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The city has become the southern regional center for LGBT culture, and several local institutions contain valuable source materials on the LGBT community, past and present, including the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center ( Emory University ( and Georgia State University ( Despite current acquisition efforts at these institutions, there remains little accessible documentation of the lives of LGBT women and men in Atlanta and the South during much of the early 20th century. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, Atlanta has created an ever-growing infrastructure of businesses, entertainment venues, political organizations, social networks, and a publishing industry. Throughout much of its modern history, Atlanta has acted as a magnet for gays and lesbians, attracting them for personal, professional, and political reasons. LGBT Collections at the Kenan Research Center Stories like these also capture viewers' attention and spark their imagination as they discover a little known aspect of Atlanta's social and cultural history. But their story is significant as a poignant reminder of the vital role oral history has played in recovering the experiences of LGBT women and men. It is my wish that you should keep this…until the day when we both will smile and say ‘hello' again." In response, Whittaker received a letter, along with the poem in which Mitchell declared: "I have no poetic pretensions, but I write here in poetic form because I find it lends emphasis to feelings I would have you fully understand. Whittaker later wrote Mitchell, thanking him for the trip and expressing his affection. Shortly after the two traveled to London, Mitchell was discharged from the Army for his homosexuality. Whittaker and Mitchell forged a bond while serving in the military, and Mitchell introduced Whittaker to the gay social scene.
#1940S GAY BAR LONDON SERIES#
Whittaker, an African American born in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 3, 1942, spoke of his relationship with Mitchell in a series of oral history interviews conducted for the exhibit. Whittaker III, conveying a quiet dignity in an era typically characterized as dangerous and frightening for homosexuals. Mitchell wrote "Pro Dico" as an expression of his desire and affection for fellow soldier William J. The Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940–1970, a 2005 exhibition at the Atlanta History Center, included a simple poem written by soldier Thom W.