In this program, David Matteson, a past Board president of the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida, will survey the history of the LGBTQ community in the region by focusing on moments of progress, resistance, and resilience. In the wake of the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub in 2016, demonstrations of love and support centralized around the LGBTQ community. Yet no matter how many rainbow flags fly in The City Beautiful, queer individuals have not always been welcomed. Our history includes moments when showing one’s pride sparked protest and times when political progress prompted regressive discrimination. By turning to the past, we may better understand the LGBTQ community’s resilience – a quality for which we should all be proud.
The lecture draws on the collection of the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida. Learn more about this organization at floridalgbtqmuseum.org.
This program is free with registration.
About the Speaker
David Matteson is a past board president of the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida, an organization founded in 2005 and dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the region’s queer history. He is also the associate curator of education at the Rollins Museum of Art and a doctoral candidate in the Texts and Technology program at the University of Central Florida.
Image courtesy of LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida