I recently had the honor of being a fellow at the Oral History Summer Institute at Columbia! I spent a week with oral historians from around the world with a focus on “Speaking Up for Democracy: Oral History and Political Change.”
Throughout the week we spoke on topics ranging from project design and ethics to immigration and the lives of Black Appalachians. I also had the opportunity to present my work on The Queer Joy Project of East Texas and share some of your stories!
Learning from the other fellows and speakers has given me so much motivation and inspiration for how to grow The Queer Joy Project. I am already working on some exciting updates and events for the coming months, so stay tuned!
Collage with some photos and ephemera from my trip
This was truly a magical week that would not have been possible without the support of my community, especially those who have contributed to this project!
Starting in August I will be co-hosting a book club at The Glass House in Tyler! Our first pick is Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar and we will meet on August 26th from 6-8 PM.
I have also starting a paid subscription option for my subscribers. All of the oral history interviews, posts, and any other information on this site will always be free! Nothing collected for this project will ever be put behind a paywall. I have enabled the paid subscription option for anyone who would like and is able to monetarily support The Queer Joy Project. This money will go towards registering for events like Pride, buying materials like paper and ink for flyers and zines, and affording new equipment like microphones.
It was great to meet you in NYC, Carolina!