May ’21 – RI LGBTQ+ Community Archive Received Notable Additions as 2021 Pride Month Kicks Off

In celebration of 2021 Pride Month and recognizing 40 years that our community has been living with the devastation of AIDS, the RI LGBTQ+ Community Archive at PPL accepted a donation of historical materials from AIDS Project Rhode Island. The collection, officially launched during Pride Month 2020, showcases and honors the grassroots efforts made by many Rhode Islanders beginning in the early 1980s to care for people in their communities dying from AIDS. In addition, the archive received a donation from Kim Deacon, the owner of the Kings & Queens Bar in Woonsocket from 1979 - 2002. This collection documents the bar as more than just a business, but also as the hub of social and cultural opportunities for the LGBTQ community for more than 20 years.