Buffalo Pride: Bringing the Past into the Present

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Looking back on Pride this year, it's clear that America has come a long way in accepting its queer citizens. This past June, symbols of LGBTQIA+ support could be found almost everywhere, with many organizations making their logos rainbow to show their support. While these milestones are significant and shouldn't be diminished, it's important to remember how far we have come as a community.

Buffalo's Role In LGBTQIA+ History

Growing up as one of Buffalo, NY's first publicly out Black trans women, artist and activist Arrie Moore got to witness first hand the city's evolving acceptance of queer people. 'There were gay and lesbian societies in the United States going back to the founding of the country, but as time proceeded, gay and lesbian individuals were not only stigmatized, but outlawed,' says Moore. 'You could be fired from your job for being a homosexual.'

Folks like Adrienne Hill and Ana Grujic of the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project, recognize the astounding struggles that local queer people have had to overcome. 'People are suddenly realizing that Stonewall and San Francisco, while important, are not the whole story,' says Hill. Most conversations surrounding LGBTQIA+ history focus on major coastal cities like New York City and San Francisco, but pivotal milestones in LGBTQIA+ history occurred right here in Buffalo, NY.

For example, Buffalo is the site for two major legal cases that fought the criminalization of being gay in public. The first is the famous 1980 case, New York vs. Onofre, which repealed the sodomy laws in New York State as unconstitutional. The primary defendant of this case was from Syracuse, but the co-defendant was a Black gay man from Buffalo named CJ Peoples. Going forward, this court case set a precedent used to repeal many sodomy laws nationally. These critical milestones in LGBTQIA+ history are important to recognize, because like the segregation laws of the Civil Rights area, it shows that less than fifty years ago, queer people were receiving criminal charges for simply being themselves.

'We're really lucky here in Buffalo because we have one of the biggest LGBTQ archives in the country, possibly even the world,' says Hill. Hill sites Madeline Davis, a lesbian activist, archivist, folk singer, and author, as a major reason Buffalo has a somewhat preserved queer history. 'There's this huge national movement to create these local queer history projects,' says Hill. 'We don't have to build an archive from scratch because Madeline Davis already started building it.'

In the interest of sustaining this incredible legacy that Buffalo has, Arrie Moore had an idea. She approached Buffalo-based illustrator, graphic designer, gallery owner, and active LGBTQIA+ community member Mickey Harmon on creating a mural featuring Madeline Davis, CJ Peoples, and thirty other local and national LGBTQIA+ icons that have paved the way for the country to be as inclusive as it is today. Commissioned by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Public Art Initiative, the Stonewall Nation: WNY LGBT History mural on 44 Allen Street was completed in 2020. Now, everyday Buffalo citizens can look-up and learn how far the queer community has come by walking down Allen Street.

Talking with Buffalo's LGBTQIA+ Leaders

As a proud sponsor of Buffalo Pride Week 2021, Life Storage was thrilled to chat with eight of Buffalo's outstanding, present-day, LGBTQIA+ leaders. We hope that through learning more about their perspectives and their excellent work, that we can carry all learn to better celebrate queer progress not just in June, but all year round.

Mickey Harmon & Arrie Moore | Stonewall Nation: WNY LGBT History Mural

'We were all human until race disconnected us, religions separated us, politics divided us, and wealth pacified us.' - Arrie Moore

'It's only through connection and true community building, meeting with one another and collaboration, can we achieve true understanding.' - Mickey Harmon

As artist, co-owner of Pine Apple Company, and First Friday Committee Chair for the Allentown Association, Mickey Harmon is at the heart of what it means to be a queer creative in Buffalo. Similarly, as Buffalo's first prominently out Black trans woman, artist Arrie Moore has established herself as a leader and matriarch of the local movement for decades.

It was when their paths crossed that magic began to happen. 'Arrie approached me about the lack of queer murals in town. She basically walked into Pine Apple Company and said '… you're going to help me create this,' says Mickey. From there, they met monthly to sketch and widdle down a list of local and national LGBTQIA+ activists and performers that have touched Buffalo and beyond. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery gave them the platform to execute the mural with equipment and supplies. M&T Bank provided funding and support to the mural.

'It took us about 9 days last August to execute it and I am so proud everytime I see it from my gallery at 65 Allen Street, just a half block away,' says Mickey. The featured leaders, cultural producers, advocates, and entertainers included in the mural are Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Audre Lorde, Henry 'Harry' Hay Jr., Hal Call, Frank O'Hara, William 'Bill' H. Gardner, Don Licht, Dr. James 'Jim' D. Haynes, Madeline Davis, Ann Hubbard, Sam Loliger, Don Behr, Mark Bozer, Mary Thomas, Bobbi Pepis, Alexis DeVeaux, Leslie Feinberg, Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major-Griffin-Gracy, Tangarra, Dorian Corey, Vicky Vogue, Carol Speser, Peggy Ames, Conde Peoples, and Barbra Kavanaugh.

You can find Stonewall Nation: WNY LGBT History Mural at 44 Allen Street and learn more about Mickey's art collective at Pine Apple Company's website.

Adrienne Hill & Ana Grujic | Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project

'Let your understanding of a person's life and a person's struggle come from letting their story wash over you and resist the temptation to categorize it.' - Adrienne Hill

'There will be things that you do not understand, but you understand that it's not the condition for respecting a different life. It should not be. Understanding should not be the condition for granting respect.' - Ana Grujic

For Adrienne Hill and Ana Grujic, Buffalo has become their home away from home. Hill moved to Western New York from Portland, Oregon to be with her partner, Grujic (originally from Belgrade, Yugoslavia), while Grujic was completing their PhD in literature at University at Buffalo.

'In 2016, I was going to Cornell University, reviewing their human sexuality archive,' says Hill. 'I would post some of my findings on Facebook and a local activist contacted me saying, 'how would you feel about starting a history project on local LGBTQ movements?' I didn't know it at the time, but I really feel like I found my calling.' From then on, the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project was born.

The Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project is made up of a core group of volunteers working to document and celebrate the vibrant history of the queer community in Western New York, and it has become most widely known for its community events. Most recently, the 'Gay Liberation NOW!' series was launched. This traveling exhibit for local libraries and community spaces showcases the resilient history of the Buffalo queer community from the early 1900's. A major focus of this exhibit is the Mattachine Society, Buffalo's first gay rights organization that was founded in the 1960's. The next chapter for the project is working to have historic plaques placed at locations of significance throughout the city. First on the list is on the corner of North Street and Irving Place, where Bob Uplinger was arrested in 1981 for inviting an undercover cop posing as a young gay man to go back with him to his home. During this time, most people would have plead guilty to this charge. Instead, Uplinger brought the case to the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany, and the court ruled in Uplinger's favor 6 to 1.

To donate to the creation of the Bob Uplinger Historical Plague, check out their fundraiser here, and to get involved in future Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project events, check out their Facebook page.