Marion Turner in 1899 standing in front of the house at 115 Pine Street in Florence, MA where s/he lived with employer Mrs. J.D. Atkins. Photo courtesy of the Sexual Minority Archives
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Stories of Our LGBTQI Ancestors is a lecture series created by the Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation that provides the Valley community with information on Queer people who lived in this area pre-Stonewall. The lectures are designed to unearth the history of Queer people who have often been silenced in traditional history nationwide and on the local level.
The lecture will take place on Sunday, November 11, 2012, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., at The Carroll Room (2nd floor) of the Smith College Campus Center located at 100 Elm Street, in Northampton, MA.
Tonight’s history talk is about Marion Turner who worked in the area as a nurse at the turn of the twentieth century. Turner was Black, an open cross-dresser, and lived among the elite Abolitionist community in Florence. Many people in the town referred to Turner as “she.” Turner may have been the embodiment of the utopian community’s ideals which rejected gender roles and racism, but was equality available to Turner as it was to others in this time and place? Turner’s story is one that reveals much about the racial dynamics of Northampton in the early 1900s.
Ollie Schwartz (Smith ’13) and Bet Power (SMEF Executive Director) will be presenting. Join us to learn about and discuss this important yet hidden history!
Ticket prices are: $10 general admission; $5 seniors and students; Free for ages 18 and younger; 50/50 Raffle! Everyone welcome!
