UMKC proudly houses the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America, better known as GLAMA, a substantial collection of documents and artifacts that reflect the histories of the LGBT communities in the Kansas City region. Co-founded in 2009 and curated by Stuart Hinds of the Libraries’ Special Collections & Archives division, GLAMA materials have revealed completely hidden aspects of Kansas City’s culture and history through the work of UMKC students, faculty, and Kansas City community members.
A recent donation from a UMKC professor has provided the collection with an endowment that will ensure GLAMA carries out its mission well into the future. Dr. Linda Mitchell, the Martha Jane Phillips Starr Missouri Distinguished Endowed Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at UMKC works mainly in the realm of the Middle Ages, so she appreciates better than most the importance of and challenges in preserving archival records. She has a deep understanding of the processes involved in making these materials accessible to users, including the financial component necessary to make them happen. Moreover, Dr. Mitchell’s gift is a personal one: the Bill Mitchell and Jeff Halpern Endowment for GLAMA honors her brother and his husband, “two of the most important people in my life.”
“Kansas City is lucky to have GLAMA,” Mitchell says. “The archives improve the national perception of the city. It’s not only barbecue and football. We live in one of the most culturally rich and complex cities in the country. GLAMA is a great component of that diversity.”
