Flatbush + Main: Queering Brooklyn Spaces

This episode was originally published on June 21, 2016.

In episode 03 of Brooklyn Historical Society's podcast Flatbush + Main, Zaheer and I tackle the history of queer spaces in Brooklyn. We sit down with curator and writer Hugh Ryan, who helps us define "queer" as a historical construct and shares some amazing hidden queer histories that he has uncovered. We also visit Lesbian Herstory Archives in the neighborhood of Park Slope to talk with co-founder Deborah Edel, and listen to the reflections of one Brooklynite who shared his life and experiences in our oral history collections. We usually plan each episode a month or two in advance, and we knew we wanted to do an episode honoring Pride for the month of June. But on Sunday, June 12, the episode took on new and heartbreaking meaning for us when we learned of the mass shooting of 49 people at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. This tragedy and this unthinkable loss of life makes examination of Brooklyn's complex and layered queer history all the more imperative. Zaheer and I dedicate this podcast to the victims of the Pulse massacre, and those who have lost partners, family members, friends, and loved ones.