Join the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) for this event exploring stories of LGBTQIA+ history and life in and around Asheville. This event airs live via Zoom Thursday, June 16 from 6-7PM and will be recorded.

The rich and ongoing history of LGBTQIA+ lives and communities in WNC has been scarcely documented until fairly recently. In 2019, Dr. Amanda Wray and several UNCA student interns, working in conjunction with Blue Ridge Pride, began recording and archiving oral history interviews and cataloging newspapers, scrapbooks, and other materials that document former and current lives here in the Asheville area. Join us as Dr. Wray shares and contextualizes stories from this collaborative archive.

About the Presenter:

Amanda Wray learned oral history techniques on the front porch of her grandparents’ Sears and Roebuck house in Cumberland County, KY. Currently, Wray leads the LGBTQIA+ Archive of Western NC and teaches writing and gender studies at UNC Asheville.

Tickets: $5 for WNCHA members/ $10 for General Admission. We also have no-cost, community-funded tickets available. We want our events to be accessible to as many people as possible. If you are able please consider making a donation along with your ticket purchase. These donations are placed in our Community Fund, which allows us to offer tickets at no cost to those who would not be able to attend otherwise.

Viewing: Registrants will receive a Zoom link with which to view the program. It will also be recorded and later available on our website.

(Images: WNC LGBTQIA+ Archives logo and Oral History group featuring Michelle Padrón (they/them), Moraes Eduardo Barbosa  (he/they), London Newton (they/she), Queue, (They/Them/Theirs). Photo by Camille Nevarez-Hernandez, courtesy Dr. Amanda Wray)

For questions or more information, email Trevor Freeman at [email protected]

Western North Carolina Historical Association received an American Rescue Plan Humanities Grant from North Carolina Humanities, www.nchumanities.org. Funding for this grant was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act economic stabilization plan. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of North Carolina Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.