At 1World1Family, we get requests. Below is the latest one to cross our desk. We are sharing it with you, our Digital Diaspora Family Reunion family, to see if anyone may be able to help Hugh!
Hello! My name is Hugh Ryan and I’m a curator in New York City working on a show for the Brooklyn Historical Society (along with artist Avram Finkelstein & historian Rachel Mattson).
Who are these women? We know they worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard factories, some time around or after WWII, but like so many historic photos, their specific story remain a mystery. Who were they to one another – friends? Lovers? Co-workers? Family?Next year, the Brooklyn Historical Society will mount an exhibition on the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks who lived and worked along the Brooklyn waterfront, whether in the factories of the Navy Yard, the docks of Sunset Park and Brooklyn Heights, the freak show at Coney Island, or as artists in their own apartments. Little of this history has been shared publicly before, and much of it – like the picture above – hints at a story, but does not tell it in full. This project offers visibility to the stories that have for too long existed in the shadow of Manhattan’s history.
In particular, the histories of LGBT people of color are missing from the stories we know about the Brooklyn waterfront. We know, for instance, that in 1948 the Veterans Benevolent Association partnered with the NAACP to help support gay black soldiers who were discharged from the military for their race & sexuality – but who were those men? Where did they live, what bars did they frequent, and what did they look like?
When I first heard about the DDFR project through Thomas, I knew that I had to reach out. So many of these stories are only known to a few people, and so many photos and papers are kept in personal family archives – not in professional archives that have (until recently) ignored the histories of people of color, LGBT people, and those who wear both identities.
If you have anything – stories, pictures, letters, posters, etc. – that relate to the LGBT history of the Brooklyn waterfront, I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at hugh.ryan@gmail.com to talk more!
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