Wisconsin LGBT History Project- Intro

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Welcome to the OutHistory "Since Stonewall" wiki web site chronicling the History of the Gay/ Lesbian/ Bisexual/ Transgender Community in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin, the first "Gay Rights State" in the nation

In 1982, Wisconsin was the first state in the country to pass a law which prohibited discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. It was a landmark achievement for Wisconsin and the nation. (Ironically, while at least thirteen other states have since followed Wisconsin's lead in prohibiting discrimination, Wisconsin has recently defeated a bill to legalize same-sex marriage-- an achievement some other states have been successful in doing.)

The "Wisconsin LGBT History Project" web site was started in 2000, and since then has grown to include over 1,400 web (html) pages, with over 15,000 images and over 900 pdf files- the web site is approaching 4 GB in size. Only a tiny percentage of that work is represented here; we encourage you to visit the full site at http://www.mkelgbthist.org to delve much more deeply into Milwaukee and Wisconsin's LGBT history since Stonewall.

Wislgbthist-logo-w1.jpg

The beginning of the "Milwaukee LGBT History Project" goes back many years to individual efforts of a great many people in storing documents and memorabilia of LGBT life in the Milwaukee area, whether it be social life, businesses (bars, restaurants, etc.), or groups such as PrideFest and the Community Center. A few organizations made some efforts to collect and preserve similar materials. Although various PrideFest celebrations in Milwaukee had hosted History displays in the past (most notably in the mid-1990s), the formal "Milwaukee LGBT History Project" began as a short term effort intended to conduct interviews of a few individuals who were key contributors to the Milwaukee area's Gay and Lesbian lifestyle, and to use those interviews to create a display of panels for the June 2003 PrideFest display.

Over the past 10 years, the "Project" has separated into primarily two efforts: the physical collection of memorabilia and records (The Archives), and the documenting of diverse information on the Web Site. There are also two complimentary efforts: ongoing education, and maintaining of an LGBT Timeline.

Webmaster of web site, cover of Quest, 2007

WEBSITE

The Wisconsin LGBT History Project website has become the main focus of the project: it provides a way to document the evolving face of gay and lesbian life in the Milwaukee area and make it readily available to people throughout the community and elsewhere. Originally focused primarily on Milwaukee, its breadth has expanded so that it now encompasses virtually all of Wisconsin. It attempts to link together media reports from every LGBT publication ever printed in Wisconsin, with personal recollections, photos, and stories. It is primarily organized into 5 major areas (People, Organizations, Businesses, Media, and Events). Each of these areas has its own section on this web site, and the web site weaves all of these together into a tapestry, with hyper-linkages to cross-reference information in one area to related information elsewhere. Although thus far primarily the work of one individual (Don Schwamb), other individuals are coming forward with their own recollections and photos, and several other people (notably Jamie Taylor, and the new Green Bay LGBT History group) are beginning to contribute in a more substantive way to flesh out gaps and make the site even more broad in scope.

Explore the full web site documenting GLBT life in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and all of Wisconsin at: http://www.WisconsinGayHistory.org

ARCHIVES

It is widely realized that much of the history of the community (personal papers, artifacts, etc.) were disappearing as people moved, died, etc. and their personal collections were disposed of by family or unwitting friends. After some discussions with the History Project, the UWM Library- Archives Department has agreed to be the permanent repository for preserving archives and memorabilia collected for the Project. There these records and artifacts (newsletters, buttons, video tapes, etc.) are stabilized, cataloged, and preserved. Already major collections of materials have come from Cream City Foundation, PrideFest, and the records of now-gone organizations including Cream City Business Association, Act-UP, and other groups have also been obtained. Work continues to obtain records of other organizations, businesses, and individuals for permanent retention.

ONGOING EDUCATION

We maintain an ongoing educational effort to ensure all GLBT people, and the citizenship in general, understand the historical context of the battle of gays and lesbians for equal rights. We are fortunate to have LGBT media in the state that have taken a great interest in publishing frequent articles about historical LGBT issues in the state.

TIMELINE

Finally, we are stitching together a Timeline to allow comparisons of people, organizations, businesses, media, and events over time. The first draft of a Timeline was unveiled at PrideFest 2005, which was interactive: visitors could add their own comments and recollections. This was such a hit, it has been repeated several times in subsequent years, growing larger each year.

(Note that we will often use the terms “gay” and “lesbian” by themselves on the web site. Our purpose in doing so is not to exclude bisexual, transgender, or any other persons, but to reflect accurately the historical period in question. For example, the National Gay Task Force did not add “Lesbian” to its name until 1986. Historians of bisexual activism have noted that many of the earliest “gay liberation” activists during the 1970s were bisexuals who saw no reason at the time to distinguish their bisexual identity from the gay liberation movement. Only later, when some “gay rights” activists began to use the term “gay” in a more exclusive manner, did bisexual activists and lesbians also begin wide use of exclusive terminology to represent themselves. So we look upon use of the terms as an evolution that is not always easily distinguishable at any one point in time.)

EXPLORE a small sampling of information about the Wisconsin LGBT History Project website on the following pages:

People

Organizations

Businesses

The Media

Events

  • Historical and landmark Events to include everything from the good (such as rallies, laws and ordinances, etc.), to the bad (such as police harassment, murders etc.) Events connected to particular persons, organizations, businesses, etc. may be included both here and cross-referenced to mentions in those related sections.)
  • Wis. LGBT History-- Events

Explore the full web site documenting GLBT life in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and all of Wisconsin at: http://www.WisconsinGayHistory.org

(ALL contents of this page copyrighted by Don Schwamb of the Wisconsin LGBT History Project.)

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