https://archives.rainbowhistory.org/files/original/5e768caa19bf3a852adb8f6e3b46131c.pdf 57e8539019c0418a7b960812c8628154 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. Transcription Any written text transcribed from a sound. Yes Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Yes, recording available Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Carlene Cheatam 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 Carlene Cheatam Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2/23/2001 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource No restrictions on access; no restrictions on use. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1976-00s African-American lesbian experience, DC Coalition, community building, Black Pride, Capital Pride Abstract A summary of the resource. Carlene Cheatam moved from New York to Washington, D.C. with a friend in the 1970s to try and find a job. Through that process, she began digging out a community through softball, which led to her beginning to be political active. Cheatam was first involved with organizing through the Black community. She was involved with the creation of the National Black Independence Party and involved with Operation PUSH. The D.C. Coalition of Black Gays was her entrance into queer issues in an organizing lens. She would go to the coffeehouse to hang out with other queer people and be social, talk about political issues and rights. She was a member of Saphire Sapphos, a queer women’s group. This was the first time being political in her life, and Cheatam was one of the few women politically active in queer issues at the time. This meant she easily slipped into leadership roles in these organizations. She was co-chair of both the D.C. Coalition and the Eleanor Roosevelt small Democratic Club. Despite all of these roles, Cheatam views herself as an organizer not a political person. She prefers to make things work, to do work, than to play the political game. In 1983, she coordinated the annual DC Capital Pride, working on outreach to people of color in the community. Previously, the event had been mostly white people, and she was looking to change that. After her experience there, she contributed and worked on outreach for the Black Pride Experience. Cheatam describes this job as her favorite, stating she is proud of her work and success with this job. The initial objective of the organization was to raise money to HIV/AIDS organizations that were helping the black community. She was the coordinator in 1991, and raised $11k to give to HIV/AIDS organizations. Cheatam also mentioned that she thinks the current administration of this organization does not see the value of giving back, focusing instead on throwing a party and using the money raised for that. After organizing, she worked for D.C. Mayor Williams. She worked on his campaign and worked in his administration as gay and lesbian outreach director and then in the Department of Human Services. Cheatam mentioned that she believes they were not utilizing the office in the best way, instead prioritizing politics over real outreach efforts. When asked about men and women working together, she talks about it being more difficult for women to fit into organizing and queer spaces. She talks about women having children or other responsibilities. Men, even gay men, have privilege. They take over social situations, etc. She also talked about intersectionalist and hierarchy in media. She stated that we needed an Ellen before we could have a black gay person on tv. Description An account of the resource <strong>Want to listen to this audio file?</strong><br />Email <a href="mailto:oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org">oralhistories@rainbowhistory.org</a> to request access 1970s 1980s 1990s Advocacy groups African Americans Bars and clubs Black Black and White Men Together (BWMT) Capital Pride Civil rights Coffee houses Coming out Community Pioneers Economic rights Faith Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) Gay men HIV/AIDS Lesbians Nightlife Phase One Political organizations Politics Pride Pride events Publications Rainey Cheeks Religion Sapphire Sapphos Washington D.C. Ziegfield's