Joe Saperstein Collection

This thesis documents how LGBTQ+ people in Rhode Island from 1960 to 1980 created and sustained spaces of community in the face of repression. Drawing on twelve oral history interviews with LGBTQ+ elders alongside archival research, it explores gathering places ranging from bars and clubs to churches, cruising grounds, and informal networks of connection. Using the framework of “queer constellations,” the project emphasizes the fluid, shifting, and often hidden ways queer people claimed space in both public and private settings. By centering lived experiences often absent from the historical record, it highlights resilience, creativity, and the importance of oral history in preserving LGBTQ+ memory. Together, the thesis and interviews enrich our understanding of queer life in smaller cities and towns beyond the well-documented histories of large urban centers.