Nearby, a display reflects on the early AIDS crisis with TV footage of early diagnoses in 1981 and how Florida "had more cases than almost any other state" in 1983. In one, a man carries a sign that says simply: "Gays In History."Īrchival material highlights Anita Bryant's statewide "Save Our Children" campaign to repeal a Dade County ordinance that banned discrimination against gays, lesbians and bisexuals. There's also surveillance video of men sunbathing at Miami Beach's 21st street and Collins Avenue, a popular gathering spot for gay men in the 1960s and 1970s.Ī wall of photos features couples and people holding signs describing their professions in Miami's first LGBTQ parade in 1978.
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Housed in a 5,000-square-foot gallery on the second floor of the museum, the exhibit uses documents, news articles, testimonials and memorabilia to document LGBTQ history.Ī series of panels detail Florida's early laws and ordinances that criminalized same-sex behaviors as well as female and male impersonator stage shows, or drag.īlack-and-white footage captured raids in the 1950s and '60s at Miami Beach and Miami bars known for catering to gays and lesbians. "As this exhibit will show, our LGBTQ community, of which I am also a proud member, has persisted and persevered in Miami since its inception." "One of the greatest challenges in studying LGBTQ history is that our lives and experiences are so often purposefully erased from history books and archives," he said.
"It's an exciting - and most necessary - time to tell these stories," said Capo, an associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and an expert on gender and sexuality. curated the exhibit, which opened March 16 and will remain up through Sept.