The space is almost ready! Hold the date for November 14, 2026. We will be hosting our grand opening at our new location in Charlotte, NC. More information will be sent out shortly. Want to stay up-to-date? Sign up for our emails on our website.

Trans badass, Petric "Pete" Smith, talking about working with the FBI to convinct his uncle, KKK member Robert Chambliss, in the 1963 Birmingham 16th St Baptist Church bombing.

What do The Gays love (besides basic human rights of course)? T-shirts! And we've got more than enough to prove it. These pictures represent an incredibly small percentage of our t-shirt collection. Which one if your favorite? Should we try to do a reprint of any of these?

Our archives aren't only manuscripts and paper items. We have a large selection of textiles, objects, and other items that you can explore. Here is a small sampling of our textiles.

Our archives aren't only manuscripts and paper items. We have a large selection of textiles, objects, and other items that you can explore. Here is a small sampling of our headpieces and jewelry. Most of this is from LGBTQ Mardi Gras balls and drag performers.

In early June we hosted our second group visit to the new archival space. Thank you to the Costume Society of America for making time to stop by at the end of your symposium. We loved having you!

Even though we've been focusing primarily on getting the new space ready for full open visitor hours the work of archival preservation never stops. Just last week Josh spent some time cleaning and restoring some of the pieces in our collection.

Only one week left to support our 2026 Give OUT Day campaign! This year we're raising $2500 to save Southern LGBTQ history and make sure our histories are safe for generations to come. Visit https://bit.ly/ihgod26 or our bio to donate today.

This June we are keeping you SOAKING in LGBTQ history by sharing some of the amazing people working to keep Queer and Trans history safe and accessible. Want to show your Pride this month? Then give these folks a follow! @_leatherarchives_ @nashvillequeerhistory @stlouislgbthistory

Did you know that the Mississippi Gay Alliance worked with local affirming ministers to provide marriage ceremonies and certificates for same sex couples in the 1970s and 1980s? These marriages held no legal value but were symbollic as a community action and a personal statement by the individuals.

Throughout June we will be sharing cool LGBTQ history accounts we think you should be following. This PRIDE month make sure you're dripping in Queer and Trans history by following and supporting the folks ensuring our at risk histories live on! @gerberhart @faulknermorganarchive @queerhistoryboston

Today's the day! Give OUT Day 2026 starts today and we're raising $2,500 to help support the preservation of at risk Southern LGBTQ history. Visit the link below or in our bio to support our work. Happy Pride! https://bit.ly/ihgod26

Invisible Histories is raising $2500 this Give OUT Day and early giving starts today! Visit https://bit.ly/ihgod26 if you'd like to donate. Every dollar helps save Southern LGBTQ history!

Article from the Sept 1982 Alabama Forum detailing the legal case of Baker v Wade that challenged sodomy laws. After winning locally, an appeals court reversed the lower court decision after the 1986 Bowers v Hardwick case (out of Georgia) that sustained sodomy laws until Lawrence v TX in 2003.

A sample of workshops from the 1990 16th Annual Women's Music Festival held in Indiana.

A letter sent to the Sandifer House in Jackson, MS in May, 1990. The Sandifer House was a home for HIV positive men who were not being properly cared for by medical institutions.

The space is coming together and starting to feel like a real, working archive. We cannot wait to welcome you. The best thing about a community based archive? We exist for YOU. Also thank you to the phenomenal Anthony Brummett for the incredible art design.

With the move to the new space, we have had to cancel our normal June programming. But we want to make sure you're dripping in LGBTQ history so we're featuring LGBTQ history, archive, and museum accounts that we think you should follow all month long. Tell us in the comments, who do you follow?

Want a way to push back against censorship, misinformation, and anti-DEI policies and sentiments? Then visit your local independent knowledge keeper. Your support is critical for the survival of these organizations and you’ll learn about your local community.  A win-win!

Think your materials are too messy to submit for preservation? Have no fear! This is part of one of our co-founder's (Maigen) collection and it came to the space as if a tornado and a chaos goblin had a baby. We will work with you to get them properly sorted!

The spave is coming along slowly but surely! We've ordered furniture and will be hosting multiple groups in late May. Stay tuned for appointment only hours and then the public opening in late 2026.

Making banners and signs for an event, organizing, or program? We highly encourage you to make them by hand! Read on to learn why you should make banners by hand not have them printed on plastic.

We have several free zines, guides, and publications on our website to help you learn more about Southern LGBTQ history, community based archiving, and public history! Check them out on our site on Zines, Guides, and Resources under the Resources tab. invisiblehistory.org

We're working to make digitally accessible this phenomenal set of interviews recorded by Donna Smith about LGBTQ people in the South. Stay tuned!

Sometimes your day is filled with industrial shelving and sparkles. These neck pieces were donated by Carol Gilliand and were wore at the 2015 Mystic Krewe of the Druids Bal Masque in Tuscaloosa, AL.

The shelves were installed today and we're so excited to get these archives up and ready for you to explore!

Today we're working on a small digitization project. The Miss Vulcan pageant was an amateur drag pageant held in Birmingham, AL in the 1990s. Thank you for the donation from David Allison who won Miss Vulcan 1996 as Rhonda Rooter.

Like many, we have been affected by reduced funding opportunities. If you are able, please support our efforts to actively preserve highly at-risk Deep South LGBTQ history by donating at  invisiblehistory.org or @IHPDonate on Venmo.

The relocation of the archives from Birmingham to Charlotte is bittersweet. While we're exciting for what's to come, we will deeply miss many phenomenal people in Alabama. AIDS Alabama and CEO Kathie Hiers are one of these.

We're moved! The archives have been relocated from Birmingham to Charlotte, shelves have been ordered, and we're working to get the space set up to open to the public later this year. Stay tuned and get ready to come drown yourself in Southern gay history!