It went on display locally, in the spring of 2017. We sort of tightened up the writing and did transitions between panels and all that kind of stuff, and then we got some grant money to fabricate a local version of the exhibit and then a touring version. It was a class-based exhibit that was a semester-long project, and then I worked with the faculty member and a graduate student who designed the final product. At the same time I worked with a public history faculty member here on campus and his Intro to Public History class developed the exhibit in conjunction with the installation of the marker to sort of flesh out the story that the exhibit tells or that the marker commemorates.
#GAY BAR KANSAS CITY MO INSTALL#
What kicked off the exhibit was the fact that I worked with a committee made up of community members to install a historic marker in downtown Kansas City commemorating the 50th anniversary of that civil rights meeting, and it was put in place across the street from where the hotel used to be. In March of ‘66 the Phoenix Society for Individual Freedom was founded, and they were really active locally. The exhibit focuses on those efforts, and the formation and activities of Kansas City’s first advocacy group which happened a month after that national meeting. So, they would print and distribute the newsletters, the promotional material from a lot of different groups across the country. It was based in Kansas City because the folks here had access to a printing press.
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As a part of that umbrella group there is the formation of an information clearinghouse. Out of that meeting comes the formation of umbrella groups for all these different, discrete advocacy and activist organizations across the country. The first gathering of gay and lesbian civil rights leaders from across the country, took place in Kansas City in February of ‘66. The main thrust of the exhibit is to uncover Kansas City’s surprisingly pivotal role in that movement. SH: The exhibit tells the story of gay and lesbian activism, both in Kansas City and in the US, in the 1960s before Stonewall, during the Homophile Movement, as it was called.
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KC: What are the main aspects to your exhibit “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights?” What was the process like creating it and who are the main figures involved?
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It documents the rise of gay and lesbian activist community groups before the Stonewall riots. Hinds discusses the exhibit “Making History: Kansas City and the Rise of Gay Rights” that was built by students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s public history program. Stuart Hinds is a Curator of Special Collections & Archives at University of Missouri-Kansas City. In this installment, Archivist and COPA Early Career Member, Kristi Chanda, interviews Stuart Hinds.
#GAY BAR KANSAS CITY MO SERIES#
This is the latest post in our series Archival Innovators, which aims to raise awareness of individuals, institutions, and collaborations that are helping to boldly chart the future of the archives profession and set new precedents for the role of archivists in society.