Videos Relating to Louisiana LGBT+ History

The Up Stairs Lounge Fire: 50 Year Anniversary Conference

Panels and discussions from the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire, which occurred in New Orleans on June 24th 1973.

Thirty-two people from the LGBT community were burned to death, but officials failed to act in the ensuing days to help the victims or find their families. Churches refused burial services, and many were buried in Potter’s Field.

Produced by: Valda Lewis
Production assistant: Vanessa Lewis
Field camera: Rick Delaup

Prejudice & Pride: Revisiting the tragic fire that killed 32 in a New Orleans gay bar

Jun 28, 2018, ABC News
Until the Pulse nightclub massacre, the 1973 UpStairs Lounge fire was the deadliest attack on LGBTQ citizens in US history.

The Up Stairs Lounge Fire | New Orleans: 50 Years Later

Featuring moderator and facilitator, Frank Perez, with contributing panelists Courtney Sharp, Robert W. Fieseler, and Clayton Delery.
Presented by: American LGBTQ+ Museum in partnership with the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.

Just for the Record

Just for the Record (JFTR ) was a weekly cable access television show on Cox Cable channel 49, in New Orleans. It was one of New Orleans’ first LGBT-themed television shows, and covered both local and national topics of interest to the gay and lesbian community.
Produced by Valda Lewis and Loretta Mims, the show first began airing in 1987. Mims left the show in 1990, and Lewis continued production until 1993. The shows began as 30 minutes programs but soon extended to 60 minutes. In addition, a monthly newsletter was published and mailed to over 2,000 community members, and distributed at LGBT businesses to promote the program.
In 1993 Lewis also produced a live call-in show called “Queer Street Live”, hosted by Judith Wenger and Chip Lohner, which ran for thirteen weeks.
With funding from the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, the Amistad Research Center digitized the Just for the Record programs.
Below are some clips from the Valda Lewis collection. To view the full archive of Just for the Record episodes at Amistad’s Vimeo channel, CLICK HERE.

The French Quarter’s Rainbow Heritage

Did you know that the French Quarter has an incredibly rich LGBTQIA+ history? Join us for a lecture with “French Quarter Frank” Perez that explores topics including colonial and 19th Century queer New Orleans, the role of gay men in historic preservation in the French Quarter, literary influences, the nation’s oldest gay bar, the origins of Southern Decadence, the Up Stairs Lounge fire, and the LGBT+ Archives Project.

Grand Illusions: The History and Artistry of Gay Carnival in New Orleans

Celebrate Pride Month with this behind-the-scenes tour of “Grand Illusions: The History and Artistry of Gay Carnival in New Orleans” with curator Wayne Phillips! Learn more about the rich history of gay krewes and elaborate costumes on display and see historic footage of past carnival balls. The museums are now open, so come see “Grand Illusions,” currently on display at the Presbytère. LouisianaStateMuseum.org

OUTWORDS Archive Interviews

The OUTWORDS Archive is a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles. It records and archives on-camera interviews with pioneers, activists, and elders from the LGBTQ community throughout the United States. Below are two of their video interviews with New Orleanians, Michael Hickerson and Crystal Little.

The History of Pride in New Orleans

A presentation and panel discussion, sponsored by the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana and SAGE New Orleans – NOAGE. Featuring Mark Gonzalez, Michael Hickerson, Valda Lewis, Frank Perez, and Dr. Catherine Roland. Moderated by Jim Meadows. Recorded on June 29, 2020.

Louisiana Trans Oral History Project Presents: Storytelling and the Preservation of Our Trans History

Hosted by the Louisiana Trans Oral History Project, this panel of Black and Latinx trans women explores the role of storytelling in their lives and work.

An interview with George Dureau

Artist George Dureau (1930-2014) is casually interviewed by David Zalkind in front of the Faubourg Marigny Arts & Bookstore on Frenchmen St., with proprietor Otis Fennel in 2007, in New Orleans. Dureau talks about his early life, his mother, education and living in 12 houses in and around New Orleans.

Club My-O-My: New Orleans Vintage Drag

Club My-O-My: New Orleans Vintage Drag: New Orleans female impersonator club that flourished from 1930s-1960s (6 minutes)
Produced by Michael Mizell-Nelson, David Wolf, Thomasine Miller
Edited by Courtney Egan

Steward and Afred with Bill Hagler and Ron Joullian a Faerie Playhouse Series

In this installment of oral histories for NCPTT’s “Before They’re Gone: Documenting Disappearing LGBTQ+ Sites in the South” project, we sit with Bill Hagler and Ron Joullian on the grounds of the Faerie Playhouse located in New Orleans, Louisiana. We learn of the site’s history in regards as gathering place for LGBTQ+ community members across the nation, the founders, Stewart and Alfred, as well as their love story going beyond activism and mentorship.

Krewe of Petronius | Historic Footage | Gay Carnival in New Orleans

Founded in 1961, the Krewe of Petronius is the oldest gay krewe in New Orleans and remains active today. Seen in these clips is footage from the 1969 and 1992 Petronius balls. In 1969, ball captain Jamie Greenleaf chose “The Glorification of the American Girl” as the theme, inspired by the 1929 musical comedy film Glorifying the American Girl, which highlighted the Ziegfeld Follies. The 1992 theme chosen by ball captain Mickey Gil was “Fairy Tales,” and crowned as queen of the ball was Paul Gehardt, whose lavish Fairy Queen costume incorporated lights and battery-operated flittering butterflies. Clips edited by the Louisiana State Museum, footage courtesy of Howard Smith and George Patterson.