Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Capturing Rainbows Looks to Document Our Collective LGBTQ History


Am very excited about the launch of CAPTURING RAINBOWS, a place to collect and share LGBTQ stories, history and memories. The site is a joint effort by Tom Walker and my pal Mike Balaban, whose Bammer47 Instagram account frequently link to. What makes Capturing Rainbows different is that it has fewer boundaries -- the guys are "looking for your memories, ranging from small moments to longer narratives, as well as old photos that might be of interest to others" -- and escapes any word limits or photo standards that other social media outlets sometimes enforce. Check out the guys' mission statement below and then dig in HERE.


ABOUT CAPTURING RAINBOWS: As LGBT people, most of us know about the large pivotal moments that have shaped our gay history. But, what is often left out of the history books are the small moments that have also given color and form to our community—stories about how we brought ourselves out of the shadows; and stories about our families which were most often bound, not by blood, but by camaraderie, friendship and love. From Greenwich Village and the Castro, to Fire Island and Provincetown, and a thousand places in between, we have created loving homes, safe havens, and cultural crucibles for LGBT people and their friends.

It is so easy to let these memories, about LGBT life that have made being open possible, fade away. They only re-emerge when we reminisce about the past with friends, but they are never written down and will never be known by younger generations of LGBT people.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR: We are looking for your memories, ranging from small moments to longer narratives, as well as old photos that might be of interest to others. Whenever possible, please add the full names of the people you are talking about, unless you think it is a story that they wouldn’t want shared. It that case, a first name is fine. Ultimately we hope that our stories might connect old friends, be great reading, and invite comments and discussion.

It is our hope that, through Capturing Rainbows, we can collect and share—in pictures and words—the LGBT experience over the past few decades—before these memories slip away—to create a tapestry of stories that will become an indelible chapter in all history books. And perhaps along the way, we can reconnect with old acquaintances, and make a few new friends.

Mike Balaban and Tom Walker

1 comment:

Robyn Jackson said...

What a fantastic website. Thanks Kenneth...I could get lost in there forever. Cheers from Atlanta - Robyn Jackson