The Orange County Queer History Project hosted Orange County Trans + Latinx History, a collaborative event exploring the histories of LGBTQ+ communities at Humanities Gateway on May 31.
The event, held in partnership with UCI Libraries, Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive (OC&SEAA) Center and the UCI Departments of History and Gender and Sexuality Studies featured the work of the OC Queer History Project. Established in 2023, the organization seeks to highlight queer communities by creating a digital archive of local histories through exhibits, mapping, oration and events.
Orange County Queer History Project intern Sarah Pérez Muñoz opened the event with a presentation highlighting the history of transgender queer folks and undocumented Latinx communities in Orange County. In her presentation, Pérez categorized the history of these communities into three chapters: “The beginning, a genesis of hopeful beginnings and the continuation of the transnational struggle.”
The second presentation by fellow intern Harry Tate-Pascua focused on the stories of Michelle and Cherie Evans. Tate-Pascua presented a video of an interview with the married couple and moderated a discussion with Michelle. In the interviews, Michelle spoke on her experiences as a married trans woman and her struggles with the lack of visibility and representation of their relationship in society. As founder of TG Rainbow Support Group, Michelle touched on the importance of inclusivity in the organization.
“One of the things as I said, we were with this other group and they were very exclusive instead of inclusive. They really wanted to keep it to only trans women … we did have a trans guy there, but he was basically made to feel like he was never welcomed,” Michelle said to attendees. “When I formed TG Rainbow, the biggest thing I wanted to make sure to let everyone know is that this is an inclusive group that is for everybody.”
OC Queer History Project founder and executive director Haleigh Marcello stated the organization’s mission centers on spreading inclusivity through documenting local queer histories. In an interview with New University, Marcello spoke on the origins of the organization from her background as a Ph.D. candidate in the department of history at UCI.
“I came to UCI in 2019 to start my Ph.D. … and I came upon my research of OC queer history by accident,” Marcello said. “I was at special collections at the library looking for other stuff on feminism and I found this treasure trove of materials about queer history, and I was like ‘What? Orange County has a queer history? I never would have guessed that.’”
Marcello expressed her motivations for beginning the project and creating digital records for queer communities. According to Marcello and Pérez, queer individuals historically have not been welcomed in Orange County — a “very conservative place.”
“I want to bring history back to the community. I think as a historian it’s a shame if you write your dissertation … and only other historians read it. That is terrible,” Marcello said. “I want the people that are represented in the histories I write to go back and read them … I want to give them the credit they deserve, and in particular in Orange County, where even I was surprised to learn that queer history is a thing.”
At the event, OC Queer History Project representatives further explained oral history as one initiative to document queer history. Throughout April and May 2024, the organization conducted a five-part interview with Robert “Bob” F. Gentry, the first openly gay mayor in California who served in the city of Laguna Beach and as the associate dean of students at UCI.
As the OC Queer History Project kickstarts other aspects of their digital archive, Marcello described the reaction of peers and fellow community members to the organization’s goal of telling local queer history.
“In general, everyone I have shared my research with has been very supportive and positive,” Marcello said. “When I actually become Dr. Marcello and go out into the world with this, then maybe we’ll start to get some backlash, but I’m ready to take it on.”
The event concluded with another sit-down interview with Michelle and Cherie Evans, who both shared personal stories and anecdotes with the audience.
Felipe Juarez Molina is a News Intern for the spring 2024 Quarter. He can be reached at juarezmf@uci.edu.
Edited by Beatrice Lee and Annabelle Aguirre