History of Baltimore LGBTQ Community's Legal Battles on Display Starting May 12
May 8, 2017
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
A history of the legal battles of Baltimore's LGBTQ+ community is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the University of Baltimore on Friday, May 12. The gathering of archival and other materials, which includes a detailed account of a legislative effort to establish rights for gay people in the city, will be on display in the Helen P. Denit Honors Lounge in Room 121 of UB's Academic Center, located at the corner of N. Charles Street and W. Mt. Royal Avenue. An opening reception will be held beginning at 6 p.m. on May 12. University of Baltimore President Kurt L. Schmoke, who served as Baltimore mayor during the period covered by the exhibition, will attend the reception.
Christine Wertz, an undergraduate student majoring in history, curated the exhibition as her senior capstone project. She said she conducted research using materials from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland archival collection in Special Collections at UB's Langsdale Library.
"I'm excited to showcase this important point in Baltimore’s LGBTQ+ history using the collections right here in Langsdale," Wertz said. "The near decade-long battle to get this bill passed in the 1980s was a very interesting combination of local politics, local community organizing, and the national development of LGBTQ+ rights. I hope this exhibit will teach the importance of preserving and distributing LGBTQ+ history and inspire more research into the expansive GLCCB archives at UB."
Under the gay rights bill, which passed the City Council in 1988 after failing twice in previous years, sexual orientation was added to the city’s non-discrimination policy, protecting lesbian, gay, and bisexual citizens from unequal treatment, particularly in the workplace.
The exhibition, sponsored by Special Collections, will be on display in the Denit Honors Lounge through May 31.
Learn more about the Helen P. Denit Honors Program.
Learn about the History program in the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.