From Matthew Shepard to CSU’s first (and last) male homecoming queen, the Queer Memory Project archives Northern Colorado’s LGBTQ+ history

Contact for reporters:

Stacy Nick
Stacy.Nick@colostate.edu

Note to journalists: High-res images for media use are available at https://col.st/A9pou

The history of the LGBTQ+ community and its role in the fabric of the larger culture is undeniable. It’s also one that’s less frequently documented in newspapers and museums, particularly in more rural and suburban settings, said Colorado State University Associate Professor of Communication Studies Tom Dunn. 

“Many of these stories take place in those parts of the country and yet for a very long time, people didn’t feel safe in telling those stories,” Dunn said. “They didn’t feel welcome or invited to tell those stories unless there was a really explicit invitation to do so. That’s true in liberal enclaves and in big cities, as well. But it’s particularly true in places like Northern Colorado that tend to be very agriculturally based, that tend to be very rural, and where we don’t think of LGBTQ life as being rich and complex. But it is.” 

Dunn was recently named one of The Advocate‘s 2022 Champions of Pride for his work creating the Queer Memory Project. Funded by a Monfort Award, the educational research effort is creating an online archive to preserve Northern Colorado’s queer past. Over the past two years, Dunn and his students have collected newspaper stories and photos documenting that history. This summer, they’ll be interviewing members of the LGBTQ+ community from throughout Northern Colorado — including Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Estes Park, Raymer, Evans and Denver — to find out more about their lived experiences in the 20th and 21st centuries.

As part of CSU’s new podcast, The Audit, host Stacy Nick spoke with Dunn to find out more about the project and why preserving these stories of Northern Colorado’s past is so important to its future.

You can find the podcast, along with a transcript at https://col.st/A9pou. All content is available for use, and Dunn is available for media interviews.