The Roanoker - May/June 2021 - 114

Additionally, the center offers drop-in hours Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays from 4-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-5
p.m.
The Roanoke LGBT Memorial Library, one of the largest such
libraries on the East Coast, is housed at the center. It was started
by Roanoke resident Jim Ricketson, who passed away in 2000.
Following his death, his friend Ed Harris inherited the collection
of books.
The Ricketson GLBT Library opened later that year in
the basement of the Lifestream Center in Grandin Village.
Throughout the years, the library opened and closed and changed
locations several times before becoming owned and managed by
the center in 2017.

For local LGBTQ youth, there is Diversity Camp, which was
started in 2014. Held every year at Craig Springs in Craig
County, the camp includes hiking, swimming, music, games,
crafts, a talent show and workshops on topics ranging from
identity to activism. It is the only LGBTQ youth camp for
hundreds of miles.
Davis, the vice-chair, describes the camp as being a
transformative experience. Campers regularly arrive timid and
shameful about who they are, but become confident and proud by
the end of the camp.
" The camp allows the kids to discover themselves, " she says.
" The changes I see in these kids are just amazing. "

Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History
Project
The Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project was founded
in 2015 with the mission of preserving the region's LGBTQ
history. Led by Roanoke College's Dr. Gregory Samantha
Rosenthal, the project has created a permanent regional archive
of LGBTQ materials, an oral history project, multiple walking
tours, exhibits and a podcast.
" We try to energize LGBTQ people today to develop a
stronger relationship with our past and to embrace that past, even
the bad parts of it, " Rosenthal explains. " It helps us understand
who we are as queer people. We belong here in Southwest
Virginia. "
Recently, the project has been working with the City of
Roanoke to increase its score on the Human Rights Campaign
Municipality Equality Index. In the past two years, the city's
score went from 12 to 54 out of 100.

House of Expression
One of Roanoke's newest LGBTQ organizations is the House of
Expression, which started 2019. Founded out of the ball culture
tradition that became popular in LGBTQ African American and
Latinx American circles in the 1980s, the house seeks to lift up
and celebrate its members. Although most houses in bigger cities
like New York have traditionally held balls that involved " voguing "

114 MAY/JUNE 2021

Members of
and " walking " competitions, the House of Expression is
the project are
more focused on community activism, specifically partnering pictured at an
event in 2018.
with the Roanoke City Police Department to make the lives
of LGBTQ black and brown people better.
Garland Gravely, a native of Roanoke who serves as the house
father, explains, " We want to make Roanoke the best it can
possibly be. "
Additionally, the concept of chosen family is a large part of
ball culture. The 16 members of the house are part of it because
they want to be surrounded by likeminded individuals who are
able to give them the love and support they might not otherwise
receive from their straight and cisgender blood families.
Other local LGBTQ+ organizations include Roanoke Pride,
Inc., which organizes the annual pride festival, The Park dance
club, which has served the community since 1978, and the
Council of Community Services' Drop-In Center, which offers
testing and services related to HIV/AIDS.
In general, members of the local LGBTQ community describe
Roanoke as being a welcoming place.
Joe Cobb, the first openly gay member of the Roanoke City
Council, was anxious about how accepting the area would be
when he first moved here 20 years ago.
" I've found that Roanoke is a welcoming city, " he says. " I'm
married to my love, James. We have four kids together. We were
married here when it became legal. We feel welcomed and a part
of the community. "
Kyle Lorraine, a trans masculine non-binary individual who
lives in Roanoke County, echoes Cobb's sentiments. " Roanoke
has been a great place to blossom into who I was meant to be. "
" I moved here nine years ago to come out full-time as
my authentic self, " Erika Joyner, a trans woman who lives in
Northwest Roanoke, says. " I was refused a lease because I am
trans, but other than that and the usual stares and smirks, I have
been accepted for who I am. "
Nowadays, there's no denying that the city is home to one of
the most vibrant LGBTQ communities in the region. I

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COURTESY OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA LGBTQ+ HISTORY PROJECT

Diversity Camp
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