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The UA's Institute for LGBT Studies is collaborating with local award-winning filmmaker, Jamie A. Lee, on a project that is intended to become a statewide archive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members' oral histories.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
October 12, 2009

Jamie A. Lee has conducted interviews to form the groundwork of what is intended to become a statewide repository of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender oral histories – a collection that will be housed at the University of Arizona.

Lee, a local award-winning documentary filmmaker, initiated the "Arizona LGBT Storytelling Project: Community Histories," which is a Pan Left production, in January 2008.

With 60 hours of video recorded interviews – half of which she conducted with two colleagues and another half that was donated by Pan Left  – Lee has since worked with the UA Institute for LGBT Studies staff to digitally store and disseminate the narratives.

"We talked about all the dreams for this project and felt it was important to have that academic and community partnership," said Lee, who is a Pan Left member.

Lee said her involvement with the UA Institute for LGBT Studies' Oral History Cluster was also helpful in aiding in her development of the project. She has been inspired by the group, and emphasized a major goal for the project is that it would be open to the public with widespread access.

A portion of the project will be screened on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. in Room 105 of UA's McClelland Park, which is located at 650 N. Park Ave. A sample of interviews is available as podcasts via the UA's iTunes University Web site.

"We're excited that she has offered to let the Institute house and stream the interviews she has been collecting with local LGBT seniors," said Eithne Luibheid, an associate professor in the UA's gender and women's studies department.

Luibheid, who also directs the UA Institute for LGBT Studies, has been working with Lee to make the project available to the community.

"We expect that her project will help to establish the importance and uniqueness of Tucson's LGBTQ community," Luibheid said.

She considers the project a necessary addition to the institutional memory within Arizona and noted that few projects of its kind exist nationally, particularly focused on the stories of senior members of the LGBT community.

Their lives "remain very much undocumented and under-studied," Luibheid said. 

"Historically, the large urban centers get attention, but as a border state," Luibheid added, "Arizona offers a distinct and important history and perspective on LGBTQ lives and histories, and Jamie's work will contribute to establishing that."

Interview subjects – all Tucsonans – talk about common experiences: what Tucson means to them; whether they have ever faced discrimination; dealing with illness and disease; the influence of spirituality and religion; and how they have maintained long-term relationships, particularly at 17 years for one couple and 39 for another.

Rosario Carrillo, a UA assistant professor of Mexican American studies who chairs the UA cluster, referenced the UA's land grant mission, noting that "it is our duty to be responsive to and inclusive of all community groups."

She also spoke to the increased reliance on and benefit of oral histories. "To have statewide coverage in Arizona of the LGBTQ community is an absolute treasure." 

While few comparable archives exist across the United States, they are being developed in greater numbers, said Lee, also founder and director of visionaries filmworks, inc. Similar projects exist in California, Washington state, Ohio and Lee's home state of Minnesota. 

The UA has institutionalized offices and organizations meant to address LGBT issues, such as the Institute for LGBT studies, the Office for LGBTQ Affairs and Pride Alliance, run out of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona. UA's ATLAS, Applied Tailored Leadership Adventure for Students, program also offers a LGBTQ and Ally Leadership certificate.

And the gender and women's studies department has class offerings that explore the community's history and experience, and the Lesbian Looks Film Series – which has begun – also address LGBT issues. 

But in terms of historical preservation, Lee said it is important to be "named," but that a statewide archive does not yet exist detailing the stories and experiences of people who are LGBT.

As the project develops and grows, Lee said the intention is to incorporate a broader audience of voices. Lee is now pursuing grants to eventually be able to loan cameras to people who can then conduct their own interviews for the archive.

Such a collection of stories could break down stereotypes, aid educators in curriculum development, inform lawmakers considering policy that could affect the LGBT community and also aid closeted individuals in embracing their sexualities, Lee said.

"There really is a diverse range of stories," Lee said. "But we often don't have the opportunity to ask our elders because how would we know who they are unless they are wearing a big sign?"

But in the video interviews, "you get to hear their stories. It's not like having them in a book. You see them, watch their mouths moving, see their body language and can begin to feel connected."