Join the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) for this event exploring stories of LGBTQIA+ history and life in and around Asheville. This event airs live via Zoom Thursday, June 16 from 6-7PM and will be recorded.
The rich and ongoing history of LGBTQIA+ lives and communities in WNC has been scarcely documented until fairly recently. In 2019, Dr. Amanda Wray and several UNCA student interns, working in conjunction with Blue Ridge Pride, began recording and archiving oral history interviews and cataloging newspapers, scrapbooks, and other materials that document former and current lives here in the Asheville area. Join us as Dr. Wray shares and contextualizes stories from this collaborative archive.
About the Presenter:
Amanda Wray learned oral history techniques on the front porch of her grandparents’ Sears and Roebuck house in Cumberland County, KY. Currently, Wray leads the LGBTQIA+ Archive of Western NC and teaches writing and gender studies at UNC Asheville.