The Oral History Crew

A project to create an exhibit highlighting the contributions of lesbians in the women’s movements in the 1970s and 80s as a means to mark both the fiftieth anniversary of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (1970) and the fiftieth anniversary of the partial discrimination of same-sex acts (1969). The team will share the stories of ten local Vancouver residents, who were interviewed in the fall of 2019 as a final project for a fourth-year oral history seminar. Through a mix of audio documentary and textual and photo documents, visitors will learn about the hidden past of lesbians in the women’s movements through the intimate stories of their lives as they were lived. Specifically, this exhibit focusses on the lives of ten women, including women of colour, Indigenous women, white women, a transgender woman, Canadian and American women, a woman with disabilities, and a Jewish woman. Their recollections of their formative experiences reminds us of the value of struggle, of tactics of resistance, and ultimately of the power of resilience. 

• Visit blog post here
• Digital exhibition: www.alotarchives.org/army/banners

2019-20 Grand Award winner