Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project

Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project The Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project is a volunteer-run organization that preserves and shares the histories of all local LGBTQ community members.

Behold this remarkable (and unsigned) cover page art for Fifth Freedom, Western NY’s first gay newspaper. The Art Nouvea...
08/21/2026

Behold this remarkable (and unsigned) cover page art for Fifth Freedom, Western NY’s first gay newspaper. The Art Nouveau imagery and style which had a strong influence on the psychedelic art and graphic design of the 1960s seems like quite an unusual artistic choice in the year 1978. Even more interesting for this time of gay liberation movement is the gender and sexual expansiveness that dominates the picture.

MSNF, which incorporated in the early days of 1970 and which was Buffalo’s first gay rights organization, published Fifth Freedom all the way into the mid-1980s.

Credit: Madeline Davis LGBTQ Archive of WNY (Special Collections of Buffalo State Library)

FAQ + DirectionsSee you in a few!
08/16/2026

FAQ + Directions
See you in a few!

CELEBRATE FOUND FAMILY WITH US!When: Sunday, August 16, from 3 to 6 pmWhere: Delaware Park, at the shelter by the Parksi...
08/14/2026

CELEBRATE FOUND FAMILY WITH US!
When: Sunday, August 16, from 3 to 6 pm

Where: Delaware Park, at the shelter by the Parkside Lodge.

What: A picnic, a potluck, lawn games, and a chill multigenerational LGBTQ+ community space.

Bring: A dish to pass, and a recipe/story about that dish. We'll be compiling all of your recipes into a community cookbook!

Cost: Technically none, but we rely on the support of community members, so donations would be welcome. Also, we'll be holding a 50/50 raffle, so come prepared!

See you there!

This event is part of our Mind the Gap series, an event series aimed at building a multigenerational LGBTQ+ community.

Would you like our traveling banner exhibit to come to your organization, school or art space? DM us!
08/12/2026

Would you like our traveling banner exhibit to come to your organization, school or art space? DM us!

This month's "Q***r History Night" talk by Gagne Le***an Love in the Late 20th century: An Exploration of Babs Conant a...
08/12/2026

This month's "Q***r History Night" talk by Gagne
Le***an Love in the Late 20th century: An Exploration of Babs Conant and Camille Cox's 'Ceremonies of Bonding'

Thursday, Aug 12 at Eugene V. Debs Hall

Bar tips go to our historic marker fund!

"From 1989 until 1991, Babs Conant and Camille Cox of Buffalo, NY organized, put out a call for, and collected the stories of over 100 le***an couples across the United States, Canada, and Europe. This project was meant to become a book, halted by Operation Rescue's anti-abortion blockades in Buffalo, necessitating Conant and Cox's energies be devoted to local feminist organizing. Now, over thirty years later, these stories remain in storage with letters, questionnaires, invitations, photographs, VHS and audio tapes waiting to be shared. This talk illustrates how "Ceremonies of Bonding" is representative of le***an love and relationships in a pre-legal same-sex marriage era, on the heels of third wave feminism, and its relevance today."

08/07/2026

We've been so busy cooking new research and events for you that we forgot about another bit of local history: on this day five years ago we unveiled WNY's first q***r history marker in honor of Bob Uplinger and Bill Gardner, the courtroom pioneers of gay rights. Learn their story in the posts we will be publishing soon.

The Sahlen Field (home to the Buffalo Bisons) is where between 1938 and 1951 one of the earliest, expressly gay bars was...
08/07/2026

The Sahlen Field (home to the Buffalo Bisons) is where between 1938 and 1951 one of the earliest, expressly gay bars was located in Buffalo. Today’s centerfield covers the space of 52 Elliott Street, on the corner with Seneca Str, where Ralph Martin’s for more than a decade offered some unforgettable illicit times to its patrons. Historical irony - this address is today 1 James Griffin plaza in honor of the city’s notoriously homophobic mayor.

Want to know more about where le***ans of the pre-Stonewall era used to hang out? Join us for our walking tour She Walked Here this Sunday. We start in front of Central Public Library.

Suggested donation $10 - sliding scale.

NEW DATE: August 9 She Walked Here: a walking tour of pre-Stonewall le***an barsMeet at 3 PM | 1 Lafayette Square (in f...
08/06/2026

NEW DATE: August 9
She Walked Here: a walking tour of pre-Stonewall le***an bars

Meet at 3 PM | 1 Lafayette Square (in front of Central Public Library)
Suggested donation $10 | Sliding scale

NEW DATE! 🌧☔🌧Instead of today, meet us on AUGUST 9, 3 PM in from of Central Public Library (1 Lafayette Square)!
08/02/2026

NEW DATE! 🌧☔🌧

Instead of today, meet us on AUGUST 9, 3 PM in from of Central Public Library (1 Lafayette Square)!

NEW DATE: AUGUST 9; same place, same timeHow did historical fear of g**s, le***ans and of people of color shape the Buff...
07/31/2026

NEW DATE: AUGUST 9; same place, same time

How did historical fear of g**s, le***ans and of people of color shape the Buffalo we see today? And how did the fight to exist in public shape LGBTQ+ communities? How do our struggles for urban space today reach back to the struggles to make the city livable for q***rs and people of color?

See you on Sunday, August 2 at 3 PM!

Address

PO Box 268
Buffalo, NY
14205

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