Word of mouth at William Way

By Jen Colletta
PGN Staff Writer
© 2008 Philadelphia Gay News

Although Gay History Month is observed in October, the William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center is working on a project that will illuminate the history of the LGBT-rights movement through the stories of the people who propelled it — a venture that will resonate within the community for much longer than just one month.

The center is launching the Robert R. Rosenbaum Oral History Project in an effort to collect personal accounts from local individuals who were involved with and observed important developments and events in the LGBT community over the past several decades.

The project was initiated and funded — to the tune of $40,000 — by the late H. David Homan, an artist, philanthropist and former Philadelphian. Homan and his partner, Rosenbaum, moved to Arizona several years ago but continued to contribute to the center. Rosenbaum died in 2004 and Homan followed last summer.

William Way director ’Dolph Ward Goldenburg said that before their deaths, the couple was involved with an oral-history project in Arizona, which inspired them to seek to preserve the colorful history of the Philadelphia LGBT community.

“One of the things that they both walked away with immediately after the oral history was taken was a CD of each other’s histories. Following Bob’s death, that CD was very comforting to David,” Goldenburg said. “And one of the things David felt strongly about was that since he was from Philadelphia and knew so many folks from Philadelphia, he really wanted to see us capture people’s life stories and see historically where they fit in terms of the LGBT civil-rights movement, in a way that would allow folks to have them preserved for future generations as well as for loved ones.”

Renee Campbell, the center’s volunteer coordinator, said that she, Goldenburg and the 11 volunteers who signed on to the project brainstormed and came up with an initial list of 15 potential interview subjects. Campbell noted, however, that the list remains open.

“We initially approached several individuals who are really active in the gay community now and asked them who they would suggest for us to interview,” Campbell said. “And if people want to approach us and say they want to share their stories, that’d be fantastic.”

The interviewers range from individuals with a burgeoning interest in history to students pursuing their doctorate degrees in oral history from the University of Pennsylvania. All of the volunteers underwent a training program to ensure they know how to effectively research their subjects and draw out their observations on historic events within the LGBT community.

While Goldenburg noted that some of the individuals they’re hoping to include in the project are relatively well known, he said that interviewees need not have a long list of activist accomplishments; the only requirement is that subjects be able to provide a glimpse into the culture and state of mind of the LGBT community during the latter half of the 20th century.

“I just want this to show young and older people where they stand in the march of history,” he said. “My sense is that most teenagers and people in their 20s would be shocked to find out that just 40 years ago, there were raids on gay bars.”

The interviews will be both video- and audio-recorded, and Goldenburg said the center is planning to exhibit them in the fall of 2010 as one of the organization’s new quarterly major exhibition projects.

“The people who are being interviewed are the people who did large and small acts to build the fabric of the gay community of Philadelphia. I would hope that this will inspire more hands-on activism.”

To volunteer or suggest a subject, contact Campbell at renee@waygay.org.

Jen Colletta can be reached at jen@epgn.com.