GOHI Projects

GOHI is working to preserve, archive, and curate the history and culture of the LGBT citizens of Ohio, to tell the truth about our lives, to create opportunities for understanding of both the past and what is hoped for in the future, to share LGBT culture and history with all Ohioans, and to encourage us to savor our existence. Savoring our lives is something we can forget to do, and something that society has often discouraged us from doing.

GOHI is undertaking a multi-part project to educate Ohioans and raise awareness about LGBT citizens and our place in the fabric of our state.

Oral and Digital Histories
We are locating and collecting oral histories from LGBT Ohioans or about GLBT Ohio history. We also plan to host “Photo Fairs” to digitize photographs, preserving them in an archive of LGBT Ohio history.

Historical Markers
We are seeking public input to identify the people, places, events and organizations important to the history of Ohio’s GLBT community so that our history across Ohio can be commemorated with permanent historical markers. Click here to read about the Natalie Clifford Barney marker in Dayton, OH.

LGBT Ohio Exhibits
In October 2008, GOHI Board members Rob Berger and Sharon Croft curated two exhibits that explored the drag community in central Ohio.

• Berger curated Remembering the Berwick Ball. Berger’s exhibit featured important artifacts and memorabilia from the Berwick Ball, an annual costume ball and competition.
• Croft, along with Julie Applegate, curated The International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza (IDKE) Exhibit, an exhibit that chronicled the history of IDKE and contributions to IDKE by local drag performers.

Members of the GOHI Exhibit committee are in the process of creating a traveling exhibit that will chronicle important moments in Ohio’s GLBT history.

Informative Banners
To date, we have created two sets of banners:  Pride of Ohio and A Brief History of GLBT Pride Parades in Ohio. 

• Pride of Ohio, a set of three banners, showcases six LGBT Ohioans per banner with an image and biographical information. The eighteen notable LGBT people illustrate the contributions, achievements, and accomplishments made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ohioans.
• A set of two banners, A Brief History traces the emergence and evolution of GLBT pride parades in Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. The banners provide a timeline as well as information about attendance and speakers. The banners also illustrate how these parades impacted and were impacted by local and national events.

With Pride of Ohio and A Brief History, GOHI celebrates LGBT Ohioans and gay rights activism within the state. It offers such information and education to both LGBT and straight Ohioans.

GOHI and OSU’s Lesbian Cultures Course

In 2008, GOHI partnered with an OSU Women’s Studies class to collect oral history interviews of several Columbus women and transgendered individuals who have played a significant role in local GLBT history. Copies of these interviews along with photographs of the women and transgendered individuals interviewed have been donated to the GOHI collection at the Ohio Historical Society.

If you’d like more information about GOHI’s projects or have ideas about a future project, please feel free to use the contact form below.