Interview with an anonymous individual by Joe Saperstein. Topics of discussion include gay bars, lesbian bars, lesbians, life as a teacher, marriage to a straight man, travel.
Photograph of Ann pouring a man a drink inside the Kings & Queens during the 1997 New Years Eve Party. In the background, blue and silver balloons are seen decorating the bar.
Interview with Andy Taubman. Andy is a drag king performer, producer, mentor, workshop maker and event manager and community builder and serves as the Director of Youth Services at Youth Pride Rhode Island. Topics in order of discussion include: definition of "drag king", beginning as a performer in Seattle in 2000, Seattle drag and queer scenes in the 2000s, Rhode Island drag scene and starting to produce drag shows, differences between drag kings and drag queens, growing up in Rhode Island and attending a Catholic high school, being labeled a tomboy as a child, decision to attend Evergreen State College in Washington state, change in progressivism and conservatism since growing up, motivation for drag, mentoring and production of drag shows, the development of having a drag house. This interview was created as part of the Queer Stories Project - an oral history project developed by Dr. Virginia Thomas to train LGBTQIA young adults to conduct oral history interviews with LGBTQIA adults in Rhode Island. Management of the project was transferred to PPL in 2021. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
Interview with Ancha Santana by Jessica Jiang. Ancha is a community organizer and licensed mental health counselor at Brown University. She specializes in crisis stabilization and urgent needs. Ancha identifies as a queer; Black; African woman. She was born in Cape Verde and has lived in Pawtucket; Rhode Island since the age of eleven. Topics in order of discussion include: Cape Verdean community in Rhode Island; class status and race in Cape Verde; growing up with other first generation immigrants; problems with racism at universities; whiteness in Providence queer communities; lack of spaces for queer BIPOC to gather in Providence; queer nightlife in Amsterdam and Providence; planning the Queer and Trans POC Dyke March; the COVID-19 pandemic and its burden on Black and Latinx communities; working as a counselor at under-resourced schools; substance abuse prevention; frustrations with working at Brown; imposter syndrome. This interview was created as part of the Queering Oral History course - an oral history course at Brown University in Spring 2020 and taught by Dr. Virginia Thomas. Students were trained in oral history practices and interviewed members of the Rhode Island LGBTQIA community.
Photograph of a studio portrait of Paul and Alan Arcand. The two men are posed for the camera; Paul is resting his hands on Alan's shoulders.
Photograph of a visiting adult entertainer, Lee Ann, inside of the Kings & Queens. Lee Ann is shaking hands with the patrons.
Photograph of an adult entertainer in lingerie performing a lap dance on a seated woman inside the Kings & Queens. The seated woman is smiling and waving at the camera.
Photograph of an adult entertainer dressed in a police costume. She is handcuffing two seated women together. Both women are smiling and looking at the entertainer as the entertainer looks out of frame.
Photograph of two people kissing. Both faces are obstructed from view. The back of one person's head is present as the two embrace.
Photograph of two women kissing inside the Kings & Queens during a New Years Eve party. The two women are standing in the center of the frame. The woman on the right side of the image is holding a beer bottle.
Photograph of a float made by bar patrons and owner of the Kings & Queens for the Providence Pride Parade. This photo shows the float parked on the side of the road in Providence. The float has a sign that reads "A family of pride" inside of a pink triangle. A man is inside the float looking through the tinsel and smiling at the camera.
Photograph of Rita Paux, former owner of the Kings & Queens, standing at the end of a long table and talking to another person at the Kings & Queens 15th Anniversary Party. Rita is standing in the background on the right side of the image. The person she's speaking with is on the left side of the image with their hand touching Rita's arm. Behind them, there are green streamers and Halloween decorations hanging on the wall. The Halloween decorations are advertising for the Halloween Party. In front of Rita, there are people seated at a long table having a conversation.
Photograph of two women, "Toots" (left) and Lisa Hevey (right), behind the bar inside the Kings & Queens during a New Years Eve party. They have their arms around each other as they pose for the camera. In the background, bar patrons seated at the bar are present.
Photograph of "our" Frannie standing next to boxes of Miller High Life inside the Kings & Queens. This photo was taken during a 1981 New Year's Eve party. Frannie is standing in a doorway with the beer boxes to the left. She is looking at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a white tuxedo with a red bow tie and cumberbund. There are reflective ribbons hanging from the ceiling.
Photograph of a decorations and a buffet table inside the Kings & Queens. These decorations are for the 1996 New Years Eve party. The decorations read "Gonna Bring You Joy 1996" in silver and green glitter letters. Beneath the decorations, two crock pots, chips, and bread, are on the buffet table.
