1 25 1 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection Description An account of the resource Eye-witness accounts of what we’ve seen and experienced provide a valuable resource to researchers and future generations to understand our past and how we arrived where we are today. Each interview in this collection has a narrator telling the story and a documenter guiding the process. Collected since the founding of the RHP, this collection is growing and is open to researchers. All interviews have been digitized and are described in the catalog; only some of them have transcripts available. None of the interviews stream online. To obtain access to an interview, you must request by contacting us directly, providing a brief description of your project and your research interests. Our email address is: info AT rainbowhistory DOT org One of our team will share the file from our Google Drive, and you can listen from home. Please be sure to have "Music Player for Google Drive" enabled on your machine to play the recording. www.driveplayer.com Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. To see all interviews in the collection, click on "Items in the Rainbow History Project Oral History Collection" link below. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Rainbow History Project Various narrators per oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=2&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Autumn+Eastman">Autumn Eastman</a> Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=3&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Helene+Bloom%2C+1943--">Helene Bloom, 1943--</a> Location The location of the interview. Washington, D.C. Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. No Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral history interview with Helene Bloom, 1943- Description An account of the resource <strong>Want access to this audio?</strong> <br />Request access by emailing <a href="mailto:oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org">oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org</a> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&amp;advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=10+November+2015+">10 November 2015 </a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The interview belongs to the Rainbow History Project. The RHP release form was used and all rights belong to RHP. Subject The topic of the resource Helene Bloom is a lesbian woman and is co-owner with Fran Levine of Soho Tea & Coffee at 2150 P St NW, Washington, D.C., in Dupont Circle. Soho is the oldest independent tea and coffee house in Washington, D.C. Abstract A summary of the resource. 1970s-2010s Helene Bloom is co-owner, with Fran Levine, of Soho Tea & Coffee at 2150 P St NW, Washington, DC's Dupont Circle neighborhood. She describes the LGBTQ community in Washington DC, from 1974 to present. She remembers demonstrating and participating in marches in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s for gay causes and women’s movement and meeting ]some of the early activists such as Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Midge Costanza and Lily Tomlin. She speaks about various LGBTQ spaces in Dupont Circle such as bars, dance clubs and how Soho served as a gathering space. She discusses her professional experience and discrimination against her because she was a lesbian working in the United States government (National Institute for Mental Health, Health & Human Services, Department of Transportation) and as Executive Director of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). She also remembers the AIDS Epidemic in terms of how the LGBTQ community reacted and the personal loss of a friend. She describes her personal life, being married to a man at a young age, the challenges of coming out in the 70’s and her family’s reaction. She speaks to themes the loss of gay gathering spaces and continued dispersion as LGBTQ lifestyles are more accepted and integrated into mainstream ways of life. 1970s 1980s 1990s Coffee houses HIV/AIDS Lesbians