Beloit College and the Beloit Historical Society are holding an oral history harvest focused around lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) experiences. This event will be held at the Beloit Historical Society at 845 Hackett St., Beloit, WI, from 2-6pm on Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Beloit College and the Beloit Historical Society are proud to present the first ever LGBTQ+ focused oral history harvest in the area. We encourage members of the community to come in and share any relevant objects or artifacts (e.g. flyers, photos, zines, clothing, costumes, gear, etc.) and offer their unique perspective. If you have stories about where LGBTQ+ people gathered, where their centers of community were, and what happened inside those spaces, they would enrich the Beloit Historical Society’s queer collection. Refreshments will be provided.

LGBTQ+ people and communities are an integral part of the life and history of the United States, but their stories are less often collected in historical archives for prosperity. The aim of this harvest is to ensure we remember the contributions and struggles of the community. Residents of the Beloit area with personal knowledge are invited to share their expertise to help answer questions such as the following. Where have LGBTQ+ people gathered in the past or in the present? Are there institutions that have had a particular impact on LGBTQ+ life? How does the Beloit area LGBTQ+ community relate to the larger American LGBTQ+ community? How have national conversations or political debates shaped local conversations or LGBTQ+ life?