Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month is held every June in the United States and other countries around the world. Celebrate with the Library as we recognize the impact LGBTQIA+ individuals have both in our community and beyond.
Pride Month coincides with the Stonewall Uprising in New York City, which began on June 28, 1969, following a police raid of a gay bar, The Stonewall Inn. The raid led to six days of protests, a time that served as a catalyst for the modern gay rights movement in the United States.
Celebrating Notable LGBTQIA+ Americans
Trailblazing AIDS activist Reggie Williams was born in Cincinnati on April 29, 1951, where he worked as an X-ray technician before moving to the West Coast in the 1980s. In Los Angeles, Reggie saw an unfathomable number of people die of AIDS. After moving to San Francisco in 1985, he helped initiate the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention and was a leader in the development of the National Association of Black and White Men Together.
Phebe (Karen) Beiser’s activism goes back to the 1970s, when she first began working to connect the local lesbian and queer community through the newsletter Dinah, which included event calendars, personal essays and columns, and advertisements for the local LGBTQ-friendly businesses. Beiser began collecting flyers, pamphlets, periodicals, and novels. Her persistence paid off, and for the past 30 years Beiser and fellow Dinah editor, Victoria Ramstetter, have curated the Ohio Lesbian Archives, one of the only collections of its kind in the country.
Born on Jan. 13, 1940, in Cincinnati, Edmund White was described by The New York Times as “the first major queer novelist to champion a new generation of writers.” His semi-autobiographical and coming-of-age novel, A Boy’s Own Story (1982), documents a young man’s experience of homosexuality in 1950s Cincinnati, Chicago, and Michigan. The first of a trilogy, the series continued with The Beautiful Room Is Empty (1988) and The Farewell Symphony (1997). Of the series, Edmund said: “As a young teenager I looked desperately for things to read that might excuse me or assure me I wasn’t the only one, that might confirm an identity I was unhappily piecing together.” Since he could not find any books to read about people like himself, he decided to create them. An icon of LGBTQIA+ literature, Edmund has written over 50 novels, plays, and essays over his career, most of them featuring same-sex themes. He has won multiple awards, including the 2019 National Book Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
Join a LGBTQIA+ Book Club!
Looking for a bookish, LGBTQIA-friendly community? Consider joining one of the Library’s book clubs! The Westwood and Downtown Main Library each host one.
Westside Queer Book Club meets on the last Monday of the month from 7-8 p.m. at the Westwood Branch. June’s book club pick is This is How You Lose the Time War by Amar El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
Downtown Queer Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m. Hosted by the LGBTQIA+ Staff Work Group, June’s book club pick is Our Lady of Flowers by Jean Genet.
Explore Cincinnati LGBTQIA+ History
Explore the Library’s digital collection of LGBTQIA+ history in Cincinnati. While not exhaustive, the collection includes artifacts and multimedia from over 40 years of the Queen City’s LGBTQIA+ organizations and groups including images, newsletters, ephemera, video footage, radio and news publications, and Cincinnati Pride-related materials.
Visit the Library at Cincinnati Pride
Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library staff will walk in the Cincinnati Pride Parade on Saturday, June 28. The parade will start at 11 a.m. around 7th and Plum Sts, travel down Vine St., and end at Sawyer Point & Yeatman’s Cove.
LGBTQIA+ Resources
Visit chpl.org/lgbtqia for a list of resources, including local support groups, community organizations, and accessible information about orientation and identity. This webpage also has staff-curated book recommendations.
Staff-Recommended Pride Reads
Celebrate Pride Month by checking out these staff-recommended reads for adults, teens, and kids!
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