Welcome to the

 Houston ARCH Wiki!

  The Houston Area Rainbow Collective History (Houston ARCH)

is a consortium that supports the collection and

preservation of local LGBT community history and

 expands digital access to related historical materials. 

In many communities, local LGBT history has remained largely inaccessible to researchers, educators, and the general public--and even the LGBT community itself because documentation of the "queer" experience in general is often fragmentary and scattered. However, our history DOES exist...be it in old photo albums or scrapbooks, letters and journals, boxes of memorabilia and keepsakes left behind by others, or the tall tales and stories held in the collective community memory. These personal treasures often go unrecognized despite the important community history they inevitably contain. While the Houston ARCH project will have many facets, the overarching goal will be to uncover and preserve the collective community memory so our story can be told. 

Who Is Houston ARCH?

• Botts Collection - The Charles Botts Memorial Archives & Library (Housed by the Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church)  
• GCAM - The Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History, Inc (GCAM Website) 
• Rice University - Through the Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (CSWGS Website)
• TFA Archive -  The Transgender Foundation of America Archival Collection at the TG Center in Houston. (TFA Website) 
• University of Houston -  (UH Website)

Learn more about Houston ARCH's mission.

Download the Houston ARCH brochure.

View a timeline of Houston ARCH activities, including minutes and publicity.

We've also compiled a list of selected repositories, archives, libraries, and museums specializing in LGBT History.

NEW!: We're holding a contest to design our logo!  Voting will take place at our public meeting on January 25, 2012, so check out the submissions!

Community History Subject Areas

• LGBT Interactive History Timeline- Explore our interactive timeline that documents local LGBT events and history and compares them to national and global events occurring at the same time. User input in STRONGLY encouraged!!

   

• The Bars - Local watering holes have played an important part in every "gayborhood" as both a meeting place and community focal point.

• LGBT Publications - We plan to assist in indexing local publications so our community history will be easily accessible to researchers.

   

• Oral History Interviews - It is critical that we gather word of mouth histories of what went on in Houston. Students of Rice University's "Introduction to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies" class have already made a small beginning. (See the Outsmart article from June 2007.) Houston ARCH plans to organize a team of interested individuals to continue capturing our quickly disappearing history and life stories from important figures and pillars of the Houston area LGBT Community. Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved.

   

• Internal Project Pages - Feel free to browse our internal working project pages if you're interested in learning more about the behind the scenes project work, including technical issues, funding opportunities, outreach, etc.  

   

• All Houston ARCH Wiki Pages - Many of the current pages on the Houston ARCH wiki have not yet been organized into folders and may only be accessible by viewing the complete list of all current Houston ARCH wiki pages.

   

Have ideas for a new page to add?  Want to share your old LGBT community photos or historical records?

Contact us to find out how! 

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QUESTIONS?  COMMENTS?  IDEAS?       CONTACT US!