Latest news with #MarkingDiverseOhio
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ohio grant canceled by DOGE leaves these LGBTQ+ historical markers in limbo
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Historical markers honoring Akron's LGBTQ+ enclave and a storied Cincinnati bookstore were nearing installation when the $250,000 Ohio grant funding the project was canceled by DOGE. Ohio History Connection began developing the signs after receiving a $249,810 federal grant in 2022 to fund the Marking Diverse Ohio project, supporting the placement of 10 LGBTQ+ historical markers. Led by OHC's Gay Ohio History Initiative, the project hit a roadblock on April 3 when the Elon Musk-led DOGE canceled the grant. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the canceled grant in the video player above. Now, Marking Diverse Ohio advisors and researchers say they are evaluating other revenue sources to memorialize the following 10 people, places and organizations that the project was considering for a historical marker: South Howard Street, a historic Akron LGBTQ+ district. Crazy Ladies Center, a Cincinnati bookstore that housed the Ohio Lesbian Archives. Dr. Dolores Knoll, Kent State University's first professor of gay and lesbian studies. Edmonia 'Wildfire' Lewis, a 19th-century sculptor who attended Oberlin College. LGBTQ+ journalism in Ohio. Louis P. Escobar, Toledo City Council's first LGBTQ+ member. Nightsweats & T-Cells, a Lakewood screen-printing company benefiting Ohioans living with HIV. Pater Noster House, a former Columbus hospice and care center for HIV patients. Rev. Jan Griesinger, an openly-lesbian pastor and Athens community activist. The Rubi Girls, a Dayton drag group that formed in the 1980s. Ohio budget plan would 'recognize two sexes,' restrict LGBTQ+ library books One project advisor enlisted by OHC was Tony Pankuch, the education and outreach coordinator for the University of Akron's Cummings Center for the History of Psychology. Pankuch was aiding in research for a marker honoring South Howard Street, an Akron neighborhood home to several LGBTQ+ bars beginning in the late 1940s. Along with serving as an enclave for Akron's LGBTQ+ community, South Howard 'shared a history of marginalization' with North Howard Street, a nearby hub for the Black community, Pankuch explained. However, urban renewal plans by Akron city government in the 1960s increased policing in both districts, leading to bar raids in the same vein as Manhattan's Stonewall Uprising. By 1967, the areas were labeled blighted by local officials and faced bulldozers. Pankuch said the research team was working with city government to install a sign honoring this history by the end of 2025, possibly before Akron's Pride festival in August. While it was 'a steamroller' to find out the grant had been canceled, Pankuch said they and other project advisors are examining how to bring the marker to life through community fundraising. 'It's important to establish that Akron did have its own LGBTQ culture dating back 80 years at this point… I think it's really important that we acknowledge that LGBTQ people have been in this city,' Pankuch said. 'There's no question that this story is significant enough to go on a historical marker.' Chillicothe paper mill will remain open through 2025 Nancy Yerian, the president of the Ohio Lesbian Archives, was another advisor recruited by OHC for a marker honoring Crazy Ladies Bookstore in Cincinnati. The storefront, which opened in 1979 before moving into a three-story building in 1989, operated as a feminist bookstore that quickly became a safe haven for community members. The store remained open until 2002 and housed a series of support groups, organizations, and the first physical iteration of the Ohio Lesbian Archives, now located at 1308 Race St. in Cincinnati. Yerian said the archives were part of a larger movement in the 90s, when community members began documenting their history given the lack of access to lesbian stories. The bookstore's marker was nearing the finish line and the research team was working with Cincinnati's park division to install it possibly this summer or fall, Yerian said. Still, like the effort behind South Howard's marker, the archives president said the sign could still come to fruition. 'Organizations have really been making an effort in the past decade or two to include LGBTQ stories, and obviously the cuts are a huge setback for public history in general, but also for any efforts at including diverse perspectives,' said Yerian. 'At this point in time, in 2025, unfortunately I wasn't too surprised, but I was deeply saddened.' What yes or no vote really means for Ohio Issue 2 in May election Installation of these signs would add to Ohio's small collection of markers honoring LGBTQ+ history. Out of the more than 1,800 markers placed across the state, only three are related to the LGBTQ+ community. OHC most recently installed a sign in June 2023 honoring Summit Station, one of the first lesbian pubs in the nation that welcomed patrons for nearly four decades before closing in 2008. The state's first LGBTQ+ marker was installed near the Dayton Metro Library in 2009 to commemorate Ohio-born Natalie Clifford Barney, a lesbian writer who hosted a literary salon in Paris. In 2017, the second was placed on West 28th Street in Cleveland to honor the LGBT civil rights movement near the site of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center. OHC's grant was among $25 million worth of funds awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services that have been cut by DOGE. Musk's department also recently slashed an Ohio State professor's nearly $700,000 grant that was studying the link between cannabis use disorder and LGBTQ+ women. 'We are seeing pretty consistent, widespread efforts to erase LGBTQ identity from both modern society and the historic record, and I think the goal of this is just to make LGBTQ seem new, threatening, upsetting to the status quo,' said Pankuch. 'No matter how people feel about the LGBTQ community specifically, the fact of the matter is that we are citizens of this country, we're part of the history of the U.S.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
DOGE cancels $250,000 Ohio grant installing LGBTQ+ historical markers
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — An Ohio grant worth nearly $250,000 to install LGBTQ+ historical markers has been canceled by DOGE. Ohio History Connection received the $249,810 federal grant in 2022 to fund the Marking Diverse Ohio project, aimed at commemorating stories and places reflecting the impact of LGBTQ+ Ohioans in shaping the state's history. The project was led by the organization's Gay Ohio History Initiative and included supporting the placement of 10 LGBTQ+ historical markers. 'This should be a welcoming state:' DeWine denies claim of 'anti-LGBTQ+ climate' in Ohio The Elon Musk-led DOGE announced on April 3 it canceled the grant, among $25 million worth of funds awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services that have been cut. Ohio History Connection confirmed to NBC4 it was contacted by the institute regarding the cancellation and that the organization is working to understand the impact. Research efforts to place a marker where Ohio's first and longest-running lesbian bar once stood served as the prototype for Marking Diverse Ohio, Ohio History Connection's site states. The sign was installed in June 2023, honoring Summit Station in Columbus' University District as one of the first lesbian pubs in the nation that welcomed patrons for nearly four decades before closing in 2008. The bar's marker was not paid for by the grant, but rather a sponsorship group called Friends of Summit Station, Ohio History Connection said. No other LGBTQ+ signs have been placed by the organization since Summit's marker installation. It's unclear if other proposed signs were undergoing the application process. The institute's site said the Marking Diverse Ohio team would conduct outreach to solicit narratives for the potential signs and related oral histories, artifacts and records. The grant also called for staff members to participate in training in LGBTQ+ cultural competency and trauma-informed care to support this work. Former Ohio governor speaks about current political climate Summit's marker stands as the third in the state to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and the only one in central Ohio. The first was installed near the Dayton Metro Library in 2009 to commemorate Ohio-born Natalie Clifford Barney, a lesbian writer who hosted a literary salon in Paris. In 2017, the second was placed on West 28th Street in Cleveland to honor the LGBT civil rights movement near the site of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center. Megan Wood, executive director of Ohio History Connection, told NBC4 at the time of Summit's designation that the organization bestows about 30 markers each year. Summit's application was incredibly compelling, Wood said, especially given the Dayton library and Cleveland service center markers were the only two LGBTQ+ signs out of more than 1,800 markers statewide. Other grants among the $25 million awarded by the institute then cut by DOGE include $265,000 for Queens College in New York to research 'why BIPOC teens' read Japanese comic books, $140,000 for the University of South Carolina to create 'safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals' in libraries, $6.7 million for the California State Library to 'enhance equitable library programs,' and more. Musk's department also recently slashed an Ohio State professor's grant worth nearly $700,000 that was studying the link between cannabis use disorder and LGBTQ+ women. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
