
  • Access the “Florida Queer History: Queer in the Capital” zine online through the UF Digital Collections.
  • Check out interview excerpts published in the Gainesville Iguana with D.C.-area queer rights activist David Thurston and Patricia Sheehan, Orlando’s first openly gay city commissioner.
D.C.-area queer rights activist David Thurston, 2017. Photo courtesy of Andrea Cornejo.

“It’s really important at this moment to build relationships of trust, understanding between activists, to build power, to build communities of resistance, and that’s what I’ve been part of doing in this city since the [2016 presidential] election.” -David Thurston, June 2017

Robert Baez interviews Pulse shooting survivors Kate Maini, Brian Wood, and Tommy Connelly at the March for Our Lives in Orlando, Florida, 2018. Photo courtesy of Ian Maikisch.

“This is a crime against the gay community. This is not a terrorist attack against America. This was a gay bar on Latin night. If it’s a terror attack, it’s a hate crime, too. Nobody wanted to hear it. I kept talking about the politicians who are trying to talk about anything but the gay community. They don’t want to pass non-discrimination protections, to do anything to assist the LGBTQ community. But then this horrible hate crime happens, they can’t even bother to say the word ‘gay.’ No. You don’t get a pass from me on that.” -Patricia Sheehan, December 2016

The Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington, D.C., 2017. Photo Courtesy of Andrea Cornejo.

Get Involved

  • Currently seeking volunteers who wish to contribute their time transcribing interviews and learning how to conduct oral history interviews, in addition to those interested in developing digital humanities projects utilizing the archival material (e.g. video production, podcasting, zine publication).  
  • This project welcomes partnership with other departments who wish to collaborate on means to increase visibility for the queer community. Those interested in contributing their talents or wishing to bring their unique interests to this project are encouraged to contact the project coordinator.

Florida Queer History Project Coordinator

Florida Queer History Events and Research News