Today we’ve announced Stonewall OutLoud, a participatory initiative to gather the stories of LGBTQ elders before they are lost to history.

[Read commentary in The Advocate from Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, and more about his personal connection to Stonewall.]

In June 1969, a series of protests and clashes with law enforcement broke out in and around New York City’s Stonewall Inn, after a violent police-raid on the gay club sparked retaliation among the bar’s patrons and neighborhood residents. The events served as a catalyst to the national LGBTQ rights movement. This June, in honor of the 50th anniversary of what became known as the Stonewall Riots, StoryCorps will ask people across the country to use the free StoryCorps mobile App to record the stories of people within the LGBTQ community who were born before the events of Stonewall. Each of these interviews will become a permanent part of American history at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Stonewall OutLoud will reach deep into LGBTQ communities across the country to ensure that as wide a collection of voices as possible are recorded and preserved. With special emphasis given to rural communities, communities of color, and transgender elders, the initiative seeks to connect older and younger generations through the powerful StoryCorps interview experience, preserve these stories for the future, and share the voices of the LGBTQ community with a broad general audience through educational and broadcast partnerships. 

Individuals and organizations can pledge to take part at storycorps.org/outloud

We’re honored to work with partners on this project, including SAGE, the National LGBTQ Task Force, GRIOT Circle, and GLSEN, with other partners.

> Read the complete announcement here.

> Pledge to record here.