History=Pride
Stonewall National Museum and Archives, a national nonprofit that promotes understanding through collecting, preserving and sharing the proud culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people kicks off its next 50 years with a new executive director and an enhanced mandate to elevate and keep relevant the LGBTQ+ experience and cultural heritage at a time when some want to ban books, limit discussions in our schools and workplaces, and replace the word Gay with silence.
“I am glad to be part of an organization that seeks to take a leadership role in making knowledge and information relevant in our lives. We in the LGBTQ+ community understand all too well the struggle that comes from being marginalized. There is a Pride Month because we know where we came from, we know who we are, and we know where we are going” said Robert Kesten, who becomes executive director and CEO of the museum on June 1, 2022.
Photo Courtesy of Robert Kesten
Stonewall has the largest LGBTQ+ library and archive in the United States and continues to grow its collections, making materials available to other organizations and institutions across the United States and the world. Located in South Florida, the organization’s footprint has impacted academic and other nonprofits everywhere there are LGBTQ+ communities, their allies, friends, and families.
“Robert is exactly the person to lead us into the next 50 years of our mission”, stated Jacki Bennett the organization’s board chair. “With all that is going on around us, especially in our home state of Florida, it is important that our archives and collections have a wider perspective, a greater reach, and play a more intentional role in chronicling the continued work and narrative for LGBTQ+ equality. We believe Robert is the person to do that.”
With an eclectic international career from film and music to work with presidents and prime ministers, Kesten worked on Ukraine’s independence from the USSR, the Ghanaian redrafting of its national Constitution, human rights during the Arab Spring, established an international film festival, a program for the New York City Public Schools, and has long been active in advancing LGBTQ+ human rights.
Content Courtesy of Stonewall National Museum and Archives
