“We’re Not Going Back!” | UNO’s Queer Omaha Archives Exhibition

A new exhibition highlighting the participation of Nebraskans in one of the largest rallies in Washington, D.C. is now open to public through December 22, 2022. We’re Not Going Back!: The Second National March on Washington For Lesbian and Gay Rights features material from UNO’s LGBTQIA+ archive.

Among the hundreds of thousands of attendees at the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on October 11, 1987, there were several proud Nebraskans. The march, acts of civil disobedience, and related activities included the first display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and the first national attention for AIDS advocacy group ACT UP.

The display also highlights one of the march’s lasting legacies: National Coming Out Day. The now annual observance of National Coming Out Day was organized for the first anniversary of the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Since October 11, 1988, the UNO and Omaha communities have marked National Coming Out Day with music, informational fairs, speakers like Candice Gingrich, and other events.

Photographs, memorabilia, posters, and other documents from the papers of Terry Sweeney and Pat Phalen, Omaha band Lavender Couch, Scott Winkler, Dave and Kathy England, and UNO can be viewed in the display cases on the first floor of Criss Library, and along the first floor walkway. All of the collections are part of the Queer Omaha Archives in UNO Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours. Tours will be offered on National Coming Out Day or can be scheduled privately at other times.

This exhibit was curated by Amy Schindler, Director of Archives and Special Collections.