September 16, 2020
6 p.m. Central Time
This is a virtual program, which will take place in Zoom.
Admission is free. Register now through Zoom.
Register now through Zoom

Newspaper stories throughout the 20th century documented shocking accounts of violent crime against members of the LGBT+ community, but historically in the quest for justice, the victims' queerness was used against them, often as a defense for the crime.

On Wednesday, September 16, at 6 p.m., THNOC will join the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana to explore this topic. Moderator Clayton Delery, who authored The Up Stairs Lounge Arson (McFarland Books, 2014) and Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice (Exposit Books, 2017), will lead participants and panelists through a discussion of local stories of queer injustice and activists' efforts to use these tragedies to fight for progress. The program will feature the following presenters:

  • James Polchin, author of Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall (Counterpoint Press, 2019)
  • Robert W. Fieseler, author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation (Liveright Press, 2018)
  • Sy'ria Jackson, education coordinator with the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the empowerment coordinator with the New Orleans Regional Planning Council and the president of the board of directors of the LGBT Community Center of Greater New Orleans

The program is free and open to the public, and advance registration is required. Click here to reserve your place in the Zoom discussion.