Sharon Smith, Curator of Civic & Personal Identity at the Missouri History Museum
In a previous interview Chairman of the American Alliance of Museum's LGBTQ Alliance, Mike Lesperance, discussed the exciting formation of the LGBTQ Collection at the Missouri History Museum under the direction of Sharon Smith. Ms. Smith took some time to answer my questions about how the collection was formed, its scope, and the some of the objects that resonated strongly with her.
Please tell us a little about yourself and how your career evolved to bring you to Missouri History Museum.
I have been at the Missouri History Museum since 1989. I began as a Registration Assistant, helping with the eventual move of the collection to our Library and Research Center. Then I was promoted into the curatorial department and eventually became the Curator of Civic and Personal Identity, my present title. The title simply means that I work with collections that reflect the civic identity of St. Louis – the 1904 World’s Fair, Charles Lindbergh collection, etc. The personal identity is what it seems – how folks who live here identify. So, I have the sports collection, children’s toys and dolls, as well as those items that speak to the disability and LGBTQ communities, among others.
Working at the Missouri History Museum was my first professional job in my field. I am very fortunate to have found the job I love right away and never left.
My degrees, both BS and MA are in US History, from Southern Illinois at Edwardsville.
MHS has a significant LGBTQ collection. How did this collecting initiative begin? What is the size and scope of the collection now?
We have been collecting LGBTQ items since the 1980s; however, it was somewhat sporadic in those years. We collected mostly local publications and also received some objects, usually from staff members having attended Pridefest.
The first LGBTQ object I received as a curator came in 2003 when I met with Greg G. who had a homemade coffin he carried in the local ACT UP parades in the 1990s. I was not sure I would ever see it on display in the museum, but took it for its wonderful story. In 2004 I took in a piece of the mile and a quarter Pride flag made for the Key West Pride in 2003, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the making of the flag. Again, I was not sure I would ever see it on display
In 2013, I met Steven Brawley, who is the creator of the St. Louis LGBT History Project. It is an online “museum” of sorts. The items were housed in his basement, but he kept wonderful records on them and placed all the stories on line. He provided the museum with an oral history, which we used in our 2014 exhibit on the city’s 250th anniversary. We also placed the Pride flag in that exhibit, to my heart’s delight. In this way, we were getting more and more diverse in our exhibitions.
In 2013 we also embarked on a collecting initiative, sharing that with the larger St. Louis community through the press. We then began working with Brawley to make connections within the community, establishing contacts and creating trust along the way.
I can’t put a number on the items. We have received a large quantity of materials from Steven and the History Project. There have also been a number of folks that have found us through him or through our printed brochure that is placed throughout the museum. Donors probably number about a dozen by now. There are more on the list, if we can only find a time that works to meet.
The scope of the collection is mostly kept to St. Louis and the region, which includes the area in Illinois across the Mississippi and the counties surrounding St. Louis.
As you’ve expanded the collection, is there an object whose history you find especially poignant?
I was quite moved when I was invited to a lesbian couple’s home so they could present the museum with a collection of USO materials. The original owner was actually someone I knew who had recently died. Lucy R. was a trumpeter with the USO and she was a closeted lesbian. Her secret partner was the drummer. Once they left the USO, they settled in the St. Louis area and lived their lives as “sisters.” They had a gig in the city playing trumpet and drums and even made a record album or two. It was an honor to know Lucy and now her story lives in the History Museum.
What has been the community response to the collection? Did you face any initial push-back as a publically funded institution?
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared the story as we were first developing the initiative. Once that story broke, there were many negative on-line responses to the article. That was right after we had been facing some negative press regarding our previous CEO. However, our Board and others connected to the museum were completely fine with the decision.
My very first response, personally, to the article was someone who was so happy to hear we were embarking on this initiative. She and her husband were deeply connected to the St. Louis Effort for AIDS and they had a couple boxes of materials in their basement. She did not know what she was going to do with the boxes and then she saw the article. She called me and we now have their materials in the collection.
How does the museum utilize the collection in terms of outreach, education, collaboration, etc.?
We have not really used much of the collection yet, due in part, to the fact that we are in the collecting phase and we still need to do all the cataloging and processing. We are more likely to use the partnership we have with Steven Brawley when it comes to outreach and collaboration. We did, however, use some of the newly acquired items as part of the presentation we did for AAM recently here in St. Louis.
Has the museum enacted the Welcoming Guidelines created by AAM’s LGBTQ Alliance? If so, what has been the impact of incorporating the document’s suggestions into the museum’s operation?
As an AAM accredited museum, we do comply to all the standards that are set forth by AAM. You may know that we just received AAM’s first award for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. Some ways we promote those ideals come through our programming. We try to have several LGBTQ programs a quarter.
We also plan for a diversity of voices from the many communities in St. Louis, including the LGBTQ community, for each exhibition we produce. For example, in the Route 66 exhibition, I included the story of the Damron Guides as a way for LGBTQ people to find the safe places as they traveled.
It seems our visitors are moved by our inclusion of many different voices in what could be a very one-sided story. It is our desire to include all who call St. Louis home in the stories we tell of our city.
Please tell us a little about yourself and how your career evolved to bring you to Missouri History Museum.
I have been at the Missouri History Museum since 1989. I began as a Registration Assistant, helping with the eventual move of the collection to our Library and Research Center. Then I was promoted into the curatorial department and eventually became the Curator of Civic and Personal Identity, my present title. The title simply means that I work with collections that reflect the civic identity of St. Louis – the 1904 World’s Fair, Charles Lindbergh collection, etc. The personal identity is what it seems – how folks who live here identify. So, I have the sports collection, children’s toys and dolls, as well as those items that speak to the disability and LGBTQ communities, among others.
Working at the Missouri History Museum was my first professional job in my field. I am very fortunate to have found the job I love right away and never left.
My degrees, both BS and MA are in US History, from Southern Illinois at Edwardsville.
MHS has a significant LGBTQ collection. How did this collecting initiative begin? What is the size and scope of the collection now?
We have been collecting LGBTQ items since the 1980s; however, it was somewhat sporadic in those years. We collected mostly local publications and also received some objects, usually from staff members having attended Pridefest.
The first LGBTQ object I received as a curator came in 2003 when I met with Greg G. who had a homemade coffin he carried in the local ACT UP parades in the 1990s. I was not sure I would ever see it on display in the museum, but took it for its wonderful story. In 2004 I took in a piece of the mile and a quarter Pride flag made for the Key West Pride in 2003, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the making of the flag. Again, I was not sure I would ever see it on display
In 2013, I met Steven Brawley, who is the creator of the St. Louis LGBT History Project. It is an online “museum” of sorts. The items were housed in his basement, but he kept wonderful records on them and placed all the stories on line. He provided the museum with an oral history, which we used in our 2014 exhibit on the city’s 250th anniversary. We also placed the Pride flag in that exhibit, to my heart’s delight. In this way, we were getting more and more diverse in our exhibitions.
In 2013 we also embarked on a collecting initiative, sharing that with the larger St. Louis community through the press. We then began working with Brawley to make connections within the community, establishing contacts and creating trust along the way.
I can’t put a number on the items. We have received a large quantity of materials from Steven and the History Project. There have also been a number of folks that have found us through him or through our printed brochure that is placed throughout the museum. Donors probably number about a dozen by now. There are more on the list, if we can only find a time that works to meet.
The scope of the collection is mostly kept to St. Louis and the region, which includes the area in Illinois across the Mississippi and the counties surrounding St. Louis.
As you’ve expanded the collection, is there an object whose history you find especially poignant?
I was quite moved when I was invited to a lesbian couple’s home so they could present the museum with a collection of USO materials. The original owner was actually someone I knew who had recently died. Lucy R. was a trumpeter with the USO and she was a closeted lesbian. Her secret partner was the drummer. Once they left the USO, they settled in the St. Louis area and lived their lives as “sisters.” They had a gig in the city playing trumpet and drums and even made a record album or two. It was an honor to know Lucy and now her story lives in the History Museum.
What has been the community response to the collection? Did you face any initial push-back as a publically funded institution?
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch shared the story as we were first developing the initiative. Once that story broke, there were many negative on-line responses to the article. That was right after we had been facing some negative press regarding our previous CEO. However, our Board and others connected to the museum were completely fine with the decision.
My very first response, personally, to the article was someone who was so happy to hear we were embarking on this initiative. She and her husband were deeply connected to the St. Louis Effort for AIDS and they had a couple boxes of materials in their basement. She did not know what she was going to do with the boxes and then she saw the article. She called me and we now have their materials in the collection.
How does the museum utilize the collection in terms of outreach, education, collaboration, etc.?
We have not really used much of the collection yet, due in part, to the fact that we are in the collecting phase and we still need to do all the cataloging and processing. We are more likely to use the partnership we have with Steven Brawley when it comes to outreach and collaboration. We did, however, use some of the newly acquired items as part of the presentation we did for AAM recently here in St. Louis.
Has the museum enacted the Welcoming Guidelines created by AAM’s LGBTQ Alliance? If so, what has been the impact of incorporating the document’s suggestions into the museum’s operation?
As an AAM accredited museum, we do comply to all the standards that are set forth by AAM. You may know that we just received AAM’s first award for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. Some ways we promote those ideals come through our programming. We try to have several LGBTQ programs a quarter.
We also plan for a diversity of voices from the many communities in St. Louis, including the LGBTQ community, for each exhibition we produce. For example, in the Route 66 exhibition, I included the story of the Damron Guides as a way for LGBTQ people to find the safe places as they traveled.
It seems our visitors are moved by our inclusion of many different voices in what could be a very one-sided story. It is our desire to include all who call St. Louis home in the stories we tell of our city.