The Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI)

From the Archives: New LGBTQ+ History Collections

By Rosalyn DeMattia, Archives Services Intern Hi everyone! I’m Rosalyn (they/them) one of the three Archives Services interns for Fall 2024. I’ve spent the last month learning all about archival processing and am proud to announce three new collections I’ve worked on for the Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI), which are now available to use in […]

GOHI: What We’ve Been Up To (Summer 2024)

Check out the Gay Ohio History Initiative's community engagement from summer 2024!

From the Archives: New LGBTQ+ History Collections

By Wendy Korwin, Archives Services Manager How long has the Ohio History Connection been collecting, preserving and sharing LGBTQ+ history? It might be longer than you think! The Gay Ohio History Initiative (adorable acronym: GOHI) was launched in 2005. That's right, we're old enough to vote. GOHI's efforts touch many areas of our organization, from […]

Ohio’s Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming History

For Transgender Day of Visibility 2024, explore GOHI's collection of transgender and gender non-conforming history.

Call for Participants: Marking Diverse Ohio Community of Practice (CoP)

The Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI) at the Ohio History Connection is recruiting members for our upcoming Community of Practice (CoP)!

Remembering Dolly Divine’s Annual Halloween Drag Ball

In 1964, David Zimmer and Orn Huntington started a Halloween tradition. The Berwick Ball celebrated and supported Central Ohio's LGBTQ+ community for three decades.

The Ohio Origins of National Coming Out Day (October 11th)

Did you know one of the founders of National Coming Out Day (October 11th) is an Ohioan? Read her story and about the origins of NCOD!

Celebrating Pride by Marking Diverse Ohio

The Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI) is celebrating Pride by publicly announcing the launch of a 3-year project, Marking Diverse Ohio (MDO).

Oral Histories of LGBTQ+ Ohioans: A Place for Us

By Matthew Belak. LGBTQ+ Ohioans share their stories as part of Ohio History Connection's GOHI Project.

Oral Histories of LGBTQ+ Veterans

Raising the Bar: The Columbus Pacesetters

Women have played football in Ohio for decades. In 1965, women’s football teams from Akron and Cleveland began playing games across the Midwest.

Lesbian Bars in Ohio and Beyond

The Bryan Knedler Collection

Recently the Gay Ohio History Initiative received a new collection from former Ohio native, Bryan Knedler. There is a lot to learn from Knedler’s documentation of his life.

The AIDS Crisis is Not Over: 40 Years of Activism

In the Ohio History Connection’s archives, researchers can find documentation of the Columbus community’s fight to raise awareness of AIDS.

“As most of us knew her:” Leaving Space for Queerness in the Archives

Normally historians mention that a historical figure may have been a member of the LGBTQ+ community if they have documentation to support it.

Alice Dunbar Nelson: A Life Lived Outside the Box

Although she never lived in Ohio, Alice Dunbar Nelson is permanently attached to our history through her husband, Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“Give Us the Ballot, Men of Ohio! Give your Women the Help They Beg into a Broader, Deeper, Richer Life”

This month's post in our suffrage anniversary blog series comes from Anne Delano Steinert, a preservationist, educator, and historian.

Pride Month 2020: The Past Informs the Present

The original Stonewall Uprising was a protest against police brutality led by LGBTQ people of color.

Amazon, Empress, and Friend: The Life of Natalie Clifford Barney

Natalie Clifford Barney was an out lesbian when she said, “being other than normal [was] a perilous advantage.”

Rupert “Twink” Starr Oral History

https://youtu.be/5L0WmYUcBLY

50 Years Since Stonewall: The Origins of Pride

LGBTQ Pride events are meant to mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of June 1969. This year, 2019, marks 50 years since the pivotal moment at Stonewall.

GOHI on Columbus Neighborhoods

Ohio History Connection’s Eric Feingold discusses several objects in the GOHI collection!

GOHI Talks with WOSU

Eric Feingold, History Curator at the Ohio History Connection discusses Columbus’s robust LGBTQ community in WOSU’s Curious Cbus series: Eric Feingold, curator at the Ohio History Connection, works with the Gay Ohio History Initiative. He says that the city was, in general, far ahead of the rest of the state. “Columbus has been holding, for instance, […]

Stories From the Past- Literally

In the fall of 1937, Betty Eicher was enrolled at Ohio State University in a course called English 507. Betty was doing a lot of creative writing. Check out one of her stories!

Marking Ohio’s LGBT History

Becki Trivison, Local History Coordinator Ohio History Connection During the month of June we are reminded of the importance of LGBT history and culture and we are actively engaged in it all month long. But what happens after June when the Pride celebrations are over? Of course there is LGBT history month every October but how […]

Historic Reflections: A Conversation with Lori Gum of Stonewall Columbus

Anthony Gibbs Local History Manager, Ohio History Connection   Rare is the evidence of Columbus, Ohio’s first Pride March. Stories are told of protestors wearing paper bags over their heads as speakers called from a makeshift stage and a P.A. system ran through an old van. Last year, we celebrated 35 years of Pride as […]

The David Zimmer Collection

Eric Feingold, History Curator Ohio History Connection At the Ohio History Center, visitors can see everything from American Indian artifacts to a Lustron home. Now, they can also find a display of materials related to an early LGBTQ activist and drag performer from Central Ohio. In 2016, we received a number of objects, photographs, and […]

New Acquisitions: Bowling, Biking, and a March on Washington

Checkout some great items from one of our newest additions to the GOHI collection!

Collecting and Sharing Ohio’s LGBTQ History

Eric Feingold, History Curator Ohio History Connection In the February Gay Ohio History Initiative (GOHI) column, you read about GOHI’s roots and the ways in which it can serve local communities. Last month’s column previewed an upcoming discussion at the Ohio History Center with Dr. Karen McClintock, author of My Father’s Closet. This month, we want […]

An Evening with Dr. Karen McClintock and My Father’s Closet

Ben Anthony, Community Engagement Coordinator Ohio History Connection The McClintock family appeared the same as many Midwestern, post-World War II booming suburban families. Dad was a veteran with a job at The Ohio State University. They had a little brick house at the end of a quiet street and Mom worked at the local library […]

GOHI: A Re-Introduction

Ben Anthony, Community Engagement Coordinator Ohio History Connection In 2006, Outlook Media and The Ohio History Connection (formerly The Ohio Historical Society) created the Gay Ohio History Initiative or GOHI. This partnership was one of the first of its kind and was created to collect, preserve, and share the contributions of the LGBTQ community to […]