The new GOHI traveling display, Pride of Ohio, premieres at Pride Festivals in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton in June 2008.

Pride of Ohio, a set of three banners, showcases six LGBT Ohioans per banner with an image and biographical information. The eighteen notable LGBT people illustrate the contributions, achievements, and accomplishments made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ohioans.

The banner display is the first of a multi-part project to educate Ohioans and raise awareness about LGBT citizens and our place in the fabric of our state. The second phase involves the collection of oral histories from LGBT Ohioans, and “Photo Fairs” to digitize photographs, preserving them in an archive of LGBT Ohio history. Phase three of the project is the creation of a comprehensive touring exhibit that incorporates artifacts of LGBT Ohio history.

To create Pride of Ohio, members of the GOHI Exhibit Committee researched and identified more than thirty notable LGBT Ohioans, narrowing the list to eighteen. Some people profiled will be more familiar than others - Paul Lynde, for example, is a cultural icon from “Bewitched.”  Bibliophiles, though, can learn about Barbara Grier, Mary Oliver, Hart Crane, Jacqueline Woodson, and Michael Cunningham. Jazz lovers may focus on Billy Strayhorn. Philosophers have Judith Butler. Photographers can take note of Berenice Abbott. Architecture enthusiasts have Philip Johnson to admire. And everyone can savor the life of Natalie Clifford Barney, American expatriate and Paris literary salon hosts, who lived and loved as she damn well pleased.

GOHI, the Gay Ohio History Initiative, is working to preserve, archive, and curate the history and culture of the LGBT citizens of Ohio, to tell the truth about our lives, to create opportunities for understanding of both the past and what is hoped for in the future, to share LGBT culture and history with all Ohioans, and to encourage us to savor our existence.  Savoring our lives is something we can forget to do, and something that society has often discouraged us from doing.

With Pride of Ohio, GOHI celebrates LGBT Ohioans, and offers information and education to both LGBT and straight Ohioans.

You can make a donation to support the costs of Pride of Ohio in two ways - by visiting the Ohio Historical Society website at www.ohiohistorystore.com/donation.aspx you can make a donation online using a credit or debit card.  You can also make a donation by sending a check or money order to Ohio Historical Society, c/o GOHI, 1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, Ohio.  Please note in the memo section of the check that your donation is for GOHI.