Queer Virginia
A new, definitive queer history of the Commonwealth
Queer Virginia is a long-needed record of the courageous and creative ways that LGBTQ+ people across the commonwealth have persevered and fought for their rights. The history recovered here is remarkable and illuminating, including the life of Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman who overcame severe discrimination in Loudoun County during the 1930s; the story of the Hershee Bar, a historic lesbian bar in Norfolk and longtime community focal point; efforts to gather oral histories and produce a queer digital archive in the old capital of the Confederacy, and much more. Full of poignant and telling glimpses of LGBTQ+ life through the decades, this volume reveals generations of widespread prejudice and oppressive laws and the inspiring resilience that queer Virginians brought to this struggle.
An original and important contribution to queer history in Virginia and the US South. The essays in this collection shine a new light on familiar historical topics like the New Deal, the First Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment, urban renewal, sodomy and obscenity laws, and civil liberties, and show how Virginia is crucial to the broader study of queer history in the United States.- Wesley Phelps, University of North Texas, author of Before Lawrence v. Texas: The Making of a Queer Social Movement
Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion is an indispensable assemblage of diverse queer histories and cultures from across the Commonwealth. Ford and Littlejohn have curated a collection that is the first of its kind in Virginia: a remarkable volume of queer voices and communities that range from the mountains of the Blue Ridge to the shores of Virginia Beach. From resistance to celebration, these essays capture LGBTQ+ Virginians’ remarkable perseverance to live their lives on terms of their own making. These histories of persistence and resilience will offer guidance and hope to a new generation of activists and community members, and the accessible writing will appeal to general and scholarly audiences alike. I’m thrilled to share it with my students, my colleagues, and my neighbors.- Melissa Ooten, University of Richmond, coauthor of A People’s Guide to Richmond and Central Virginia, Melissa Ooten, University of Richmond, coauthor of A People’s Guide to Richmond and Central Virginia
