ABOVE: The Invisible Histories Project logo, photo courtesy the nonprofit’s website.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) | An Alabama-based program compiling the history of LGBTQ people in the Deep South is being recognized for its work.
The Society of American Archivists, located in Chicago, said in a statement it is presenting is Archival Innovator Award to the Invisible Histories Project. The Birmingham-based nonprofit has been collecting and archiving material about the gay and lesbian community in the South since 2016.
The project has located dozens of collections of LGBTQ historical documents and artifacts dating back to 1912. The group aims to make scholarship about LGBTQ people in the South more accessible, and it hopes to help organize affiliate groups across the region.
“We strive to break barriers between organizations and their local communities to ensure that preservation and research exist in a co-productive and relationship-centered way,” the co-founder of the group, Joshua Burford, said in a statement.
The Society of American Archivists describes itself as the continent’s largest national professional association dedicated to archives and archivists. The award recognizes archivists, repositories or organizations that show creativity in dealing with professional challenges.
