Creating digital copies of LGBTQ newspapers from the Deep South is a priority for Invisible Histories. Since 2019, IH has been working with partners across the country to try and locate as close to a full run of Deep South Queer publications as possible.
These newspapers and newsletters are home to some of the most robust and interesting details of the history of the communities in our states and we are excited to share them with you. The location and digitization of publications is a vital part of our work and if anyone has leads on additional publications they should contact Invisible Histories at [email protected].
An LGBTQ Publication Called Barfly
Listing Bars, Clubs, and Other Venues that were Welcoming To Members of the LGBTQ Population, and What a Person Should Expect to Find There.
Archive - It
Archive-It, The leading web archiving service for collecting and accessing cultural heritage on the web, built at the Internet Archive, stores much of IH’s digital collection. Click the button to view IH’s Archive-It collections.
AlabamaLGBTQPublications
Alabama LGBTQ Publications
The Alabama Forum
(1977 – 2002)
Published in Birmingham, Alabama
The Alabama Forum, published in Birmingham from 1977 to 2002 under editor June Holloway, was one of the longest-running news sources for the LBGTQ community in the state of Alabama. This digital collection consists of 245 issues, published from 1981 to 2002 and totaling more than 4,500 pages.
NOISE
(2005-2008)
Published in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
NOISE is a Birmingham based newspaper published by editor Don Mills from 2010-2011. This 13 issue paper looked at news and events in the LGBTQ community and had a circulation that included most of the state of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
The Forge/The Tuscaloosa Free Press
(2005-2008)
Published in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The Forge/The Tuscaloosa Free Press was a Tuscaloosa based newspaper published by editor Tom Clardy. This paper looked at issues in the LGBTQ community in Alabama with a focus on activism and social events in and around the Tuscaloosa community. The paper began as the Forge in 2005 and when the paper published its last issue in 2008 it was under the title of TAF or the Tuscaloosa Free Press.
FloridaLGBTQPublications
Florida LGBTQ Publications
UpFront
Published in Pensacola, Florida
UpFront was published in Pensacola Florida from 1972-1973. This paper has 5 issues and is unique in its approach because it sought to encompass issues and appeal to both Gay men and Lesbian women. This full color publication is one of the oldest in Florida and contains some rich history of life in Florida from the 1970s.
This collection may contain NSFW images.
GeorgiaLGBTQPublications
Georgia LGBTQ Publications
Southern Voice
Published in Atlanta, Georgia
Southern Voice newspaper, also known as SOVO, was an alternative news source for lesbians and gay men in the greater Atlanta area and Southeast for over 20 years. The paper was founded in 1988 by Christina Cash and Leigh VanderEls with a bi-weekly circulation of 5,000 copies. The founders identified a need for a communication resource in the wake of the AIDS crisis and the 1987 National March on Washington that provided information on issues affecting LGBT individuals. Southern Voice provided coverage of local and national events, editorials, and guides to local arts and entertainment. Circulation grew to 15,000 within two years, reaching a maximum readership of 100,000 during the 2000s.
*Digital copies provided by the Digital Library of Georgia, Physical copies held by Kennesaw State University & The Atlanta History Center
The Barb
Published in Atlanta, Georgia
In 1974 Ray Green founded the free serial Atlanta Barb, the first LGBTQ newspaper published in Atlanta. Metropolitan Community Churches distributed the newspaper and it received funding through advertising of local businesses, bars, and restaurants. Green changed the name of the paper to The Barb and then in 1975 sold it to Bill Smith (1948-1980), an editor at the paper. Smith helped found the Georgia Gay Liberation front, served in the Southeastern Gay Coalition, coordinated the 1973 Gay Pride week in Atlanta, and was the first out gay man at the City of Atlanta government as Sam Masell’s appointed Community Relations Commissioner from 1973 to 1976.
*Digitized issues are held by the Atlanta History Center, Kenan Research Center located at 130 West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA)
Published in Atlanta, Georgia
Diana Kaye (1944- ), Elizabeth Knowlton (1944- ), and Vicki Gabriner (1942-2018) formed the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) in 1972 to increase lesbian visibility and to provide women, regardless of their sexual orientation, with a space to fight against sexist institutions. ALFA released 241 issues of a monthly newsletter between 1973 and 1974 called Atalanta – Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Newsletter. This collection contains digital copies of these issues. The newsletters document organization and member updates, including meeting minutes, reports, and announcements. Newsletters also include local and national news about gay, lesbian, and women’s rights, advertisements for lesbian-owned businesses and arts groups, and community updates.
MississippiLGBTQPublications
Mississippi LGBTQ Publications
Lesbian Front
(1975-1976)
Published in Water Valley & Jackson Mississippi
Lesbian Front started out as the Unnamed Lesbian Newsletter in its 1st printing in 1975. It grew to become the Lesbian Front after a group of lesbian women attended the Great Southeastern Lesbian Conference in 1975. While there they attend a publishing workshop and decide to take the newsletter into a fully formed radical women’s newspaper for lesbians. The appeal of this publication was that it was geared specifically to lesbian experience specifically, which resulted in one of the best letterheads ever which read “Free To Lesbians. For Others Please Subscribe”.
This Month in Mississippi
(1970s-1980s)
Published in Jackson Mississippi
This Month in Mississippi began its life in 1975 as the newsletter for the Mississippi Gay Alliance and was published in Jackson Mississippi. The newsletter eventually became a monthly publication in 1981 and it continued to publish until 1991. TMM was truly the paper of the LGBTQ community across the state as it explores issues of civil rights, HIV/Aids, community organizing, as well as highlighting the fun and joy experienced across the state. Within this paper you can get a glimpse of all the successes, struggles, joys, and tragedies that folks living in Mississippi experienced. IH has worked with archives across the South to digitize this newspaper for research and continues to look for missing copies with the help of local individuals.
The Mississippi Voice
(1992 – 1996)
Published in Jackson Mississippi
The Mississippi Voice was a community based newspaper published in Jackson Mississippi from 1992-1996. This paper covered local, statewide and national issues related to LGBTQ people and was considered the successor to This Month in Mississippi. The editorial staff of the paper included Marise Boehs, Scott Mathis, Kevin Palmer, Kevin Thrailkill, and Ken Wilson. The MS Voice was, at the time, the only paper that was covering issues related to the community across Mississippi, it gave its reader a chance to stay in touch with the larger Queer community throughout the US. Contributors to the Voice were also featured in other national publications such as The Advocate and The Village Voice.
Pink Magnolias
(1991: 3 issues)
Published in Jackson Mississippi
Pink Magnolias was first published in Jackson Mississippi in Feb/March of 1991. The editor of the paper was Jim Becker and in the 1st issue of the paper he says that the paper is designed to “Promote and highlight the talents and to present the news of Mississippi Gays & Lesbians. PM will strive to present humor, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, regular columns, letters from readers, and consciousness-raising materials as well as the news affecting the community”. The paper was short lived with only 3 issues, but has a unique approach to looking at the arts, culture, and news of LGBTQ people in Mississippi.
Wimminspace News
(1992)
Published in Jackson, Mississippi
Wimminspace began in Jackson as a pot-luck style dinner club for Lesbian women. It was described in This Month in Mississippi as “a chemically free, safe space for womyn, social/dinner will be held at the Unitarian Church on State Street in Jackson starting at 7:00 p.m”. In 1992 the 1st print issue of Wimminspace News began circulating to individuals who had attended the events and was able to go deeper into stories related to and for Lesbian women in Mississippi. The editor of this publication was Marise Boehs, who lives in Jackson.
Hericane
(3 issues)
The Hericane was a newsletter written about Gulf Coast women’s issues originating at the feminist literature-focused Southern Wild Sisters Unlimited Bookstore in Gulfport, Mississippi, which was owned and operated by Brenda and Wanda Henson. The newsletter describes itself as “by, for, and about primarily, Gulf Coast Women’s issues. Our targeted areas are from Houston TX arching across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and down the Florida Coast to Sarasota.”
Grace and Lace
Published in Jackson Mississippi
Created by Lee Frances Heller in Jackson Mississippi in the early 1990s. Grace and Lace “is a Christian journal for Crossdressers, crossgendered, and transsexual persons.” The newsletter was unique for its themes and content and came out in the form on a newsletter called “Grace and Lace Letter,” This link is provided by the Digital Transgender Archive and the majority of copies of this newsletter exist in collections at the University of Michigan and Victoria, British Columbia in Canada.
North CarolinaLGBTQPublications
North Carolina LGBTQ Publications
Community Connections
Published in Asheville, North Carolina
In October 1979, a small group of gay men in Asheville established the Community Liaison Organization for Support, Education and Reform (CLOSER). This LGBTQ-serving organization launched a newsletter in 1987 which eventually grew into a full-fledged newspaper called Community Connections, running until the early 2000s.
*Digital issues are available at DigitalNC courtesy of Buncombe County Public Libraries and UNC Chapel Hill.
Q-Notes
Published in Charlotte, North Carolina
Q-notes serves the LGBT community of Charlotte as well as the greater LGBT community in the state of North Carolina. Q-notes has grown as a publication from an 8-page monthly newsletter in 1983, to a 40-page monthly paper published every two weeks, to a free bi-weekly paper published both online and in print to this day.
*Digitized historic issues are available at DigitalNC and contributed by UNC Charlotte.