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50 Years/50 Collections: Larry Bagneris and the Double Fight for Civil & LGBTQ Rights
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Amistad has continuously expanded our LGBTQ collections over our fifty year existence. The donation of the Larry Bagneris papers, which was acquired in 2011, placed us closer to the goal of developing a large holding of LGBTQ materials. The Amistad Research Center houses the papers of civil rights and gay rights activist Larry Bagneris, Jr. This collection documents the fight for LGBTQ rights in the South and in Washington D.C. The bulk of the collection consists of memorandums, thank you notes, photographs and news clippings. The volume of materials reflects Bagneris’ contributions to a variety of organizations over a span of 30+ years, and reveals his dedication to fighting for gay rights on the local and national level.
Lawrence “Larry” Bagneris was born in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward on September 15, 1946, and is the brother of playwright Vernel Bagneris. A lifelong activist, he protested the Jim Crow policies of segregation by staging sit-ins at department stores while a student at St. Augustine High School. In 1963, he served as a delegate for the National Conference for International Justice in Memphis. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Xavier University in New Orleans and studied political science. He also remained politically active in his college years and became the first African American to serve as the Vice Chair of the Young Democrats of New Orleans.
Upon graduating from Xavier University, Bagneris began working with the Washington National Insurance Co. and moved to Houston, Texas. The earliest correspondence in the collection comes from his work with the company. Another portion of Bagneris’ papers highlights his involvement with the Houston Gay Political Caucus (now the Houston GLBT Political Caucus), where he helped organize the city’s first Gay Pride Parade. He was later elected to serve as President of the organization and, while acting as President, attended the 1980 Democratic National Convention as the first openly gay delegate from Texas. He would remain in Houston until 1987 when he returned to New Orleans. Bagneris worked in several other organizations such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the NO/AIDS Task Force. He organized various marches on Washington demanding civil rights for LGBTQ people.
After retiring from the Washington National Insurance Company, Bagneris continued to focus on politics and ran (although unsuccessfully) for New Orleans City Council and Louisiana State Representative. Since 1999, he has served as the Executive Director of New Orleans Human Relations Committee. The finding aid for the Larry Bagneris papers can be found here.
Images from the Larry Bagneris papers. Images from Amistad’s website, newsletters, and blogs cannot be reproduced without permission.
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Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
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Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
Kathe is the author and co-author of several books:
Kathe Hambrick is the Founder and former Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum (RRAAM), established in 1994 as Louisiana’s first African American Museum. She is a past President of the national Association of African American Museums (AAAM). She served as the Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum for four years. Hambrick was born in New Orleans and spent half her life in California where she received an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in African American Studies from California State University Long Beach.
Hambrick is a Public Historian with a passion for collecting, preserving and interpreting history for diverse audiences. Her thirty-one-year career as a museum professional includes expertise in program development, interpretative planning, curation, grant writing, fundraising, and board governance. She led the effort to preserve three slave cemeteries and six historic buildings in Ascension Parish.
She is considered an expert on the history and culture of African Americans in communities along the Mississippi River. Kathe Hambrick’s interviews include local, national, and international media, the BBC Learning Channel, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. The consulting firm, 2PRESERVE was established by Hambrick in 2021 to provide cultural resources and guidance to corporations, museums, cultural centers, government agencies, and faith-based organizations.
Throughout her 31-year career, Kathe has curated over one hundred exhibits, including The Rural Roots of Jazz, African Influences on Louisiana Cuisine, Creole Du Monde, and The Square Collection which featured original art by Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barthé, and Tina Allen. Her most recent exhibit is the GU272 of Ascension: The Jesuit and Episcopal Connection to Slavery.
Kathe is the author and co-author of several books: