Did you know that the French Quarter has an incredibly rich LGBTQIA+ history?

Join us for a lecture with “French Quarter Frank” Perez that explores topics including colonial and 19th Century queer New Orleans, the role of gay men in historic preservation in the French Quarter, literary influences, the nation's oldest gay bar, the origins of Southern Decadence, the Up Stairs Lounge fire, and the LGBT_ Archives Project.

About the Speaker:

Frank Perez serves as President of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana.  He is a columnist for Ambush Magazineand French Quarter Journal and has authored several books on New Orleans history, including In Exile (with Jeffrey Palmquist), Treasures of the Vieux Carre, and Southern Decadence in New Orleans (with Howard P. Smith).  He is also the co-editor of the anthology My Gay New Orleans: 28 Personal Reminiscences on LGBT+ Life in New Orleans.  As a licensed tour guide, Perez developed “The Rainbow Fleur de Lis,” an interactive walking tour of the French Quarter focusing on New Orleans’ rich LGBT+ history which has earned national and local critical praise in The Advocate, ABC News, USA Today, queerty.com, NPR, WGNO, WHIV, and other media outlets.  Perez teaches part-time at Loyola University.  He and his partner and their dog live in the French Quarter. Learn more at frenchquarterfrank.com