BU Students and Faculty take Educational Trip through Boston LGBT History
Boston University’s School of Theology student group, Sacred Worth (a group focused around including the LGBT community within the church and society), took a walking tour of Boston’s LGBT history as part of their OUTober initiative. During this month-long event series, the goal is to deepen people’s awareness about LGBT issues historically, intellectually, and personally.
The historical walk through Boston did just that and Daily Free Press reporter Kylie Obermeier covered the story. Though Boston is not as widely known for its LGBT movement as other cities, Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Program organizer Nathan Bakken told Obermeier that learning about the 1971 protest march (referring to the 300 people in Boston who protested against the harassment of gay people) and the more militant spirit of the time was an interesting contrast to today’s mainstream gay pride movement. Tour leader Barry DeVincke, who experienced many of the LGBT historical moments firsthand over the past 51 years, explained that it was a sad time due to the AIDS crisis and lack of government recognition: “Some friends stopped visiting former friends because they felt awkward and didn’t know how to handle the situation. Then there were the buddies, healthcare providers and other volunteers who made great personal sacrifices to make life easier for the patients.”
STH Spiritual Life coordinator Charlene Zuill emphasizes the importance of learning the history of oppressed groups. Zuill said, “A lot of the experiences of communities that were previously marginalized, that trauma is still here in the city, so to know about it and acknowledge it, I think, is the only way that you can be a part of making sure that things are different in the future.”
Read the Daily Free Press story