Teaching Against Queer Erasure: The Queer Newark Oral History Project

LGBTQ+ students should see themselves represented in the classroom. In this 1 hour 15-minute session, we will explore how the Queer Newark Oral History Project can be a resource for students and educators. Queer Newark is a free and public repository of local New Jersey history through the eyes of diverse people who lived it. Because the archive captures intersectional experiences and expansive community knowledge, it’s a great tool to meet Governor Murphy’s LGBTQ+ Curriculum Mandate and can also be effectively used during heritage months, for instance, Black History, Women’s History, and Hispanic Heritage. In addition to an overview of the many educational facets of this ongoing public memory project, this workshop will include practical lesson ideas using oral history.

Facilitator:
Kristyn Scorsone (they/them) is a PhD candidate in the American Studies program at Rutgers University-Newark and longtime member of the Queer Newark Oral History Project. Their forthcoming dissertation, A Way Out of No Way: The Labor and Activism of Black Queer and Transgender Women in Newark, New Jersey examines Black queer and transgender women’s labor and related activism in Newark from the 1970s to the present. In addition to co-curating the 2017 traveling exhibit At Home in Newark: Stories from the Queer Newark Oral History Project and producing and hosting the Queer Newark podcast, their writing has appeared in The Public Historian, NJ.com, History@Work, Notches, Out History, Out in New Jersey, and Los Angeles Music Blog. They also have a chapter in the forthcoming anthology: Queer Newark: Stories of Resistance, Love, and Community. You can also check out Kristyn Scorsone’s Trans Sites of Power Apple Guides Map highlighting places where transgender individuals stood in their power, resisted oppression, found joy, shared community knowledge, and formed radical coalitions. They also shaped Apple’s Pride 2023 campaign, “Illuminating Us.” Their research for Apple explored solidarity and allyship in the LGBTQIA+ community through a narrative framework based on their work as an oral historian with the Queer Newark. Their work influenced how editorial and design teams across Apple Services honored Pride-led narratives globally on Apple TV, podcasts, music, maps, and their app store. Kristyn is available as a consultant for educators regarding using the Queer Newark Oral History Project as an important diverse historical resource to meet New Jersey’s LGBTQ+ curriculum requirement. You can learn more about them on their website: https://www.kristynscorsone.com