gay pride

"Shantay, you stay!" B-Bob's Downtown in Mobile is a popular stop for touring drag performers, including contestants on the iconic reality TV show "RuPaul's Drag Race." Jerry Ehlen owns the nightclub, which is one of the longest operating gay bars in Alabama. He talks with with Quick-Fire Quips host Baillee Majors about LGBTQ+ life in the Port City, the popularity of drag along the Gulf Coast and misconceptions about queer acceptance in Alabama.

A Birmingham-based nonprofit that preserves LGBTQ history in the Deep South is offering an educational lecture during LGBT History Month. Invisible Histories invites the public to take part in "Extra! Extra!" Queer All About It: Southern LGBTQ Newpapers and Magazines. The event is set for 6:00 p.m. on Oct. 17.

October is LGBT History Month, where each year the history and achievements of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are celebrated. Oct. 11 is Coming Out Day. It's an annual observance, in Alabama and across the country, dedicated to celebrating and supporting individuals in the LGBTQ+ community as they share their authentic selves with the world.

Advocacy for Alabama’s LGBTQ+ communities is continuing beyond the ending of Pride Month. The Alabama Latino Access Center is part of the social services of AIDS Alabama. The program works with medical providers and community liaisons to connect Latinx people with healthcare and other resources.

Invisible Histories in Birmingham collected its 150 LGBTQ+ archival last month after six years of working to preserve materials that represent the rich history of the southern LGBTQ+ community.

Invisible Histories, which locates, collects, researches and creates community-based, educational programming around LGBTQIA+ history in the Deep South, is hosting a virtual discussion about southern sapphic history. Registration for the event closes on Monday, June 24.

Alabama lawmakers have advanced legislation to ban teacher-led discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classrooms through eighth grade. It would also ban teachers from wearing Pride flags or similar symbols at school.

For Pride Month 2024, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is celebrating 2SLGBTQIA+ creatives who live in Montgomery and its surrounding communities. The MMFA is currently taking art submissions for the Museum Shop Popup: Show Your Pride event through Friday, April 26.

The Birmingham nonprofit Invisible Histories Project is now accepting intern submissions for the summer and fall as well as participants for its virtual Queer History Teach In. The event will feature guests sharing stories about LGBTQ+ figures, community groups, protests, businesses, art and culture and more.

Alabama lawmakers have advanced legislation that would prohibit teacher-led discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools and also ban Pride flags from being displayed in classrooms. The legislation is part of a wave of laws across the country that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”