By Jacob Hogue
Special to NKyTribune
There will be something new at Cincinnati’s Pride Festival in 2024.
When I took the role as the History and Legacy Activities Chair at Cincinnati Pride in January 2024, I knew that I wanted to help make the Pride festival a place where people could not only have fun and celebrate, but also learn about Cincinnati’s rich, albeit forgotten, queer history. Our region’s LGBTQ+ history predates activism, and before there were pride festivals, there were scores of queer Cincinnatians who shaped both Cincinnati history and LGBTQ+ liberation in ways we are just now beginning to discover.
Teaming with local artist and designer Noam Denenberg, I have curated seven installations that will be displayed at the Pride Festival. Check your Pride festival map for location details.
The “Before There Was Pride” exhibit illuminates the hidden chapters of Cincinnati’s vibrant history, where queer trailblazers, both celebrated and unsung, have intricately woven their stories into the fabric of our community. Among those featured are Annie Hindle, the country’s first male impersonator to appear on variety stages. Annie lived in Cincinnati in the 1870s and again in the 1890s.
Charlie Howard, meanwhile, was assigned female at birth in 1853. Moving to Cincinnati, he lived for decades as a man, until his 1948 death revealed his secret. Also featured is poet and playwright Mary MacMillan, female impersonator Lestra LaMonte, activist Mary Ann Lederer, and more.
Please join us:
Date: June 22
Location: Sawyer Point, 705 East Pete Rose Way in Cincinnati
Festival Hours: 12-9 p.m.
The project is funded thanks to Cincinnati Pride and Northside Print Shop.
Jacob Hogue is a graduate of Northern Kentucky University’s Public History Master’s Program. He serves on the Board of Directors at Urbanist Media and Queens of Queen City, two non-profit organizations focused on uplifting marginalized voices and preserving the places significant to them. Jacob is also the History and Legacy Activities Chair at Cincinnati Pride, as well as a member of the Gay Ohio History Initiative. Additionally, Jacob is the founder of the Instagram account: Queen_City_Queer_History, is on cast as a speaker with Stand Up History at Muse Cafe, and is under contract to write his debut book: Cincinnati Before Stonewall: The Untold Queer History of the Queen City.
Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD is Editor of the “Our Rich History” weekly series and Professor of History and Gender Studies at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). He can be contacted at tenkottep@nku.edu. Tenkotte also serves as Director of the ORVILLE Project (Ohio River Valley Innovation Library and Learning Enrichment). For more information see orvillelearning.org
I was hoping for something like this last year when we celebrated 50 years of Cincinnati pride.