LGBT+ Archives of Louisiana

In 2013, a group of people interested in queer history met at the home of the late Stewart Butler. At that meeting, Butler, who was 83 at the time, showed us dozens of boxes of papers and other items he had collected and saved throughout his 35 year career as an LGBT+ activist. After briefly describing what was in the boxes—newsletters, agendas, and meeting minutes from organizations to which he belonged, personal letters, etc.—he looked at us and asked, “What’s going to happen to all this stuff when I die?”

It was a good question. We soon realized there were hundreds if not thousands of others who could ask the same question. We began meeting monthly to brainstorm ways to protect and preserve that history. The result was the creation of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.

Our mission is promoting and encouraging the protection and preservation of materials that chronicle the culture and history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community in Louisiana. Our main purpose is educating the community on the importance of archiving LGBT+ historical materials and making them available for future generations to access, research, and study.

As a statewide collective, we have a collaborative relationship with archival repositories, libraries, and museums across the state. In addition to identifying and placing collections in these various institutions, we also assist researchers working on historical projects as well as provide public programming on history and the importance of historical preservation.

In short, we are getting our history out of the closet. It’s a group effort and we need your help. You can learn more about the Archives Project in the pages that follow.