In 2024, SFGMC launched the Memory Keepers Initiative, a series of conversations at The Chan National Queer Arts Center that records and preserves the stories of LGBTQ+ elders. In June, KALW’s Bay Made aired the panels as a series of radio programs.
The conversations
- January 11, 2024: Donna Sachet, the “First Lady of the Castro,” moderated a panel with activist and columnist Derek Barnes, Out and Equal founder Selisse Berry, and SF Empress Alexis Miranda. They talked about coming to San Francisco, coming out and finding community, as the San Francisco Bay Times recapped. (KALW, June 24)
- April 18, 2024: Hosted with the GLBT Historical Society, author Jewelle Gomez, artist and archivist Seth Eisen and Cockettes founding member Scrumbly Koldewyn explored San Francisco’s queer arts legacy. (KALW, June 25)
- May 16, 2024: Artistic Director Jacob Stensberg talked with longtime members Robert Rufo, Jay Davidson and Thomas Kennard about the chorus’s own history, from its first performance at the candlelight march after the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone. (KALW, June 26)
The programs were produced by Scott Walton. Listen to each one at the links below.
Read more: Bob Rufo: Finding Community in the Founding Chorus.
Sources
This post summarizes reporting by KALW 91.7 FM and the San Francisco Bay Times. Details attributed to those outlets are their reporting; see the sources below.
- KALW 91.7 FM, Bay Made, “SF Gay Men’s Chorus: Memory Keepers Initiative”, June 24, 2024. Read the original story
- KALW 91.7 FM, Bay Made, “SFGMC Memory Keepers Initiative: San Francisco’s Queer Arts Legacy”, June 25, 2024. Read the original story
- KALW 91.7 FM, Bay Made, “Memory Keepers Initiative: History of the SF Gay Men’s Chorus”, June 26, 2024. Read the original story
- San Francisco Bay Times, “San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Memory Keepers Initiative Event on January 11, 2024”, January 2024. Read the original story
