For the past three decades, the number of lesbian bars in the United States has seen a steady decline-from an estimated 200 at their peak in the 1980s to a low point in 2020 of less than 20 across the country, according to an NBC Newsreport. Since then, according to a more recent NBC News review from August 2023, a dozen new bars have opened, bringing the total number of venues geared toward queer women to 35-signaling “a measured revitalization” and bringing legitimate hope for an ongoing resurgence. Per that same review, bar owners and patrons are attributing the uptick to the rising need for queer and transgender-inclusive spaces amidst a flurry of anti-LGBTQ legislative attacks as well as an evolution towards messaging that is more inclusive of the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community within sapphic spaces. Also credited with generating this momentum is the fundraising campaign and documentary film Lesbian Bar Project, which features bars that are also included in the seven-minute NBC Out documentary with which the program begins.
This event brings together leading advocates, bar owners, and community members to discuss efforts to counter the downward trend as well as the significance and evolution, from Stonewall to today, of the lesbian bar as a vital LGBTQ community space. Welcoming remarks by LGBTQ Policy Center Director Erin Mayo-Adam.
Panelists:
Wanda Acosta (she/her) is a stalwart icon in lesbian nightlife in downtown New York and has been creating and producing events in New York City for 30 years. She was an owner of WonderBar, Starlight, and Clubhouse in Manhattan’s East Village. She has worked with a diverse range of clients and media, including The New Festival , Mix NYC, Showtime’s The L-Word, Miramax Films, Tribeca Film Festival, Twist/Columbia Records, Visionaire, and other non-profit organizations. She is currently the creator, producer, and co-editor of the podcast Sundays at Café Tabac, which focuses on queer lives and queer coming out stories.
Angela E.L. Barnes (she/her) is the co-owner of Nobody’s Darling, a woman-owned, women-centered cocktail bar in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. In 2021, Nobody’s Darling was a James Beard Award finalist. She has had the privilege of serving as a board director for non-profit organizations including Center on Halsted, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, GLAAD Chicago Leadership Council, and SGA Youth & Family Services. She co-founded SHE100, a philanthropic giving circle of lesbian and queer women supporting organizations throughout Chicago.
Alex Berg (she/her) is an on-air host, creative director, and multimedia journalist who recently wrote a feature about new lesbian and queer women owned bars for NBC OUT. Alex recently served as a director and producer of the documentary series Authentic Voices of Pride for LGBTQ Nation and as the host of Lambda Legal’s inaugural podcast, Making the Case. Alex’s work has received Anthem, Shorty, and Muse awards, was nominated for GLAAD Media Awards, and screened by NewFest. Alex has also been recognized as an honoree in the Webby’s News & Politics category.
Kathy Jack (she/her) is the Director of Operations for Caven Enterprises, Inc., which owns Sue Ellen’s (the oldest lesbian bar in Texas) along with many other Gay Bars. Kathy has lived in Dallas for over six decades, where she works as the manager of Sue Ellen’s. Kathy has been a leader in the LGBTQIA+ community for over 40 years. She has spent much of her life managing Lesbian bars in Dallas and owned her own restaurant and bar with her wife of 27 years from 2008-2012. She is proud to have been named the first Inclusion Ambassador to the LGBTQIA+ community for the Dallas Mavericks in 2018.
Stacy Lentz (she/her) is an LGBTQ+ activist, speaker, and Co-Owner of the Stonewall Inn, which became the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement after the Stonewall Riots in 1969. In 2006, the Stonewall Inn was closed, and Lentz was part of a team of investors who saved the iconic landmark. Lentz helped organize the March for Marriage rally to call for the repeal of DOMA in 2013. She is also a TEDx speaker and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, and various other news outlets discussing gay rights and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
Erin Mayo-Adam (she/her), moderator, is the Director of the LGBTQ Policy Center at Roosevelt House, an assistant professor in the Political Science Department, and a member of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Faculty and Curriculum Committee. She is the author of Queer Alliances: How Power Shapes Political Movement Formation. Her research is situated in the fields of American politics, law and society, and political theory and bridges scholarship on social movements, interest groups and public policy, intersectionality, gender and sexuality, and migration and labor politics.
Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, November 8, 2023.
12 ноя 2023
