Platte City library to host discussion on history of gay rights in Kansas City

The Mid-Continent Public Library Platte City Branch will host a presentation on how Kansas City played a unique role in launching the gay liberation movement at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9 at the library.

More than 50 years later, many advances have been made, both in the Kansas City area and across the country. Local resident, David Jackson, co-founder of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America (GLAMA) will host a lively discussion of his book: “Changing Times: Almanac and Digest of Kansas City’s LGBTQIA History.”

Jackson plans to walk the audience through his 400-plus-page book – a journey from 1812 to today.

The book is full of surprising and interesting facts about the modern Gay Rights Movement.

“Three years before the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City that ignited the modern Gay Rights Movement, Kansas City hosted in February, 1966, the first-ever conference of gay and lesbian advocacy groups. You might say Kansas City helped to cradle that cultural movement,” Jackson said.

The important advancements the movement has achieved in the last 50 years, Jackson said, are many.

“Happily, Americans’ awareness and understanding of the complexity of gender and identity has led to greater acceptance of and equal rights for LGBTQ+ citizens. Kansas City has been at the forefront of extending protections and rights and accommodations for minority citizens!”

Although high school aptitude tests pointed him in the direction of a forest ranger or an archivist, he took a different route.

“I didn’t know what an archivist was at that time,” Jackson said. “But, I was graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Historic Preservation and have since expanded my skills as an archivist into research and writing on all things local history-related.”

He has served as an archivist at Unity School of Christianity and Jackson County Historical Society. Encouraging people to donate historical materials to local archives for posterity is one of the things he loves about his job. “There’s great satisfaction in making them available to the public into the future,” Jackson said.

He co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America on World AIDS Day in 2009. “It was a dream of mine and my co-founders for years to have a centralized archive for preservation and access of KC’s LGBTQ+ history,” Jackson said. “I also host a Facebook page.”

The Orderly Pack Rat was also founded, and is directed by Jackson. “This brand is my small, unprofitable, (hee hee) independent research, consulting and publishing house.”

The book, Changing Times is an historical retrospective showing how with all civil right’s movements, there are progressive steps forward and, unfortunately, regressive setbacks. “I hope it becomes clear with the perspective of hindsight that right and good eventually prevail and that we are stronger together as one,” Jackson said.

In the past 22 years, Jackson has helped to add, on his own, or in concert with others, more than 40 titles. His most recent book is called, “Be Good, Do Good.” Most of his books are available on Amazon by searching David W. Jackson.

Jackson is not surprised by the positive changes made over the last 50 years for the LGBTQIA community.

“Americans being empowered to live their authentic selves and exercise their right to affect positive change in society is no surprise,” Jackson said.

For Jackson the most important changes that came about since the 1970s have included an overarching shift for the equal protections of minority communities in our society, expanded freedoms, and a movement into diversity that is leading towards equity.

The library hopes to provide attendees at the June 9 presentation the opportunity to learn more about the struggles the gay community has faced for most of the history of the United States and their determination to be able to live a normal life with their family and friends.

“Fear and ignorance make some people feel uncomfortable,” Jackson said. “For those open to the opposite, I hope listeners/readers of Changing Times will better understand how two centuries or more of struggles for LGBTQ+ Americans has got us to 2022, where more citizens may live their authentic selves, with unprecedented freedoms. In my humble opinion, learning leads to empathy and leads to oneness. Having the fearlessness to invite and accept differences/diversity makes us better citizens and a more robust nation.”

For more information, mymcpl.org/blogs/reads-and-resources-pride-month?fbclid=IwAR29gatFA87ihf6yFstE8UyeLXTuIRnSd7E0qvUUDhwiWGP_f-avuHG3SZE.