LYNN — United Lynn Pride has received a $20,000 grant to document the history of the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
Through A Rainbow Lens, A Reflection on Lynn’s LGBTQ+ History will document the history of the city’s LGBTQ+ community through memorabilia, photographs, oral histories, and other items from longtime LGBTQ+ residents of Lynn and those who influenced the community’s culture in the city.
“(This project) is to put a focus on Lynn’s LGBTQ+ history,” United Lynn Pride Executive Director Cristian Recinos said. “There’s a lot of stories that are just untold that I’m hoping that people will learn about through this project.”
The project is funded as part of the Expand Mass Stories Initiative from Mass Humanities, which was made possible by the Barr Foundation. It will ultimately showcase the work digitally and through a series of community events that, according to Recinos, include future events centered around the project at the Lynn Historical Society/Lynn Museum.
“It’s going to be an extended project,” Recinos said. “Right now, it’s in the very early stages.”
Professor Andrew Darien of Salem State University’s History Department, the Lynn Historical Society/Lynn Museum, and The History Project are also contributing to the project.
Darien said much of the research will focus on many of the gay and lesbian bars in the city’s history.
“For many years, bars like those that existed in Lynn were places of refuge, shelter, and community,“ Darien, who will be conducting a majority of the interviews for the project, said. “Many of those places were lost over time.“
Darien added how important it is for younger generations to understand “a different moment in time when it wasn’t safe to be queer and out in the open.”
Recinos explained that the collection is significant because it brings to light the history of an often-overlooked community in Lynn.
“It just raises awareness about the community,” Recinos said. “I think that it’s not something that immediately comes to mind when folks think about Lynn’s diversity.”
Jim Moser, the project’s director, said in a press release that the goal is not only to preserve history but to “give young people a window on our history.”
Recinos said that United Lynn Pride is encouraging those in the community who would like to share stories, photos, memorabilia, and other materials related to the LGBTQ+ community in Lynn to submit them via [email protected].
