Pride Festival


Sponsored By

Friends of the Library

welcome to MPL Pride Kickoff 2022!

After-Hours Celebration

Friday, September 2, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library

Live Music, Free Drinks, Small Art Sale, Trivia
Registration Required

Pride Kickoff

Saturday, September 3, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library

Family friendly, Rainbow Family Story Time, Mini Parade, Arts and Crafts, Raffle Prizes

Vincent Astor Collection (Newly Digitized!)

Check out our newly digitized Vincent Astor Collection! Vincent Astor has become a symbol of LGBTQ activism in the Mid-South and a leader in interdisciplinary activism as a whole, a man who did his part to record and enhance the lives of LGBTQ people in Memphis, Tennessee. 

The Vincent Astor Collection, donated by Astor in 2016, is a culmination of material Astor spent his life collecting and covers a range of themes: Pageants and Clubs, Religious Organizations, Activist Coalitions, Government and Military Influence, AIDS-Related Materials, Pride Materials, Local Theater, and Oversized Posters relating to LGBTQ Life in the Mid-South. Within those themes are correspondence, newspaper articles, promotional posters, magazine articles, handwritten notes and photographs.

Let Vincent Astor tell you more about it in this video! And visit the collection here.

Book lists

LGBTQ+ RAINBOW BOOKS

Browse these titles.


PRIDE LEGAL/HISTORICAL BOOKS

Browse these titles.


PRIDE SOCIOLOGICAL/HEALTH BOOKS

Browse these titles.


SELF-CARE/HEALTH BOOKS

Browse these titles.


pRIDE CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Browse these titles.

community partners

CHOICES

“Choices is proud to provide comprehensive, non-judgemental sexual and reproductive health services to everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community. Our goal is to provide you with all the information and resources you need to protect your health and make informed decisions. We will always respect your sexual health decisions and your need for privacy and confidentiality.”

For more information about CHOICES’ LGBTQ+ Health Services, visit HERE.


church of the river (uua)

“As part of the liberal Unitarian Universalist denomination, we’re a diverse, progressive and caring congregation. We care about social justice, the environment and each other. We welcome you no matter where you come from, what color your skin is or who you love.”

For more information about Church of the River, visit HERE.


episcopal diocese of west tennessee

“The Episcopal Church in West Tennessee is a welcoming community of believers with many voices, yet one faith in Jesus Christ, united in the Book of Common Prayer, nurtured by the sacraments and empowered by the Word of God for our ministry in the world.”

For more information about the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee, visit HERE.



glsen

“Our chapter continues to grow across Tennessee, activating leaders of all ages in their own communities as champions for LGBTQ+ issues in K-12 education. Supporting teachers, engaging students, and advocating for protective policies statewide requires a lot of dedication from our volunteers.”

For more information on GLSEN, please visit HERE.


holy trinity community church (UCC)

“Our unique experience with the gospel at this church is for all people: gay, straight, bisexual, transgender, & every location on the gender spectrum. It doesn’t matter who you are or how you identify yourself – you are loved by God.”

For more information on the Holy Trinity Community Church, visit HERE.


love doesn’t hurt

“The agency helps to provide assistance to victims of Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community to provide emergency shelter, transportation, food, clothing and relocation for those in Shelby County area.”

For more information Love Doesn’t Hurt, visit HERE.


memphis friends meeting (quakers)

“William Penn founded the colony of Pennsylvania in 1680, not just for Quakers, but for all religious groups based on his understanding of equality and religious tolerance.” Most Quaker Meetings in the US, including the Memphis Friends Meeting “have found unity in welcoming and supporting gender and sexual equality.”

For more information on Memphis Friends Meeting, visit HERE.


my sistah’s house

“My Sistah House fosters sustainability and security for the most vulnerable of the transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (TLGBQ) communities in Memphis Tennessee, providing emergency housing, advocacy, and multipronged resource assistance delivered by and for gender non-conforming (TGNC) people of color.”

For more information on My Sistah’s House, visit HERE.


outmemphis

“Regardless of how we identify as individuals, we all seek a world where we can live openly, honestly and authentically. We desire a community that celebrates and respects us fully as a part of the whole. We expect and deserve to be as open about who we are and whom we love as we choose to be. Working to make that world a reality is what we do every day at OUTMemphis”

Watch this video HERE of Synthia from CLOUD901 and Alexander Hauptman, Transgender Services Manager at OUTMemphis as they discuss Transgender Visibility and Safety.

For more information on OUTMemphis, visit HERE.


tennessee equality project

“The Tennessee Equality Project advocates for the equal rights of LGBTQ people in Tennessee.  We do this through legislative advocacy.  That means we lobby the Tennessee General Assembly and local governments around the state.”

Watch this video for a brief explanation of TEP:

Watch this video for an important message about voting:

For more information on the Tennessee Equality Project, please visit HERE.


university of memphis Mid South LGBTQ+ Archive

“The Mid-South LGBTQ+ Archive is housed in the McWherter Library Special Collections at the University of Memphis.”

For more information on the University of Memphis Special Collections, please visit HERE.


WeCareTN

“WeCareTennessee is 501(c)3 organization in Memphis, Tennessee. Here at WeCareTn, we are driven by a single goal; to do our part in making the lives of trans women better. We strive to build productive relationships and make a positive impact on all of our pursuits. We believe that a single action can make a difference in the community, and that collective action can greatly impact the world. Through advocacy and outreach activities, our team works tirelessly each day to contribute their part to the greater good.  We offer HIV testing, Harm Reduction Services, Transgender and Gender Nonconforming specific programs that support job readiness, drug user health, sex worker health and safety, mental health, and HIV  education and prevention.”

For more information on WeCareTN, please visit HERE.


buff city soap

Stop by the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library Saturday September 4 starting at 10:30. Make a care package for you or someone you know, including Buff City Soaps!


linc 2-1-1 community information

For more information on other services in the community, please call 2-1-1 or access their community database HERE.

story times and crafts



ONE ARCHIVES AT THE USC LIBRARIES (CA)

“ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries is the largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world.” Visit their online collections HERE.


glbt historical society museum & archives (ca)

“The GLBT Historical Society Museum, located in the heart of San Francisco’s Castro District, is the first stand-alone museum of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender history and culture in the United States.” Visit their online exhibitions and archives HERE.


lgbtq religious archives network

“The LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (LGBT-RAN) is an innovative venture in preserving history and encouraging scholarly study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) religious movements around the world.” Visit their online exhibitions HERE.


national museum of american history (DC) – illegal to be you – history beyond stonewall

“The June 1969 uprising against police harassment at The Stonewall Inn, a bar in Lower Manhattan, is probably the most famous moment in U.S. LGBTQ+ history. Fifty years later, the histories of the drag queens, students, homeless youth, and others who were there can be placed within a larger and longer experience of being different.” Visit the exhibit’s webpage HERE.


mazer lesbian archives (CA)

“The June L. Mazer Archives is the largest major archive on the West Coast dedicated to preserving and promoting lesbian and feminist history and culture. By creating a safe place for women to explore the richness of lesbian history, perhaps adding to it themselves, we are paving the way for future generations to understand more fully their own identity and history and help maintain this vital link to their own past.” Visit their online collections HERE.


lesbian herstory archives (NY)

“We founded The Lesbian Herstory Archives in the 1970’s when a group of women involved in the Gay Academic Union realized that lesbian history was “disappearing as quickly as it was being made.” Our mission is to gather and preserve records of lesbian lives and activities so that future generations will have ready access to materials relevant to their lives.” Visit their digital collections HERE.

art exhibits

columbus museum of art (OH) – art after stonewall, 1969-1989

Art after Stonewall, 1969-1989 is the first major exhibition to examine the impact on visual culture of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) liberation movement sparked fifty years ago with the Stonewall Uprising.” Visit the exhibit’s web page HERE.


tate modern (UK) – andy warhol

“This major retrospective is the first Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern for almost 20 years. As well as his iconic pop images of Marilyn Monroe, Coca-Cola and Campbell’s soup cans, it includes works never seen before in the UK. Twenty-five works from his Ladies and Gentlemen series – portraits of black and Latinx drag queens and trans women – are shown for the first time in 30 years.” Visit the exhibit’s web page HERE.


brooklyn museum (NY) – Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic

“The works presented in Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic raise questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation by portraying contemporary African American men and women using the conventions of traditional European portraiture.” Visit the exhibit’s webpage HERE.


alice austen house (NY) – google arts and culture – fine bright day: the photography of alice austen

“Alice Austen (1866 – 1952) was one of America’s earliest and most prolific female photographers. This exhibition examines the range of Austen’s photography and specifically inserts her into a contemporary context as the modern woman she was. 22 newly printed photographs are paired in this show and accompanied by interpretive text by leading scholars, artists and activists from the LGBTQ and allied community” Visit the exhibit HERE. For more about Alice Austen, visit the Alice Austen House Museum HERE.


the met fifth avenue (ny) – the great hall commission, kent monkman

“He explores themes of colonization, sexuality, loss, and resilience—the complexities of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences—across a variety of mediums, including painting, film, performance, and installation. Monkman’s gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, often appears in his work as a time-traveling, shape-shifting, supernatural being who reverses the colonial gaze to challenge received notions of history and Indigenous peoples.” Visit the exhibit’s webpage HERE.


leslie-lohman museum of art (NY)

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is the only dedicated LGBTQ art museum in the world with a mission to exhibit and preserve LGBTQ art and foster the artists who create it. Visit their current exhibitions HERE.

MIDSOUTH PRIDE – PRIDE FEST 2021

Don’t let the fun stop here. Join Midsouth Pride’s Pride Fest 2021 HERE.