Since 2003, the MSU Libraries has worked to preserve the history of our local LGBTQ+ community through the Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives (OLGA). With collections that include photographs, newsletters and more than 200 oral history interviews, OLGA helps capture the LGBTQ+ experience in the Ozarks.

Here are some of our favorite OLGA artifacts:

A section of Gilbert Baker’s 1.25-mile-long Rainbow Flag

Housed deep within the shelves of Special Collections and Archives is a section of the 1.25-mile-long rainbow flag unfurled in Key West on June 15, 2003. Created by Gilbert Baker (1951-2017), the massive flag commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riot in New York City.

After the event, the flag was divided into sections measuring approximately 15’ x 25’. One of these sections was donated to ShowMeMOPride, based in Springfield, Missouri. It was later given to the GLO Center. In 2006, the flag was transferred to the Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives for permanent preservation.

Scrapbooks from SMSU’s production of “The Normal Heart”

In 1989, the Missouri State University (then Southwest Missouri State University) planned to perform Larry Kramer’s play “The Normal Heart.” The production highlighted the AIDS crisis in 1980, New York.

MSU’s performances were scheduled for the third week of November in Craig Hall’s Coger Theatre. However, by September, some local residents heard of the production and protested its use at a public institution. For most of that semester, the university was embroiled in controversy over the production, which also became a much larger fight regarding academic freedom, community values, and what the public considered appropriate for a public institution.

Two digitized scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about the performance, community reactions, and related events (such as an arson investigation) are now available to view online.

Newsletters from the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of the Ozarks (GLO)

In October 1996, the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of the Ozarks (GLO) opened its doors on Commercial Street. The center was the result of supporters working together to make a safe space for the local LGBTQ+ community. Today, GLO is the oldest operating LGBTQ+ center in the state of Missouri.

Over the years, GLO transferred many of its archival records to the MSU Libraries for preservation. Many GLO supporters have donated photos, brochures and flyers to the archives, while others have shared their GLO experiences in the OLGA Oral History Project.

View our digitized GLO newsletters.

The OLGA Oral History Project

Initiated in 2004, this project includes more than 200 interviews with members of the region’s LGBTQ+ community, as well as other advocates for gay rights. While all interviewees were asked the same basic questions, the focus of the interviews varied greatly. Topics ranged from discussing life in rural Missouri to sharing the support networks available within the region. Interviewees also shared how they feel the LGBTQ+ community has adapted and changed over the years.

Learn more about the OLGA Oral History Project.

How to get involved

The Ozarks Lesbian and Gay Archives helps LGBTQ+ individuals as well as their family and friends preserve the rich and significant history of the LGBTQ+ community in the Ozarks. You can contribute by donating printed documents, photographs, memorabilia, and other historically significant materials to the Missouri State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.

To support the archives, learn more about our projects or set up an appointment to view these materials, contact Special Collections and Archives.