FROM METRO STREETS TO APPALACHIAN TRAILS

Sanctuary on Madison Pike: The Downstairs Club and the Rise of Terry Noel

April 9, 2025 | Culture, History

Terry Noel’s legacy lives on in drag and trans history.

The Downstairs Club: A History of the Segregated Queer Haven in Kenton County

March 17, 2025 | Culture, History

The Downstairs Club was a hidden queer refuge in Kentucky, offering community, defiance, and controversy.

| Culture, History

Black Queer Excellence at The Historic Lyric Theatre

February 10, 2025 | Culture, History

In the early 1900s, Black drag was happening in Lexington from the Woodland Park Auditorium to the Lyric Theatre. Newspaper clippings even mention James Herndon performing as Sweet Evening Breeze, in “The Passion Dance of the Bongo-Bangoes” at the Woodland Auditorium in the 1920s and 1930s. As the years went on, other venues in Lexington […]

| Culture, History

Surviving & Thriving: The Faulkner Morgan Archive’s Traveling Exhibit ‘Here, Black, Femme, & Queer’

December 11, 2024 | Culture, History

“Here, Black, Femme, & Queer,” the Faulkner Morgan Archive’s traveling exhibit, celebrates Kentucky’s Black, femme, and queer history through intimate stories and images.

| Culture, History

A Community Coming Together: HIV/AIDS Activism in Kentucky

November 30, 2024 History, Issue 7

In honor of World AIDS Day, Queer Kentucky and the Faulkner Morgan Archive remember the history of HIV/AIDS in Kentucky.

The Male “Gaze” in Homoerotic Bourbon History

September 12, 2024 History

Queer folks have often taken advantage of ambiguity as a way to get their images and fantasies before a wider audience. Advertisements, especially, have long served as a public-facing format to create such imagery. For instance, young men reading Time Magazine around the 1950s would have been greeted by ads like this one. Though meant […]

From the Archives: A Brief Butch History

July 18, 2024 History

The term “butch,” commonly associated with LGBTQ+ women, originated from a robust Lesbian subculture in the mid-1900s. While its cultural meaning has shifted and is more widely used amongst many different genders and sexualities, it is still predominantly used to describe more masculine-presenting women. In our collections at Faulkner Morgan Archive, we have a wide […]

A Deeper Dive into Kentucky’s Gay Liberation Front with the LGBTQ History Project

June 12, 2024 History

The LGBTQ History Project At the heart of our work is the extensive archive of August Bernadicou, who began recording conversations and interviews with these pioneers when he was 13 years old. With thousands of hours of recorded audio and video materials, we aim to capture the LGBTQ+ community’s struggles, losses, and triumphs. We are committed to […]

Kentucky Historical Highway Marker honors the road to LGBTQ liberation

History

The intersection of Saint James Court and Belgravia Court in Old Louisville just got a little bit gayer. The Fairness Campaign joined dozens of queer people, young and old, to unveil a new historical highway marker this pride month. The bronze gilded sign honors trailblazing troublemakers who pushed Louisville to be a more inclusive space […]

The Lasting Legacy of the House of Sweet Evening Breeze

October 9, 2023 History, Rural/Appalachia

As caretakers of Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ history, we at Faulkner Morgan Archive find it imperative that we continually remind ourselves and our communities of the long-lasting legacy of queer people in the Commonwealth. One of the most prominent ways to do that is by sharing stories of our queer ancestors who paved the path for us […]

The Life of a Quiet Activist

History, Gov & Politics

Beyond the small entryway, on the dance floor and at the meat racks across from the bar, was where Louisville’s gay congregation met to whore-ship, and David’s first few weeks at that bar were a “real revelation.” “I found Jesus. Except he was sitting at the end of the bar having a drink,” Williams said. […]

Eric King On Visibility, Diversity, and Drive

Rural/Appalachia, History

Eric King, a Murrow and Emmy award-winning journalist, has 20 years of on air experience. He is from Bardstown, Kentucky, and he is a graduate of the University of Louisville. A journalist and broadcaster with a love for traveling and storytelling, King uses his perspective in news to challenge and educate. On the topic […]

Coming Home: Lesbian Connection and Representation in Kentucky

October 8, 2023 Culture, Gov & Politics, History

story by Jessica Carner she/her photo by Quinton Thomas he/him I’m what you might call a late bloomer; a “later-in-life” lesbian. It’s a thing, y’all. Even though my first romantic relationship was with a woman, when that young love died on the vine I pushed those feelings aside and conformed to what was expected of […]

Lessons from the Orange Juice Queen

October 5, 2023 History, Culture

I first encountered Anita Bryant in a grad school gender and women’s studies course called “History of Feminist Thought.” One week, our content area was conservative activists of the mid-twentieth century. These women spent their lives pushing back on the contemporary feminist movement, advocating for traditional [read: white, middle class, American] ideas of womanhood. That’s […]

bell hooks and My Black Queer Southern Politics

September 17, 2023 History

by Charles Stephens photo: bell hooks in 1995. Photograph by Monica Almeida/The New York Times/Redux I am a Black gay man from the South. I grew up in a working-class community in Southwest Atlanta that shaped my politics as much as my identity. bell hooks was an accomplished scholar, academic, and public intellectual from Kentucky, […]

Queers Say No to War! Demonstration March 18th on the 20th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq

March 15, 2023 Gov & Politics, History

By Christian Brawner and Sunny Cobb With the 20th anniversary of the Iraq invasion approaching, and while facing a seemingly insurmountable upsurge in state repression against our trans community, I want to honor the legacy of our queer and gay ancestors by reminding you of our revolutionary struggle. It’s absolutely no coincidence that when the […]

Twink, bear, Otter Creek, OH MY! Let’s talk about the first Kentucky Pride

November 21, 2022 History

*Had to sign a Copy Service Agreement and Permission to Publish forms with U of L Special Archives to use the first pride flyer and Lavender Letter images* From my younger days, to when we moved to Meade County when I was in sixth grade and now into adulthood, Otter Creek Park has been in […]

‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ era veteran wants to people to know that life does get better

July 27, 2022 History

Jeleena Hall (Ja-lee-na) took to the skies to make history and become part of the first all women Honor Flight in Kentucky, back in June. An all-expense paid one day trip to D.C. was provided to the female veterans to see memorials and visit museums that honored the women who’ve served. She signed up because […]

Filson Society to host The History of Gay Press in Kentucky this Friday

July 6, 2022 History

We all know the story of Stonewall and historic Queer figures like Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk and Matthew Shepherd, but have you heard the tales of David Williams, Henry Faulkner and lesbian feminist-led publication the Lavender Letter? Most likely, not, but you can learn about all of these Queer Kentucky gems from history this […]

Queer history recovered: ‘The Lexington Six: Lesbian and Gay Resistance in 1970s America’ by Josephine Donovan

March 28, 2022 History

By Alixandria Thomason, author of Reading (the) Rainbow: The Lexington Six is the story of six queer people in the 1970s standing up for each other and for LGBTQIA+ community. But more than that it is a cultural examination of the time–a time when homosexuality was criminalized, and when queer peoples’ lives were regularly disrupted […]

History: Celebrating Eastern Kentucky’s gay rights pioneer Lige Clarke

February 26, 2022 History

This February marks the 80th birthday of an icon in Kentucky LGBTQ history: Lige Clarke! Lige Clarke was born Elijah Haydn “Lige” Clarke on February 22nd, 1942, right outside the town of Hindman, in Knott County, Eastern Kentucky. He graduated from Eastern Kentucky University, then later served in the U.S. army, and began his activism […]

So you think you’re Two-Spirit? (You’re wrong)

November 5, 2021 History

Header Image Source: Matador Network Although I truly wish it came as a surprise, the trend of Non-Natives referring to themselves as Two-Spirit remains a festering sore on the underbelly of the queer community. We live in an era where it’s uncouth to police another queer person’s identity, to tell them that the way they […]

Remembering PULSE: Kentucky philanthropist works to bring healing to Orlando and beyond

June 12, 2021 Business, History, Rural/Appalachia

Five years have passed since a gunman walked into a gay club in Orlando, FL and changed the lives of queer people and allies around the world forever. Pain, mourning and fear has filled the LGBTQ+ community since June 2016, but one Kentucky man is working to bring healing energy into the still raw wound. […]

A brief history of Kentucky anti-LGBTQ police harassment

July 13, 2020 History

by Kathryn de la Rosa New York’s second annual Queer Liberation March, a protest march against NYC Pride organized by the Reclaim Pride Coalition, came to an early end last month when NYPD officers started making arrests and brutalizing protesters with pepper spray and blunt force. This year’s march specified liberation for trans and queer […]

Merging the Rainbow Fashion Show puts youth front and center with a focus on pride and self-acceptance

March 5, 2020 History

Louisville, KY – On Saturday, March 28, 2020, join the young people of Louisville Youth Group (LYG) and artists from IDEAS xLab’s Our Emotional Wellbeing for Merging the Rainbow, a Fashion Show at Unity of Louisville at 2pm. The Fashion Show was created through a collaboration between the artists and young people starting in 2019, designed to embody self-acceptance, confidence, pride, originality, and […]

Versailles is 14th KY City to Approve LGBTQ Fairness Ordinance

October 1, 2019 Gov & Politics, History

VERSAILLES — With a vote of 3-2 tonight, the Woodford County, Kentucky town of Versailles, population 8,568, became the fourteenth city in the commonwealth with a Fairness Ordinance prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. By becoming the fourth city to adopt the measure this year, Versailles makes 2019 a record-breaking year for […]

The origin of the word ‘Gay’ in its Homosexual context

August 15, 2019 History

by N. David Williams Williams-Nichols Collection Department of Archives & Special Collections University of Louisville Use of the word “gay” in a homosexual context may date to as long ago as Paris in the late 16th century, when homosexuals were reportedly called ‘gai,” but there are a couple of other intriguing and perhaps more provable […]

Queer Kentucky TBT

August 1, 2019 History

“In general, bars appear to be seasonal phenomena among the gay population. Grand openings occur only to be followed by not-so-grand closings. In Louisville, two bars have managed to survive the inconsistent nature of the clientele they serve, thereby maintaining long and continuous runs.”

Western Kentucky town approves LGBTQ+ Fairness Ordinance…Again!

June 25, 2019 History

HENDERSON — With a vote of three to two tonight, the Western Kentucky town of Henderson, population 28,657, became the eleventh city in the state to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. , A press release from the Fairness Campaign said that tonight’s Fairness Ordinance vote comes 20 years after […]

Black, Queer and Powerful

April 25, 2019 History

Kaila Adia Story, PhD What does the word queer mean to you? To me, Queer means not letting society, institutions, friends or loved ones define who you are, or you hope to be. It means defining yourself, for yourself. It means living freely, unapologetically and boldly. It means feeling so emboldened within your queer self […]

Pushing children off the ledge, Conversion therapy

March 25, 2019 Gov & Politics, History

By Chuck Leach, former pastor and counselor Photo by Adam Creech We must stop folks from pushing children off the ledge. Conversion therapy (sometimes called “Reparative Therapy”) does exactly that; it pushes children off the ledge by unraveling the underpinnings of self-understanding, acceptance, and personhood. Conversion therapy was concocted by well-intended but misguided people to […]

Feminist Friday: The Appalshop Part 1

December 7, 2018 History, Rural/Appalachia

by Jordan Roach Tucked back in Whitesburg, Ky., there is a large unassuming, wood clad, building holding a treasure trove of resources, history and culture. The Appalshop, while it’s been a constant staple of Eastern Kentucky’s culture for nearly 50 years, there is a big chance many people haven’t heard about it. If you are […]

I Remember Doing the Time Warp

September 17, 2018 History

By Remy Sisk In the spring of 1973 at the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs, an eclectic bunch of actors and designers were preparing to open an extraordinarily unconventional musical called, “They Came from Denton High.” At the insistence of director Jim Sharman, creator Richard O’Brien’s mashup of glam rock, Steve Reeves muscleman flicks,1950s early rock […]