Narratives of urban demographic have often placed queers in the first wave of neighborhood change, as “pioneers” that “prepare” neighborhoods for full-scale gentrification. However, this story imagines queerness as a White identity, leaving out the queer groups that are also being affected by “renewal” and other factors that lead to their need to congregate in urban areas, and often away from their places of origin. The afternoon programming specifically focuses on the complex forces that queer people have exerted in the formation of neighborhoods; as gentrifiers in one sense of the word, who in turn are now being gentrified by mainstream city dwellers. “Flag Wars” takes an intimate verite view of these issues in Columbus, Ohio, while “Portraits of Our City” questions our understanding of city spaces through the stories of native-born and raised queer San Francisco residents.

Co-presented by Still Here SF and the Lexington Club Archival Project.