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LGBTQ+ Voices Oral History Project Awarded Grant

The UNO Libraries’ LGBTQ+ Voices: The Queer Omaha Oral History Project continues with private support

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The UNO Libraries has received a grant from Humanities Nebraska to fund the collection of 20 hours of oral history interviews from LGBTQ+ Nebraskans. This is the second year funding was received for LGBTQ+ Voices: The Queer Omaha Oral History Project. Grant funds are matched with funds raised from community members and other donors.

The oral history interviews’ audio recordings and summaries will be available online and in UNO Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections to enable easier access for community members and other researchers.

Dr. George E. Wolf, Associate Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was interviewed for LGBTQ+ Voices in December 2017. He had this to say about LGBTQ+ Voices:

"For the past several hours I’ve been listening to the Queer Omaha Archives’ interview with me, astonished, in ways I wasn’t aware of during the interview itself, by the significant and forthright local history it discloses through prompting me to explore my own experience. The Archives are collecting an essential repository of LGBT history in Nebraska as embodied in the lives of people who have actually lived that history. It is sure to provide inspiration to those who carry on the work of attaining equal rights and to become an essential resource for those who ultimately write the much-needed LGBT history of the state."

The UNO Libraries will continue to collect oral history interviews from community members through spring 2019. If you are interested in being interviewed or wish to suggest someone whose story should be included in LGBTQ+ Voices, contact Oral History Associate Luke Wegener (lewegener@unomaha.edu, 402.554.2259) or Director of Archives & Special Collections Amy Schindler (acschindler@unomaha.edu, 402.554.6046).

LGBTQ+ Voices: The Queer Omaha Archives Oral History Project is one of many grants funded by Humanities Nebraska (HN). HN awards more than $257,000 in grants each year. In 2017, HN awarded a grant of $2,000 to support LGBTQ+ Voices: The Queer Omaha Archives Oral History Project. UNO Libraries' Archives & Special Collections matched this grant using funds raised from private donors.

About Humanities Nebraska and Grant Funding

Created in 1973 as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, HN is an independent, non-profit organization governed by a volunteer board of public and academic members. HN funds programs that explore Nebraska's heritage, build community awareness, and strengthen our ties to cultural traditions at home and abroad. The Nebraska Cultural Endowment is a public/private partnership that designates funds to HN for distribution.

Any non-profit group is eligible to apply for a grant from HN. The HN staff is available for grant consultation and will read proposal drafts. Contact the HN office if you need assistance with a project idea. For a copy of Humanities Nebraska grant guidelines, contact HN at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508, phone 402-474-2131, fax 402-474-4852, or e-mail at info@humanitiesnebraska.org. The entire grant guidelines packet is online at: http://humanitiesnebraska.org/.

About the Queer Omaha Archives

The Queer Omaha Archives is part of UNO Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections and officially launched in 2016. The Queer Omaha Archives collects and preserves materials relevant to the LGBTQ+ community in the region. Archives & Special Collections' material is available for the university community and general public at both the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library and online.

Visit the Omaha Oral History Blogs to learn more.