'Raising the Bars' Launched by Stonewall National Museum and GayBarchives

On Monday October 30 2023, the Stonewall National Museum Archives & Library and GayBarchives held a press conference at the Eagle Wilton Manors in Wilton Manors Florida to announce the launch of an exciting new initiative that will revolutionize the documentation of our LGBTQ+ history. The enthusiasm was palpable as business owners, journalists and historians listened to the news.

Dubbed 'Raising the Bars', this project is designed to embrace and celebrate the very important role our gay bars have played [and continue to play] in the growth and development of our community. For decades historians have focused on the events, activists and laws that have impacted the LGBTQ+ world, often taking a passive role in the collection of these stories. All too often archives have depended on the posthumous bequeaths of historic documents to grow their collections.

This undertaking has been enthusiastically lauded by LGBTQ+ historians, bar owners and authors alike. Dozens of endorsements are featured on their website, RaisingTheBarsProject.org

'Raising the Bars' aims to take a more active role in the documentation of our rich and colorful history by creating programs to bring queer history front and center. 'Raising the Bars' will include traveling exhibits, videos, educational projects and entertainment programs that will highlight the significance of queer bars and safe havens in our history. The initiative will also be actively collecting artifacts and ephemera from our bars and organizations to ensure that they are preserved for posterity.

'Raising the Bars' will include:

Active outreach to the owners of LGBTQ+ bars and safe havens [past &present]
Creation of traveling exhibits focused on the history of LGBTQ+ bars
Development of a gay trivia database
Implementation of a national queer trivia competition
Documentation of the history of the bars and community centers that serve us
Recognition of long-standing queer safe spaces across the US
Establishment of a 'GayBarchives' collection of bar ephemera & memorabilia
Networking with NGLCC and local affiliated chambers
Initiating a national LGBTQ+ bar passport program
Building relationships with independent regional archival projects
Partnering with related businesses in the LGBTQ+ entertainment space
Assisting in the publication of LGBTQ+ history books and articles