In this week's episode of "Gay Hoarders," those uber-gay, Chick-Fil-A hating academics at Emory are launching a rainbow-colored glitter bomb on their Manuscript, Archives & Rare Book Library. And a city council member in the news lately is helping them do it.
That's right, Alex Wan (photo) may not want your sex shops, strip clubs and gloryholes anymore, but he does want your Atlanta LGBT history. And now that it appears no one is stepping forward to challenge him for his second term on the council, he'll have time to do it. Wan, director of development for the Emory Libraries, is teaming up with curator Randy Gue for a major push to add more gay Atlanta history to the collection.
Alex Wan, director of development for the Emory Libraries, says efforts are underway to raise funds to organize and describe the collections. "We need to raise money to process these papers so we can provide the broadest possible access to these unique materials," he says.
Both he and Gue envision expanding the collection to include influential LGBT members in politics, business and other aspects of the Atlanta community.
"The Atlanta LGBT community has such a rich history," adds Wan, who also sits on Atlanta City Council. "There are a number of firsts in terms of LGBT elected officials in Atlanta and in Georgia that are part of the story, and we'd love to add their papers to our collections."
Go here to find out how to help and to see a preview of what's currently in the collection, which already includes the papers of local gay pioneer Jesse Peel. An August exhibit of the materials is in the works, with details to follow. We'll keep you posted.
