Raising the Bars

We are saving the bars, after all, what is a society without places that make you feel at home? Where else can you go where everybody knows your name? It is the bars and clubs that make up our community, even if you are far away from home. It is what gay bar owners have been doing for at least 100 years. It is time that history is told, shared, and saved in the nation’s largest nationally collecting LGBTQ+ archives.  

 

“Raising the Bars”, is a national effort to make everyone aware of how invaluable bars are in our community. This is a joint project of Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library, GayBarchives, and Funtravel Guides. Stonewall will create nationally traveling exhibitions, programs, events, and activities that will promote and tell your stories.  Working with GayBarchives, Funtravel Guides, bar owners (past and present), and other community members we will create events and activities that will drive the public to the bars, engage them, and enhance their awareness of LGBTQ+ history and culture.

 

A new section of the Stonewall Archives, which is now accepting documents, materials of all kinds, and special collection items for the archives and future exhibits welcomes your items and hopes featuring you and your establishments in our collection and future programing and exhibits. “Raising the Bars” will be featured at two upcoming Stonewall events, “Back to the Drive” (October 17, 2024) and the “Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes” annual gala (March 1, 2025). Some of the funding raised at those two events will help fund annual programing around “Raising the Bars”.

 

We are establishing a private group for current and past bar owners and industry leaders. The Bedrock Group, reminding us of the institutions that remain the bedrock of our communities. The group will have its own section in the Raising the Bars website pages on the Stonewall Museum site. Because bars, for many generations, were the bedrock of the community and the places where we organized to claim the rights we have today, members of the Group will be highlighted on these pages and on social media.

 

Within the Bedrock Group there are four levels of engagement, each level comes with benefits**:

 

Please contact robert@stonewall-museum.org for upgrades to package, additional seating/tables at event(s) or other modifications to package. This includes setting up Raising the Bar events at your establishment.