by Evelyn Bailey
The Smithsonian Museum of American history Archives has requested a complete run of the Empty Closet from the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley. Pulling a copy of the Empty Closet from each month it was printed will take some time. Expected date of transfer is October, 2012.
Why does the Smithsonian want a complete run of the Empty Closet?
The Smithsonian Institution was established with funds from James Smithson (1765-1829), a British scientist who left his estate to the United States to found “at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, consisting of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities whose vision is to shape the future by preserving our heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world. One of the four grand challenges outlined in the Smithsonian Strategic Plan is understanding the American experience.
America is an increasingly diverse society that shares a history, ideals, and an indomitable, innovative spirit. We will use our resources across disciplines to explore what it means to be an American and how the disparate experiences of individual groups strengthen the whole, and to share our story with people of all nations. The Empty Closet Newspaper does just that for the lgbt community of Rochester, NY.
The Empty Closet (EC), a publication of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley Inc, is the Rochester region’s first and only newspaper for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) community.
In the hometown of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, the EC serves any member of the community as an expressive voice for equality and justice for all. It is a record of local, national, and international news and events of interest to the local GLBT community. The EC also serves as an educational tool for the non-GLBT community.
Because of the Empty Closet’s local, national and international historical significance the Smithsonian Museum of American History Archives joins the Local History and Genealogy Department of Rochester Public Library, the Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts of the University of Rochester River Campus Libraries, and the Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University in seeking to collect and preserve a complete run of all its issues.
In January, 2011 the Empty Closet turned 40 – a milestone in anyone’s life, but an exceptional one especially today for any newspaper, let alone a gay newspaper!!
In October, 2012 the Empty Closet will achieve another milestone – inclusion in the Smithsonian Museum of American History Archives!