Oral History of Debbie Simmons
Orlando (Fla.)
Gay culture--United States
Trade associations
Gay & Lesbian Pride and History Month
An oral history interview of Debbie Simmons, the co-owner of Shelbie Press and a founding member of the Metropolitan Business Association (MBA), an organization supporting LGBTQ businesses in Orlando, FL. As MBA president, she also helped found Come Out with Pride and the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida. This interview was conducted by Sara Raffel at Shelbie Press in Orlando, Florida, on June 16th, 2018. Some of the topics covered include attending the first gay pride parade in Orlando, founding the Metropolitan Business Association, facilitating a network of allies and inspiring activism, working with the Human Relations Board of the City of Orlando, building an LGBTQ+ community and collaborating with other groups, forming Come Out With Pride, the history of the gay rights movement, preserving the history of the LGBTQ+ community, her favorite memory from work at GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, organizing the first exposition of the Metropolitan Business Association, how the small business community impacted the LGBTQ+ community, omitting references to homosexuality in the organization’s name, and goals and challenges for the GLBT Museum of Central Florida and the Metropolitan Business Association.
Simmons, Debbie
Raffel, Sara
Simmons, Debbie. Interviewed by Sara Raffel, June 16, 2018. Audio record available. <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES</a>
<a href="http://glbthistorymuseum.com/joomla25/index.php?lang=en" target="_blank">GLBT History Museum of Central Florida</a>
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Shelbie Press Print & Copy, Orlando, Florida
Metropolitan Business Association, Orlando, Florida
LGBT+ Center Orlando, Orlando, Florida
Joy Metropolitan Community Church, Orlando, Florida
Orange County Regional History Center, Orlando, Florida
Lake Eola Park, Orlando, Florida
Pulse nightclub, Orlando, Florida
The Watermark, Vol. 12, No. 10, May 19-June 1, 2005
Gay culture--United States
The tenth issue of the twelfth volume of <em>The Watermark</em> was published on May 19, 2005, and covered stories related to the local, national, and international LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and others) communities. Topics include the opening of a new Kissimmee bar, the death of community pioneer Jack Nichols (1938-2005), the overturning of a Nebraska state amendment that would have banned gay marriage, and the homophobia of Catholic priests in Spain. There is also an interview with Betty White (b. 1922), coverage of an AIDS protest outside the White House, and a look into the annual Orlando Fringe Festival. Although the "Editor's Desk" section mentions that this issue has 88 pages, the largest of 2005, there are only 48 pages available.<br /><br />Since 1994, <em>The Watermark</em> has been the cornerstone source of LGBTQ+ centered news for the Central Florida region. Founded by Tom Dyer in Orlando, the publication began generating bi-weekly issues beginning August 31, 1994. Since then, <em>The Watermark</em> has consistently published newspaper-style issues every other Thursday. Gaining traction, the publication expanded in 1995 to include Tampa and, in 1997, <em>The Watermark</em> became a permanent piece of LGBTQ+ culture when the publication initiated the first large-scale Gay Days Weekend event, the Beach Ball at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. Before 1999, the publication printed 20,000 copies every week, distributing them to over 500 locations between its two major cities. Following 1999, the publication launched watermarkonline.com shifting to an online publication style. In 2016, Rick Claggett purchased <em>The Watermark</em>.
Baber, Keith
Blanchard, Steve
Crescitelli, Jim
DeJesus, Edwin
Dyer, Tom
Ferber, Lawrence
Hartlage, Kirk
Jenkins, Georgia
Kundis, Ken
Leiner, Victor
Masters, Billy
Middour, Bryan L.
Murray-Parker, Karen S.
Nolan, Margaret
Roehr, Bob
Triggs, Greg
Walen, Rick
Wiethop, Dave
Wiggins, Jayelle
Wilde, Diane
Original 48-page newspaper: <a href="http://www.watermarkonline.com/" target="_blank"><em>The Watermark</em></a>, Vol. 12, No. 10, May 19-June 1, 2005: Watermark Publishing Group, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="http://www.watermarkonline.com/" target="_blank">Watermark Media</a>
application/pdf
eng
Text
Orlando, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Boston, Massachusetts
Washington, D.C.
Kissimmee, Florida
Madrid, Spain
Omaha, Nebraska
Oral History of Patty Sheehan
Orlando (Fla.)
Music--Florida
Mass shootings
Memorials--Florida
Gay liberation movement
Gay rights
Municipal government--United States
An oral history interview of Patty Sheehan, Orlando’s first openly gay city commissioner. The interview was conducted by Kalynn Smith at Sheehan’s offices at Orlando City Hall in Orlando, Florida, on April 11th, 2017. Some of the topics covered include an introduction, how the challenges of growing up gay shaped her activism, how coming out affected her familial relationships and career, identifying items in her collection, Michael’s March and bringing together the gay and lesbian communities over HIV/AIDS, the stigma of HIV/AIDS and how shame kills, facing discrimination while running for office, civil rights activism as city commissioner, becoming an advocate for marriage equality, and her favorite accomplishments as City Commissioner.
Sheehan, Patty
Smith, Kalynn
Sheehan, Patty. Interviewed by Kalynn Smith, April 11, 2017. Audio record available. <a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>, Orlando, Florida.
<a href="http://riches.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">RICHES of Central Florida</a>
video/mp4
application/pdf
eng
Moving Image
Audubon Park Covenant Church, Orlando, Florida
Greenwood Cemetery
Lake Eola Park
Orlando
Pulse nightclub
Florida Historical Quarterly, Episode 26: Vol. 94, No. 1, Summer 2015
Women's rights--United States
This episode features an interview with Laura E. Brock about her article in <em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em> on the legislative fight for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the Florida Legislature in the 1970s, titled "Religion and Women's Rights in Florida: An Examination of the Equal Rights Amendment Legislative Debates, 1972-1982."
Murphree, Daniel S.
Original 20-minute and 30-second audio podcast by Daniel S. Murphree, 2015: <a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>, Florida Historical Society, Cocoa, Florida.
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/quarterly" target="_blank"><em>The Florida Historical Quarterly</em></a>
Brock, Laura E.
<a href="https://myfloridahistory.org/default" target="_blank">Florida Historical Society</a>
<a href="http://history.cah.ucf.edu/" target="_blank">University of Central Florida, Department of History</a>
audio/mp3
eng
Sound
Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida