Unity in Identity: Informal Communities and Belonging

LGBTQ Oral Histories

Beginning in the fall of 2014, faculty and students in the Virginia Tech History Department, along with colleagues in the University Libraries’ Special Collections and campus partners including HokiePRIDE, the LGBT Faculty/Staff Caucus, and the Ex Lapide Society (the LGBTQ alumni network at VT) began collecting oral histories to document the history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer life in the 20th century American South and specifically at Virginia Tech. This collection consists of oral history interviews with influential members of the LGBTQ community at Virginia Tech, both past and present. Interviews were conducted by Tamara Kennelly, University Archivist, and students of Professor David Cline's Oral History class. This subset represents stories from some of the women who participated in the project.