Kim Deacon interview

Interview with Kim Deacon. Kim is a lesbian, community activist and previously the owner of the Kings and Queens Bar in Woonsocket. Topics in order of discussion include: limited opportunities for lesbians in Woonsocket; bar culture in the 70s and 80s; creating alternative social opportunities like roller skating, bowling, movie nights, softball; the bar as a sanctuary; fundraisers; first relationship with a woman; building her chosen family; bartending; dating culture for butch and femme lesbians; Kings and Queens bar; opening a martial arts studio; hosting parties at the bar; lessons learned after owing the bar. 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.