“Since 1994, October has marked LGBTQ+ History Month in the United States as a time to observe, celebrate, and reckon with queer history. Here at EMU, this is our first year to publicly acknowledge and celebrate lgbtq+ history,” said Dr. Kathy Evans (she/her), associate professor of education, last Friday, Oct. 29 at the start of the inaugural LGBTQ+ History Month lecture. 

The event also marked another “first” for EMU, as the speaker headlining the event, Dr. Gregory Samantha Rosenthal (she/her, they/them) is, as stated by Evans, “the first openly transgender person to headline an event at EMU.”

Rosenthal is an associate professor of history and coordinator of the public history concentration at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. She is also the co-founder of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project and the author of two books. In the event, on Friday she highlighted her newest book, “Living Queer History: Rememberance and Belonging in a Southern City.” 

“Living Queer History” incorporates both stories from Rosenthal’s own life, as well as stories from the broader LGBTQ+ communities in and around Roanoke, VA. 

Queer history is “not just looking in books,” said Rosenthal. “In fact, there’s not a lot in books. It’s about talking to people, inviting people to look in their attics and shoeboxes and closets for old stuff. Inviting people to tell their story, and then, when you have that material, making it accessible through programs, through tours, through visits. And that’s the work that we are committed to doing here.”

Rosenthal encouraged those listening to contemplate what “doing queer history” looks like here at EMU and in surrounding communities. “What role can it play in your communities, what role must it play in supporting queer communities today?” 

EMU’s history with LGBTQ+ people has been a long and painful one. “From our founding in 1917 until 2015, openly LGBTQ+ people were not permitted to work at EMU. Over that 90 year history, faculty and staff were silenced, shamed, and fired for being who they were,” said Evans. Even now, despite policy changes and efforts to create inclusive spaces for lgbtq+ people, that culture of intolerance still exists in our community.

However, efforts are being made across campus and in the broader community to reckon with that painful history and move towards a community of shared belonging and understanding. 

Conner Suddick (he/him, or any pronouns), a graduate student in conflict transformation and an adjunct instructor, is currently working, in partnership with Sadie Hartzler Library, to create an EMU LGBTQ+ historical collection that will be available publicly in the library for “future researchers, students, or just people who want to understand ‘where has EMU been’ on this journey with LGBTQ folks,” said Suddick.

Previous work has been done within the EMU community to collect and document LGBTQ+ history, but the information is not easily accessible unless you know who to ask. In addition to gathering existing material into one centralized location, they are also seeking submissions of new materials, including visual and written works and recordings (for more information, contact conner.suddick@emu.edu or simone.horst@emu.edu).

“This is an opportunity for peacebuilding and justice,” said Suddick. “And justice not necessarily in a sense that we are going to punish EMU for what they did, but genuine healing grounded in the needs of those who were harmed historically by EMU and committing to making that right and being in a relationship moving forward.”

Celebrating LGBTQ+ history and identity is important and can be joyous and meaningful for many people. But it should also be kept in mind that LGBTQ+ communities have been silenced and shamed, both at EMU and broadly across the board. Both Rosenthal and Suddick both spoke to the idea that silence, what people choose not to say, is also an important part of queer history.

Engaging with queer public history, said Rosenthal, allows us “to make and remake the spaces of queer historical consciousness, to foster a renewed sense of togetherness and belonging around a shared understanding of the past.” 

EMU is on a journey to “embrace our inclusive policies and become a campus where everyone can share humanity and be their authentic self,” said Jackie Font-Guzman (she/her), executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. “I am confident that together, with community, with humility, and with an open heart we can continue to support each other in this journey.”