Josh In The News
Love and Pride in Alabama: A Photo AlbumDeep in the Bible Belt, L.G.B.T. communities are fighting for greater visibility and acceptance.
Text by: REBECCA LIEBERMAN
Photographs by: ANNIE FLANAGAN
June 29, 2018 - In dense urban centers, the image of Pride as a week of bacchanalian parties and corporate-sponsored floats has caused some to question its importance. But in places like Alabama, where L.G.B.T. people still lack legal protection from discrimination and face barriers to marriage and adoption, Pride events remain a critical display of solidarity. We spent a week in Alabama getting to know some of the people who are fighting for greater visibility and acceptance for L.G.B.T. communities. This year, the cities of Auburn and Opelika held their first series of joint Pride events, called Pride on the Plains. Pride on the Plains brought people from all over Alabama. Catherine Poole, from Talladega, drove for two hours to participate. FULL ARTICLE
Text by: REBECCA LIEBERMAN
Photographs by: ANNIE FLANAGAN
June 29, 2018 - In dense urban centers, the image of Pride as a week of bacchanalian parties and corporate-sponsored floats has caused some to question its importance. But in places like Alabama, where L.G.B.T. people still lack legal protection from discrimination and face barriers to marriage and adoption, Pride events remain a critical display of solidarity. We spent a week in Alabama getting to know some of the people who are fighting for greater visibility and acceptance for L.G.B.T. communities. This year, the cities of Auburn and Opelika held their first series of joint Pride events, called Pride on the Plains. Pride on the Plains brought people from all over Alabama. Catherine Poole, from Talladega, drove for two hours to participate. FULL ARTICLE
A Conversation with Josh Burford about LGBTQ History in the United States
June 27, 2018 - As part of the firm's celebration of Pride Month, on June 27 Bass, Berry & Sims hosted Josh Burford, an award-winning historian, archivist and educator with over 20 years of experience building stronger LGBTQ communities across the United States. Mr. Burford has worked with K-12 schools, universities, corporations and nonprofits to bring greater understanding about inclusion of diverse identities, self-evaluation and best practices related to LGBTQ students and employees and increased retention of LGBTQ individuals in school and in the workplace. He is currently serving as executive director of the invisible Histories Project of Alabama, preserving and making accessible the LGBTQ history of individuals in Alabama. During his presentation, Mr. Burford discussed the importance and evolution of key terms and phrases related to LGBTQ history. He also discussed several important milestones in the LGBTQ community's struggle to find equality and acceptance. He began by stressing the importance of sharing LGBTQ history so that everyone can learn from the mistakes of the past and appreciate the accomplishments that have taken place. He noted that only 17% of students in the United States have access to LGBTQ history at school. FULL ARTICLE
June 27, 2018 - As part of the firm's celebration of Pride Month, on June 27 Bass, Berry & Sims hosted Josh Burford, an award-winning historian, archivist and educator with over 20 years of experience building stronger LGBTQ communities across the United States. Mr. Burford has worked with K-12 schools, universities, corporations and nonprofits to bring greater understanding about inclusion of diverse identities, self-evaluation and best practices related to LGBTQ students and employees and increased retention of LGBTQ individuals in school and in the workplace. He is currently serving as executive director of the invisible Histories Project of Alabama, preserving and making accessible the LGBTQ history of individuals in Alabama. During his presentation, Mr. Burford discussed the importance and evolution of key terms and phrases related to LGBTQ history. He also discussed several important milestones in the LGBTQ community's struggle to find equality and acceptance. He began by stressing the importance of sharing LGBTQ history so that everyone can learn from the mistakes of the past and appreciate the accomplishments that have taken place. He noted that only 17% of students in the United States have access to LGBTQ history at school. FULL ARTICLE
There's No Right Way to be Queer
By Joanne Spataro
June 22, 2018 - On Sunday, tens of thousands of people, L.G.B.T. and straight and trans and cisgender, will pour into the streets of Manhattan for New York’s annual Pride March. This year’s celebrations, however, will be colored by national politics. For the second year in a row, the president won’t even acknowledge Pride Month, but will make proclamations about Homeownership Month. This is all happening as overall acceptance of L.G.B.T. people has dropped for the first time since 2014...
The contrast is clear in triumphant, ecstatic celebrations of marriage equality, when trans people still can’t use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Corporations are cashing in on these identities by selling gay-themed products during Pride Month — often referred to as “rainbow capitalism” — but too often, the rainbow begins and ends with masculine gay men. “There is a sense now of compulsory gayness,” said Josh Burford, the director of community engagement at the Invisible Histories Project. That compulsion and exclusivity is masked by the perception of diversity within gay identity. “Nowadays, there are just as many plug-and-play identities, like twinks, bears, otters and dykes, and each comes with a hefty price tag if you want to ‘do them correctly,’” Mr. Burford said. These “plug-and-play” identities can make closeted L.G.B.T. people feel isolated and unseen. Even though it’s 2018, too many people are still concealing their identities, and the pomp and pageantry — and the cost of participating — of Pride Month doesn’t help. FULL ARTICLE
By Joanne Spataro
June 22, 2018 - On Sunday, tens of thousands of people, L.G.B.T. and straight and trans and cisgender, will pour into the streets of Manhattan for New York’s annual Pride March. This year’s celebrations, however, will be colored by national politics. For the second year in a row, the president won’t even acknowledge Pride Month, but will make proclamations about Homeownership Month. This is all happening as overall acceptance of L.G.B.T. people has dropped for the first time since 2014...
The contrast is clear in triumphant, ecstatic celebrations of marriage equality, when trans people still can’t use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Corporations are cashing in on these identities by selling gay-themed products during Pride Month — often referred to as “rainbow capitalism” — but too often, the rainbow begins and ends with masculine gay men. “There is a sense now of compulsory gayness,” said Josh Burford, the director of community engagement at the Invisible Histories Project. That compulsion and exclusivity is masked by the perception of diversity within gay identity. “Nowadays, there are just as many plug-and-play identities, like twinks, bears, otters and dykes, and each comes with a hefty price tag if you want to ‘do them correctly,’” Mr. Burford said. These “plug-and-play” identities can make closeted L.G.B.T. people feel isolated and unseen. Even though it’s 2018, too many people are still concealing their identities, and the pomp and pageantry — and the cost of participating — of Pride Month doesn’t help. FULL ARTICLE
LGBTQ archivist, professor Josh Burford sets off for Alabama to record the state’s queer history
January 14, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Burford looks back on his time in Charlotte and forward to a new adventure. When Josh Burford first arrived in the Queen City in late 2012 to begin working at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), even he, ambitious as he is, could not have predicted the impact he would have on the community. Less than a year after his arrival, Burford, working with UNCC archivist Meredith Raiford, successfully launched The King-Henry-Brockington Community Archive to preserve and document Charlotte, N.C.’s queer history. His tireless efforts earned him national headlines and the honor of qnotes 2014 Person of the Year.
January 14, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Burford looks back on his time in Charlotte and forward to a new adventure. When Josh Burford first arrived in the Queen City in late 2012 to begin working at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), even he, ambitious as he is, could not have predicted the impact he would have on the community. Less than a year after his arrival, Burford, working with UNCC archivist Meredith Raiford, successfully launched The King-Henry-Brockington Community Archive to preserve and document Charlotte, N.C.’s queer history. His tireless efforts earned him national headlines and the honor of qnotes 2014 Person of the Year.
Exhibit, Lecture on Queer History Coming to UA Gallery
February 21, 2017 - TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A historical exhibition of Charlotte, North Carolina’s queer history is coming to The University of Alabama Gallery Tuesday, March 7, and it will be displayed until Friday, April 14. The exhibition is located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in downtown Tuscaloosa and is free and open to the public. The exhibition, “Publicly Identified: Coming Out Activist in the Queen City,” was created by UA alumnus Josh Burford while at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he is the assistant director for sexual and gender diversity. In 2016, it was one of two exhibits to win the Allan Bérubé Prize, which recognizes outstanding work in public or community-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer history. To put the exhibit in historical context, the department of American studies will also host a lecture Tuesday, March 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa Black Box Theatre at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.
February 21, 2017 - TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A historical exhibition of Charlotte, North Carolina’s queer history is coming to The University of Alabama Gallery Tuesday, March 7, and it will be displayed until Friday, April 14. The exhibition is located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center in downtown Tuscaloosa and is free and open to the public. The exhibition, “Publicly Identified: Coming Out Activist in the Queen City,” was created by UA alumnus Josh Burford while at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he is the assistant director for sexual and gender diversity. In 2016, it was one of two exhibits to win the Allan Bérubé Prize, which recognizes outstanding work in public or community-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer history. To put the exhibit in historical context, the department of American studies will also host a lecture Tuesday, March 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa Black Box Theatre at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.
Planting Seeds of Resistance
February 17, 2017 - I have been working on preservation of Southern Queer history for ten years, and I have never felt the urgency that I feel at this moment to make certain it is safe and available. I think many archivists would agree that urgency is an undercurrent of most of the work that we do since so much information is lost when people die or move or leave their work. When the Charlotte Queer Oral History project began in late 2015 the urgency that we felt was based not on fear but on the excitement that a project like this would give us access to information that didn’t exist anywhere else. I would describe our group as a family that is looking to support each other, but also support the people whose stories we are attempting to capture. Every time we meet it feels like the possibilities are endless and the urgency to get this project moving has created a set of siblings that represent generations of experience, desires, and the need to be connected to something that feels so important.
February 17, 2017 - I have been working on preservation of Southern Queer history for ten years, and I have never felt the urgency that I feel at this moment to make certain it is safe and available. I think many archivists would agree that urgency is an undercurrent of most of the work that we do since so much information is lost when people die or move or leave their work. When the Charlotte Queer Oral History project began in late 2015 the urgency that we felt was based not on fear but on the excitement that a project like this would give us access to information that didn’t exist anywhere else. I would describe our group as a family that is looking to support each other, but also support the people whose stories we are attempting to capture. Every time we meet it feels like the possibilities are endless and the urgency to get this project moving has created a set of siblings that represent generations of experience, desires, and the need to be connected to something that feels so important.
From Small Picnic to Packed Streets: The Evolution of the Charlotte Pride Festival
August 9, 2016 - Charlotte, NC - Imagine the Charlotte Pride Festival without 125,000 people watching the parade float down S. Tryon Street. Or a top-notch entertainer like LeAnn Rimes to close out the two-day celebration.In the early 1980s, Pride was only a potluck picnic for 100 people — and that was considered a big event.
That’s the beginning of the Charlotte Pride Festival, which returns to the Queen City from August 20-21. From 1981 through 1984, the event was a cross between a field day and a church potluck, says Josh Burford, Assistant Director for Sexual/Gender Diversity at the UNCC Multicultural Resource Center.
August 9, 2016 - Charlotte, NC - Imagine the Charlotte Pride Festival without 125,000 people watching the parade float down S. Tryon Street. Or a top-notch entertainer like LeAnn Rimes to close out the two-day celebration.In the early 1980s, Pride was only a potluck picnic for 100 people — and that was considered a big event.
That’s the beginning of the Charlotte Pride Festival, which returns to the Queen City from August 20-21. From 1981 through 1984, the event was a cross between a field day and a church potluck, says Josh Burford, Assistant Director for Sexual/Gender Diversity at the UNCC Multicultural Resource Center.
Charlotte's LGBT Community
June 27, 2016 - WFAE 90.7
It has been one year since the Supreme Court’s land mark ruling on marriage equality. This milestone comes during Pride Month but also in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting. We look at that growing visibility, what it means and what the future may hold with Josh Burford - assistant director for sexual and gender diversity, UNC Charlotte.
June 27, 2016 - WFAE 90.7
It has been one year since the Supreme Court’s land mark ruling on marriage equality. This milestone comes during Pride Month but also in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting. We look at that growing visibility, what it means and what the future may hold with Josh Burford - assistant director for sexual and gender diversity, UNC Charlotte.
Making Queer History Visible in North Carolina
June 24th, 2016 - Today we take a very timely look at the work of Josh Burford, a North Carolina based archivist and activist, who is working to make the history of LGBTQ people in Charlotte visible.
June 24th, 2016 - Today we take a very timely look at the work of Josh Burford, a North Carolina based archivist and activist, who is working to make the history of LGBTQ people in Charlotte visible.
LGBTQ Archives in two Cities Ensure that History Lives On
June 27, 2016 - WFAE 90.7
Durham county library joins Charlotte in saving records of queer life - It has been one year since the Supreme Court’s land mark ruling on marriage equality. This milestone comes during Pride Month but also in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting. We look at that growing visibility, what it means and what the future may hold with Josh Burford - assistant director for sexual and gender diversity, UNC Charlotte.
June 27, 2016 - WFAE 90.7
Durham county library joins Charlotte in saving records of queer life - It has been one year since the Supreme Court’s land mark ruling on marriage equality. This milestone comes during Pride Month but also in the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting. We look at that growing visibility, what it means and what the future may hold with Josh Burford - assistant director for sexual and gender diversity, UNC Charlotte.
Making Queer History Visible in North Carolina
June 24th, 2016 - This year, we have focused on people and institutions using oral history in innovative ways, discussing the challenges they face and their motivations for using oral history to make positive changes in the world. In April we talked to Scott Seyforth and Nichole Barnes about the impressive development of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s LGBTQ archive. Back in March, we looked at websites that are using oral history to intervene in process of erasure, and talked to Sarah Gould about the difficulties of effectively utilizing oral history in museum exhibits. Today we take a very timely look at the work of Josh Burford, a North Carolina based archivist and activist, who is working to make the history of LGBTQ people in Charlotte visible. Read more below, and make sure to check out the archive on Facebook or on their website to explore the collections.
June 24th, 2016 - This year, we have focused on people and institutions using oral history in innovative ways, discussing the challenges they face and their motivations for using oral history to make positive changes in the world. In April we talked to Scott Seyforth and Nichole Barnes about the impressive development of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s LGBTQ archive. Back in March, we looked at websites that are using oral history to intervene in process of erasure, and talked to Sarah Gould about the difficulties of effectively utilizing oral history in museum exhibits. Today we take a very timely look at the work of Josh Burford, a North Carolina based archivist and activist, who is working to make the history of LGBTQ people in Charlotte visible. Read more below, and make sure to check out the archive on Facebook or on their website to explore the collections.
2016 Allan Bérubé Prize Honorable Mention Awarded to Josh Burford.
The Allan Bérubé Prize recognizes outstanding work in public or community-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer history. Burford won the award for curating Publicly Identified: Coming Out Activist in the Queen City at the Levine Museum of the New South. Publicly Identified chronicles the history of the LGBT community of Charlotte, NC from the late 1940s to the 2010s. The exhibit boosted museum attendance by 16% and initiated the King-Henry-Brockington Collection of queer material at University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a regional historical preservation project called Queer History South.
The Allan Bérubé Prize recognizes outstanding work in public or community-based lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer history. Burford won the award for curating Publicly Identified: Coming Out Activist in the Queen City at the Levine Museum of the New South. Publicly Identified chronicles the history of the LGBT community of Charlotte, NC from the late 1940s to the 2010s. The exhibit boosted museum attendance by 16% and initiated the King-Henry-Brockington Collection of queer material at University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a regional historical preservation project called Queer History South.
UNC Charlotte Launches LGBT History Collection
Josh Burford, asst. director Multicultural Resource Center, is launching an oral history project to talk to historical figures in the LGBT community for their perspectives on history. Burford and Dawn Schmitz, archivist at the Atkins Library, displayed some of the collection on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. After winning national honors in 2015 for launching an archive devoted to LGBT Charlotteans, Burford is taking the collection a step further with an oral history project aimed at recording the stories of LGBT figures who thrived despite widespread prejudice and persecution.
Josh Burford, asst. director Multicultural Resource Center, is launching an oral history project to talk to historical figures in the LGBT community for their perspectives on history. Burford and Dawn Schmitz, archivist at the Atkins Library, displayed some of the collection on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. After winning national honors in 2015 for launching an archive devoted to LGBT Charlotteans, Burford is taking the collection a step further with an oral history project aimed at recording the stories of LGBT figures who thrived despite widespread prejudice and persecution.
Between HB2 supporters and colleges: A cultural divide
Jesse Howie, a UNC Charlotte junior, is an articulate, involved student with a silver nose ring and hair color that’s apt to change from week to week. Howie, whose birth certificate says female, is also a transgender student who declines to be identified as male or female, preferring the gender-neutral pronoun “they.” Few people would call UNCC a radical hotbed. It’s no Berkeley or Oberlin, not as liberal as Chapel Hill. But Howie, who grew up in Charlotte, has found the school supportive of LGBT students. “I have never felt discriminated against for being trans,” Howie says.
Jesse Howie, a UNC Charlotte junior, is an articulate, involved student with a silver nose ring and hair color that’s apt to change from week to week. Howie, whose birth certificate says female, is also a transgender student who declines to be identified as male or female, preferring the gender-neutral pronoun “they.” Few people would call UNCC a radical hotbed. It’s no Berkeley or Oberlin, not as liberal as Chapel Hill. But Howie, who grew up in Charlotte, has found the school supportive of LGBT students. “I have never felt discriminated against for being trans,” Howie says.
Charlotte's LGBTQ Community Archive Now has a Name...three of them to be exact
The collection of historical papers and materials received its official naming at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte on Thursday, with honors going to two longtime community leaders and a transgender youth leader who died earlier this year. The Donaldson King-Sue Henry-Blake Brockington LGBTQ Community Archive received its dedication in a short ceremony at UNC-Charlotte’s Student Union. Community archivist and university staffer Joshua Burford led the ceremony, which included Sue Henry and friends and family King and Brockington.
The collection of historical papers and materials received its official naming at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte on Thursday, with honors going to two longtime community leaders and a transgender youth leader who died earlier this year. The Donaldson King-Sue Henry-Blake Brockington LGBTQ Community Archive received its dedication in a short ceremony at UNC-Charlotte’s Student Union. Community archivist and university staffer Joshua Burford led the ceremony, which included Sue Henry and friends and family King and Brockington.
Charlotte-area Transgender Teens’ Suicides Rock Community
Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity at UNC Charlotte, said Blake worked with him on a recent exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South, “Out of the Shadows: Gay America from Kinsey to Stonewall.”
“He was so vibrant, one of those people that you immediately felt like you knew,” Burford said. “... He was such an example to everybody. He had passion around his work, but he wasn’t an angry or bitter person. He was just so bright.
What happened to Blake is part of a systemic problem, especially for trans students of color. He didn’t quit. He didn’t give up. ... He’s a victim of what happens every single day to these kids."
Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity at UNC Charlotte, said Blake worked with him on a recent exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South, “Out of the Shadows: Gay America from Kinsey to Stonewall.”
“He was so vibrant, one of those people that you immediately felt like you knew,” Burford said. “... He was such an example to everybody. He had passion around his work, but he wasn’t an angry or bitter person. He was just so bright.
What happened to Blake is part of a systemic problem, especially for trans students of color. He didn’t quit. He didn’t give up. ... He’s a victim of what happens every single day to these kids."
2015 Champions of Pride Harvey Milk Award Recipient: Josh Burford
Given annually to an individual or a couple to honor exceptional leadership, service to the community and those who champion LGBTQ causes that impact the Charlotte community and beyond. Though living and working in Charlotte for only a short time, Joshua Burford has had a tremendous impact on local LGBTQ community conversations, priorities, leadership, culture and history.
Given annually to an individual or a couple to honor exceptional leadership, service to the community and those who champion LGBTQ causes that impact the Charlotte community and beyond. Though living and working in Charlotte for only a short time, Joshua Burford has had a tremendous impact on local LGBTQ community conversations, priorities, leadership, culture and history.
2014 Person of the Year: Joshua Burford
UNC-Charlotte staffer, community archivist leaves mark on newfound home. It’s been a little over two years since Joshua Burford moved to the Queen City. Adopting it as his newfound home, he wasted no time jumping in. The Charlotte-based LGBT arts, entertainment and news publication qnotes recently named Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity in the Multicultural Resource Center, as its “2014 Person of the Year.”
UNC-Charlotte staffer, community archivist leaves mark on newfound home. It’s been a little over two years since Joshua Burford moved to the Queen City. Adopting it as his newfound home, he wasted no time jumping in. The Charlotte-based LGBT arts, entertainment and news publication qnotes recently named Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity in the Multicultural Resource Center, as its “2014 Person of the Year.”
