From Roarin’ to Reagan

 QueerMusic event covered 20th century music of the LGBTQ community, contributions to society over six decades

It influences and inspires us. It can make us leap for joy or wallow in sadness. Above all, it’s personal. No matter who you are, the music you listen to is essential to your identity.

Shane Wellner | Rawr

Shane Wellner | Rawr

Sept. 16 was a night dedicated to the music of those who identify as part of the LGBTQ community in Moscow. The event was entitled “QueerMusic: Gender and Sexuality — To Stonewall and Beyond,” and it was presented by Tom Schumacher, a musician and teacher from Lewiston.

Ken Faunce, chairman of the Moscow Human Rights Commission, said the event demonstrated Moscow’s willingness to reach out to the LGBTQ members of the community and presented how they have contributed to the musical field.

“On one level, it shows Moscow’s an inclusive community, where LGBTQ members of the community are welcome,” Faunce said. “But at the other end, I think it does show that contribution. It takes a look into how the LGBTQ community has contributed to the world of music and then what they had to go through and experience in order to get there.”

Faunce said the event turned out well, even if fewer people turned up for the event than he would have liked.

“So we had about 40 people in the audience and they enjoyed it and they were very responsive,” Faunce said. “So, you know, we consider that a success,”.

The presentation featured six decades worth of musical content and historical background, from the 1920s to 1985. Faunce said Schumacher covered those musicians who were openly gay or lesbian.

“When he started, back in the ‘20s and ‘30s … there weren’t that many that could perform and be recorded, but there were just a few,” Faunce said. “Then as you progress into the ‘60s, you see a little more and then definitely in the ‘70s, because of Stonewall and gay rights movement beginning in the early ‘70s, and then you see a real boost of it.”

Stonewall refers to the Stonewall riots of 1969, which involved violent clashes between gay men and women and the New York police department. Faunce said this was a watershed moment during the presentation.

“Because of that, you have the gay rights movement and gay pride parades — all of that stemmed out of (Stonewall),” Faunce said. “The LG community decided they’d had enough of being persecuted and they wanted equal rights.”

Julia Keleher, director of UI’s LGBTQA Office, said the presentation offered insightful and often overlooked information on the gay media before Stonewall.

“Mainstream audiences were going to these movies and seeing these musicals, and that’s something that our history and our culture sometimes forgets about,” Keleher said. “When we think (about) LGBTQ movements, from 1969 when Stonewall happened to modern day, that’s modern. That’s LGBTQ history in the United States, but in reality, we’ve had so much history prior to that — it’s just something we don’t talk about as much.”

Keleher said she learned much about the LGBTQ community from media when she was coming out and she hopes to see similar events more often.

“That’s how I got a lot of my information, was just consuming that media,” Keleher said. “And it’s very exciting for me.”

Andrew Jenson can be reached at [email protected]

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