Event and Speaker Requests

The GLBT Historical Society is eager to help connect your organization with our vast queer past through behind-the-scenes tours, curated museum visits, or talks with expert historians and people who have lived history. To ensure sufficient planning, event and speaker requests should be submitted at least 4–6 weeks in advance of the intended event date.

Please use the form below to submit a request, or email info@glbthistory.org with any questions.

notes on Availability

Due to limited capacity, we are currently only able to provide speakers for our Corporate Partners. Partnerships include access to educational events plus branding recognition, and free access to our museum for your staff. Visit our Corporate Engagement page to learn more.

  • From the rainbow flag and the pink triangle to the labrys and the lambda, there are countless symbols that have been used to identify LGBTQ communities. This talk explores these changing symbols and terminology, asking how each responded to a particular moment, and how they moved from the obscure to the obvious as LGBTQ communities claimed more visible and public lives.

  • GLBT Historical Society staff members will present a veritable treasure trove of hidden LGBTQ history gems from the archives vault, including some of the most unusual and surprising material objects in the archives. This show and tell will discuss the historical significance, the path they took from creation to archival donation, and what each object reveals about our vast queer past.

  • A look at the ways identifying, preserving and interpreting LGBTQ historic sites can help us better understand, share and bring to life stories of the queer past. The talk will highlight examples from San Francisco and will discuss national and local efforts to promote place-based LGBTQ history. Participants who have visited queer historic sites or have memories of LGBTQ places meaningful to them are encouraged to bring their stories to share as part of the conversation.

  • Before the Castro, Pride, or the rainbow flag, the beginnings of modern queer identity and activism were formed in San Francisco’s original “gayborhood”—North Beach. Learn how movements are made as folks across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum found commonality under threat of police violence and surges of moral panic. We’ll revive more than a dozen lost queer bars, including some of the most infamous, the most star-studded, and the most radical bars in San Francisco history .See how the “unspeakable vice” of the Victorians found its place and, through the process, gained a voice.

  • A look at the foundational years of San Francisco Pride from 1970 to 1980, when the strategy of combining politics and celebration in an annual parade to advance LGBTQ visibility, rights and culture was born. Both the traditions and the controversies that animate Pride today find their roots in that first decade. Participants who have attended Pride celebrations in San Francisco and elsewhere are encouraged to bring their stories to share as part of the conversation.

  • With over 1,000 collections, our archives hold one of the largest collections of LGBTQ historic materials ever assembled. From enormous pieces of historic queer spaces to intimate journals, photos and memorabilia from countless individuals, this behind-the-scenes tour offers a rare look at more than a century of LGBTQ history and culture. The tour is highly customizable based on your group’s needs and interest, and typically takes between 60-90 minutes.