RHP’s Director of Archiving has created a walking tour of the east side of DuPont neighborhood and the 17th Street corridor. Do you know about the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s? Do you miss Cobalt or Drag Kings at Chaos? Does your Lesbian History knowledge include both WomenSound and Sophie’s Parlor? How many LGBTQ Community Centers have we actually had? Do you know which year the cops beat up the queens at the High Heel Race?

Meet at DuPont Circle Fountain, bring a water bottle, and ask good questions!

Are you interested in documenting the Washington D.C metro area’s diverse LGBTQIA+ history?

Join our volunteer oral history team!

We strive to preserve and promote the history and culture of the diverse LGBTQIA+ communities in metropolitan Washington, D.C. But we can only do this when volunteers like you document their stories through interviews!

To become a volunteer and start collecting stories:

Part One will be fully online and cover best practices when conducting an oral history interview. This will include conducting background research, forming questions and recording histories. These practices will prepare you to support RHP’s collection efforts but they may also contribute to any other oral story-telling/history work you hope to do!

Part Two will be in-person at the MLK Library (901 G Street NW) and focus on practical procedures for recording interviews as well as summarizing and storing them in RHP’s archive.

Register using the link and attend a two-part training with a veteran RHP volunteer, amateur historian and qualitative researcher, Daniel Soucy.

Tentative dates:

October 5, 10am-11am
November 16, 10am-11am
December 7, 10am-11am

In this very special tour to celebrate LGBTQ History, Off the Mall Tours is partnering with Rainbow History Project to bring you the Queer Black Broadway walking tour. The U Street Corridor was known as “Black Broadway” in its heyday of the early 20th Century. From the Prohibition Era to the Civil Rights Movement, it was also the center for social justice and fringe movements that fought to bring more opportunity for marginalized groups, including a secretive but active Queer community that was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the Pansy Craze, underground crime worlds, and the wide world of entertainment. This 2 hour walking tour begins at 2204 14th Street and ends at Howard Theater, with an option to head to Shaw’s Tavern afterward. A portion of proceeds go to benefit the Rainbow History Project. An additional tour will be happening October 30.

Interested in helping maintain Rainbow History Project’s online archives? Well then this training is for you!

Rainbow History Project invites you to come get your hands on LGBTQ+ history, and help us to document the communities that make our city great. On Sunday, October 21st, we will be in the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs processing archival collections and digitizing records that tell the story of LGBTQ+ folks living and loving in the DMV. This event is a fabulous opportunity to gain skills in archival sciences, public history, and information management. Come help us collect, preserve, and promote DC’s rich LGBTQ+ history!
When you arrive at the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center, you will be asked to sign in at the front desk and to pass through security. Please contact frankie@rainbowhistory.org with any questions.

In celebration of LGBTQ History Month, Rainbow History Project will host an author talk with Professor Theo Greene, Ph.D., Chair of the Sociology Department of Bowdoin College.

Dr. Greene’s latest book project, “Not in MY Gayborhood: Gay Neighborhoods and the Rise of the Vicarious Citizen,” explores the persistence of iconic gay neighborhoods in Washington, DC, through acts of ephemeral placemaking by nonresidents (vicarious citizens). It is based on several years of extensive field research in Washington and interviews with LGBTQ residents and visitors of Dupont Circle.

Dr. Greene will present an overview of his book in dialog with RHP’s Director of Archiving, Vincent Slatt, anf questions from the audience.

Since 1986, drag queens have been racing up and down 17th Street in their High Heels. Yet again, Rainbow History Project will be on the scene of the event, sharing drag history and recording oral histories of the revelers.

Did you know the origins of the high heel race? Which year did the police beat up participants? Why is it on the Tuesday before Halloween? Since when has it been endorsed/sponsored by the mayor?

Swing by the RHP booth to learn more…

In this very special tour to celebrate LGBTQ History, Off the Mall Tours is partnering with Rainbow History Project to bring you the Queer Black Broadway walking tour. The U Street Corridor was known as “Black Broadway” in its heyday of the early 20th Century. From the Prohibition Era to the Civil Rights Movement, it was also the center for social justice and fringe movements that fought to bring more opportunity for marginalized groups, including a secretive but active Queer community that was associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the Pansy Craze, underground crime worlds, and the wide world of entertainment. This 2 hour walking tour begins at 2204 14th Street and ends at Howard Theater, with an option to head to Shaw’s Tavern afterward. A portion of proceeds go to benefit the Rainbow History Project. An additional tour will be happening October 6.

Join us for a BRAND NEW History Walking Tour of West DuPont and P St!

RHP’s Director of Archiving has created a walking tour of the west side of DuPont neighborhood and the P Street corridor.Do you know about the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s? Do you miss Badlands, Apex, or Mr. P’s? Does your Lesbian History knowledge include the founding of the Lesbian Avengers? Or how they swallowed fire at the First Dyke March? Have you heard of cruising at the P Street Peach? Did you know where the Gay Pride Day was hosted in the 1980s?

Meet at DuPont Circle Fountain, bring a water bottle, and ask good questions!