Join us for a free talk by historian Charles H. Ford on the new work he co-edited with Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.” The book offers a long-needed record of the courageous and creative ways that LGBTQ+ people across the Commonwealth have persevered and fought for their rights. The remarkable and illuminating history recovered here includes the life of Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman who overcame severe discrimination in Loudoun County during the 1930s; the story of the Hershee Bar, a historic lesbian bar in Norfolk and longtime community focal point; and efforts to gather oral histories and produce a queer digital archive in the old capital of the Confederacy. Full of poignant and telling glimpses of LGBTQ+ life through the decades, this volume reveals generations of widespread prejudice and oppressive laws and the inspiring resilience that queer Virginians brought to this struggle.
Ford, a professor of history at Norfolk State University, is also the co-author with Jeffrey L. Littlejohn of “Elusive Equality: Desegregation and Resegregation in Norfolk Public Schools.”
This is a free event, but registration is required. Limited free parking is available underneath the Library at 800 East Broad Street. For more information, contact education@lva.virginia.gov.