Photograph of an unidentified drag queen Performing at the Kings & Queens. She is performing in front of a wall covered in posters. The photograph is taken from the perspective of the audience.
Photograph of the Royal Court softball team waving at the camera while standing in front of the Busch Gardens Old Country sign. The group is posed as they wave at the camera.
Photograph of the Royal Court softball team standing in front of the Busch Gardens Old Country sign. The group is posed as they look at the camera.
Photograph of women playing softball in the snow. This photo shows two women on the ground. One appears to be reaching towards a base and the other appears to be tapping her out.
Photograph of a man standing at the bar inside the Kings & Queens. The man is smiling as he looks towards the camera. He is wearing a Tuxedo with a bow tie. Behind him, other bar patrons are present. There are pink and silver reflective streamers hanging from the ceiling.
Photograph of couples embraced during a slow dance at the Kings & Queens. In the foreground, two men are embracing while slow dancing. One man, in a brown jacket, is smiling with his head over his partner's shoulder looking away from the camera. His partner has his back to the camera. Behind the pair of men in the foreground other couples are slow dancing.
Interview with Siri Colom by Claire Caldwell. Siri is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Worcester State University. She identifies as a gay woman. She is white and Puerto Rican. Topics in order of discussion include: growing up in a Seventh Day Adventist community; sexism and homophobia in the Church; attending Tufts University and the impact of studying abroad in Spain; attending Berkeley for her PhD; interest and career in sociology; self-awareness of being gay and coming out; wedding in San Francisco; California prior to gay marriage being legal; working with fertility clinics to become pregnant and parenting an infant. 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. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
Photograph of a wall inside the Kings & Queens. In the center of the image, a handwritten orange sign is present. The sign reads, "The wonder of time is the speed with which it passes- If we are fortunate, it leaves in its path fond memories of both Lovers and friends. Thank you for contribution to our good fortune." On either side of the sign, paper jack-o-lantern decorations are present. Surrounding them, there are fall foliage and gourd decorations on the wall.
Interview with Shey Rivera by Paola Mejia. The interview is in Spanish and English. Shey is a queer and non-binary multidisciplinary artist from Puerto Rico. Shey studied Psychology and Sociology at the Universidad de Puerto Rico and Contemporary Media and Culture at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. They moved from Puerto Rico to Providence in 2010 and they have worked as the Director of Inclusive Regional Development at MIT CoLab, in the Dept of Urban Studies and Planning, and as Artistic/Co-Director of AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island. Topics in order of discussion include: Growing up in a rural area of Puerto Rico; reclaiming Taíno roots as a mixed-race person; understanding the complexity of Indigenous and African heritage and cultural erasure as a Carribean; experiencing culture shock moving to America and the self-discovery that comes with that; working at AS220 for 8 years and being a director for the last 3 years; overcoming imposter syndrome; working at MIT CoLab within the Department of Urban Studies and Planning; economic democracy; connections made through being an artist/creative; decolonization and its intersect with queerphobia, transphobia, etc. 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. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
Interview with Sherenté Harris by Selene Means. Harris is a two-spirit indigenous person, member of the Narragansett Tribe, artist, cultural educator, and activist. Topics in order of discussion include: growing up as part of the Narragansett Tribe; attending school in Charlestown; being misgendered as a child; coming out as two-spirit; ancestors; sacred places; oppression and assimilation; homophobia and transphobia; performing the fancy shawl dance at pow-wows and facing discrimination from judges and elders; hate crimes and violence against indigenous people; cultural education; and educating young indigenous and LGBTQ+ people. This interview was created as part of a series of LGBTQIA interviews in a project managed by Dr. Virginia Thomas and funded through an Equity Action grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.
Photograph of Kings & Queens patron, Shawna, inside the Kings & Queens. She smiles towards the camera. Behind her, bar patrons are present.
Photograph of Sharon seated at a table inside the Kings & Queens during a New Years Eve party. She is looking at the camera as she wears a party hat and holds a noise maker to her mouth. There appear to be other people present at the table who are out of view.
Photograph of Sharon Borek's right profile. She is seated facing towards the right side of the image smiling. Borek is seen in a 3/4 profile.
Photograph of Sharon (left) and Tracie (right) standing inside the Kings & Queens during the 1981 New Year's Eve party. This is a candid photo taken from a low angle showing the two women engaged in conversation. Sharon is facing Traci but is looking over her shoulder at the camera. There are reflective ribbons hanging from the ceiling.
Photograph of Kings & Queens patrons, Sharon and Darlene, seated at the bar inside of the Kings & Queens. The woman seated furthest right in the photograph is smiling at the camera as the other women present are looking away towards the right of the image. In the background, Halloween decorations are hanging on the walls and green reflective streamers hang from the ceiling.
Photograph of a severed head Halloween decoration on a table. This decoration shows a mannequin head wearing a witch's hat with fake blood on the mouth and around the neck.
Interview with Selene Means by Leila Kashani-Sabet. Means is a Latinx, non-binary person. He / They is an activist as well as a photographer and filmmaker who focuses on documenting social justice and activist work in Providence, Rhode Island. Topics in order of discussion include: growing up in a Mexican family in South Carolina; progression of understanding their identity and the role of social media in that; attending Rhode Island School of Design; gender identity; trans support group; involvement in local social justice work in Providence; the relationship between creative work (art) and activism; the variety of activism work including advocacy, mutual aid, legislative and direct action; queer activism and intersectionality; changing experiences of trans people compared to in the past. 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 woman seated at a table inside the Kings & Queens. The woman is in costume dressed as a man. She has a moustache and big eyebrows painted on her face. This is a candid photo and the woman is looking down at an item she's holding in her hands. She is slightly in profile facing the left side of the image. In front of her, another woman is present, also in profile and facing toward the left side of the image. Behind them, other costumed patrons are visible in the background.
Photograph of a person dressed as the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz standing behind the bar at the Kings & Queens. The Scarecrow has their hands in their pockets and is looking at the camera. There are jack-o-lanterns on the bar. In the background on the left side of the image, a single patron is drinking. There are black and orange balloons floating against the ceiling in the foreground and background. They have gold reflective ribbons hanging from them.
Photograph of two women inside the Kings & Queens. The woman on the right side of the image is in a Scarecrow costume from the Wizard of Oz. The woman on the right side of the image is in a maroon costume and is wearing sunglasses. The two women are photographed from the waist up. They are both looking at the camera. In the foreground and the background gold reflective ribbons hang from the ceiling. In the background, paper Halloween decorations hang on the wall.
Photograph of two people in Wizard of Oz costumes inside of the Kings & Queens. The person on left is dressed as the Tin Man and is standing in front of the person on the right. The person on the right is dressed as the Scarecrow and has their arm around the shoulders of the Tin Man. The photograph shows the pair from the waist up. Gold reflective ribbons hanging from the ceiling are present in the foreground and background. In the background, paper Halloween decorations hang on the wall.
Photograph of Santa Claus seated in a living room holding a microphone. He is seated between two people. The person on the left is wearing Santa hat. The person on the right is holding a Christmas gift. Next to Santa, Christmas gifts are present on a table.
Photograph of Kings & Queens patrons, Russ Levesque and Scott Paulin, inside of the Kings & Queens. The two are standing next to each other as they look at the camera. Behind them silver reflective stars decorate the walls.
Interview with Roz Raskin by Amelia Albanese. Roz is a musician; piano instructor; activist and community organizer who was born and has lived in Providence; RI. They identify as non-binary; queer; Jewish and also are known by the name Rosalind Raskin. They have performed in Roz and the Rice Cakes and their current project NOVA ONE (band). Topics in order of discussion include: early life and music career; sexism in the RI music scene and the impact of that on their career; music videos; costuming; gender expression; activism especially their involvement with RIOT Rhode Island and intersectional feminism. 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. Queer Stories Project was funded by Rhode Island Council for the Humanities.
Photograph of members of the Royal Court softball team at Busch Gardens. In this candid photo, team members are standing in a line for an attraction. One of the team members is wearing something on her head.
Photograph of "Royal Court" spelled out in rocks outside in a field. The sign is spelled on a small hill in front of the woods.
Photograph of Royal Court softball team members from left: unidentified, Cheryl Dupree (unseen), Linda Trexler, Terry Kohanski, Collette Hogue (unseen), and unidentified. This candid photo shows the teammates standing together after their performances. The team members are all in costume for their performances.
Photograph of Royal Court softball team members from left: Cheryl Dupree, Terry Kohanski, Linda Trexler, Collette Hogue, and unidentified. This candid photo shows the teammates seated together after their performances. The team members are all in costume for their performances.
Photograph of participants from the softball team Lip Sync Fundraiser from left: Cheryl Dupree (back), B.B. Hayes, Terry "TK" Kohanski, unidentified, Linda Trexler, Collette Gogue, and unidentified. This candid photo shows the group seated together while in costume.
Photograph of the Royal Court Softball Team outside in a field. They are posed in a pyramid behind their trophies. This photo was taken during the South Kingston Softball Tournament in 1987. The members of the team are: (bottom from left) Collette Hogue, Ann Bissonette, Angie Giarusso, Lisa Hevey, Kimmie, Stacy (middle from left) Kim Deacon, Linda Trexler, Judy Cobden, Unidentified, Karen Dupis (top from left) Barbara Berube, Unidentified, Terry K, and Patty Mitchelle.
