The Associated Press is reporting that the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., is adding papers, photographs, and other historical objects relating to LGBT history to its collection, including items from the television show Will & Grace along with artifacts relating to LGBT sports, politics, and cultural history.
The Smithsonian Institution is a group of museums administered by the U.S. Government that includes the National Museum of American History, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the National Air and Space Museum, among many others. Some of the famous pop cultural items in the museum include ball gowns worn by U.S. First Ladies, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz, Archie Bunker’s chair from All in the Family, and Fonzie’s leather jacket from Happy Days.
According to the Associated Press:
The donation is part of larger effort to document gay and lesbian history, an area that has not been well understood at the museum. Curators are collecting materials from LGBT political, sports and cultural history objects from Arizona to Maryland.
Some items being donated include the diplomatic passports of Ambassador David Huebner, the first openly gay U.S. ambassador confirmed by the Senate, and his husband; materials from a gay community center in Baltimore; and photography collections from Patsy Lynch and Silvia Ros documenting gay rights activism.
Some of the other items in the LGBT collection include a tennis racket from former professional player Renee Richards, a transgender-rights pioneer, and original scripts and props from Will & Grace.
(source: Associated Press)
