LGBTQ at NYPL

Celebrating 2016's LGBT Pride Month at NYPL

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Gay Liberation Front marches on Times Square, New York City, 1969. Image ID: 1582228

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, and the Library is proud to be hosting a wide array of events throughout the month to celebrate. Join us for conversations, trivia, dancing, and much more with one of our exciting events. For those unable to attend, check out a book or browse our online resources to learn more about LGBT history and the continuing fight for equality in the United States.

First Fridays: LGBTQ Black Pride Edition
Friday, June 3, 2016, 6–10 PM
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Join us as we celebrate our inspiring LGBTQ pioneers and the rich history housed in our In The Life Archive collection at our second annual First Fridays: Black LGBTQ Pride Edition. Groove to the music of DJ Missy B and Craig Nice in the Langston Hughes Lobby, and jam to DJ Frankie Paradise in the American Negro Theatre as you enjoy our signature drinks. Take advantage of our sponsored fair in the Latimer/Edison Gallery Lobby with tables provided by Destination Tomorrow, Housing Works, HEAT Project, AMIDA Care, Black Pride, Callen Lorde, Harlem Pride, and BOOM! Health. There will also be free health screenings outside the Schomburg Center provided by Housing Works and Boom Health. And you won’t want to miss a legendary drag performance by Harmonica Sunbeam, presented by our fabulous hosts, Dhalimu from Dhali’s closet and Lee Soulja from the House of Soulja. Register or get more information.

NYPL LGBT Pride Trivia Concert - Hosted by Isle of Klezbos
Tuesday, June 7, 2016, 7 PM
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater - 425 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10003
The Library continues its Trivia Concert series with a LGBT Pride month celebration, featuring the incredible Isle of Klezbos. Show off your pride and your knowledge of gay icons, queer artists, and gender-non-conforming heroes in this one-of-a-kind interactive event, featuring NYC’s powerhouse, fun loving all-women klezmer sextet. Come celebrate Pride, Library style, with questions inspired by the Library’s vast archives of LGBT activists, pioneers, and artists.  Compete for prizes as an individual or as a team with your table. Doors at 6 PM,  show at 7 PM, cover charge $20. Register or get more information.

Making the Invisible Visible: NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project - Documenting Place-Based Cultural Heritage
Tuesday, June 7, 2016, 7–8:30 PM
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Celeste Auditorium
With introductory remarks by historian George Chauncey (Gay New York) and a brief salute to special guest Dick Leitsch, pioneering Mattachine Society activist. Despite common misconception, New York City’s LGBT community has a long and vibrant history that predates the 1969 Stonewall rebellion. Existing historic sites associated with arts and culture, important social centers such as bars and LGBT organizational locations, residences of notable figures, and activism (to name a few) span as far back as the 18th century. Yet despite this history, these tangible reminders of the city’s LGBT community remain largely unknown and potentially endangered. At this program, learn about the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project and its ongoing survey of historic and cultural sites throughout the five boroughs. Directors Andrew S. Dolkart, Ken Lustbader, and Jay Shockley and project manager Amanda Davis will also discuss the interactive online map of sites that the public will be able to use in order to learn more about LGBT place-based history and that will utilize the resources of the Library’s extensive LGBT collections. Register or get more information.

LGBT Philosophy Forum
Saturday, June 11, 2016, 2:45–4:45 PM
Muhlenberg Library
For over 15 years the Forum has provided the LGBT community and its friends an open opportunity to gather and informally discuss important works of philosophy. More information.

Midweek Movie: The Danish Girl
Wednesday, June 15, 2016, 11:15 AM
Riverside Library
The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch, Amber Heard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tussie Silberg, Adrian Schiller. 2016, 120 minutes. More information.

It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality
Thursday, June 16, 2016, 6:30 PM
Mid-Manhattan Library
With Michelangelo Signorile, best-selling author of Queer in America and host of the Sirius XM radio show The Michelangelo Signorile Show, discusses It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality. This illustrated lecture provides a myth-shattering look at the present and future of gay rights, addressing the challenges that lie ahead for LGBT Americans. More information.

Anti-Prom 2016 (Only for teens ages 12 to 18)
Friday, June 17, 6:30–9 PM
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Teens ages 12 to 18, come dance the night away at the Library! Anti-Prom provides a free, alternative, safe space for all teens who may not feel welcome at official school programs or dances because of their sexuality, gender presentation, the way they dress, or any other reason. At the event, a DJ will be spinning and you can enjoy checking out the Secret Garden-inspired fashions created by Design NYPL's teen designers. Open only to students ages 12-18 with student ID. Register or get more information.

Shall We Wed? Financial Planning for Same-sex Households
Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 6–7:30 PM
Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), Conference Room 018
The Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges made same sex marriage the law of the land in all 50 states.  What does this mean for those who are not married or considering marriage?  Marriage is a very personal decision with important legal and financial implications.  Learn how legal marriage might affect you—for better or worse! Presented by Thom Chu, Esq. More information. 

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family
Thursday, June 23, 2016, 6:30 PM
Mid-Manhattan Library 
Amy Ellis Nutt, a science writer at The Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize winner in feature writing, discusses her book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family. This illustrated lecture tells the inspiring true story of a transgender girl, her identical twin brother, and an ordinary American family’s extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all. More information.

Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation
Tuesday, June 28, 2016, 6:30 PM
Mid-Manhattan Library 
With Jim Downs, a Mellon New Directions Fellow at Harvard University and an associate professor of history at Connecticut College. The history of the gay liberation has often been narrated as a story of political progress and sexual freedom, but this illustrated lecture uncovers how the 1970s engendered a literary, cultural, and religious awakening for LGBT people. The talk explores the creation of a LGBT church in New Orleans that was the victim of an arson attack in 1973, making it the largest massacre of gay people in U.S. History. More information.

Riverdale Branch Pride Display
Pride display at Riverdale Library