G. Samantha Rosenthal, an associate professor of history at Roanoke College, was recently interviewed by Seattle NPR station KUOW for a piece about a local controversy.
The 20-minute talk radio piece addressed Denny Blaine Park, a beach that has been a gathering place for the Seattle LGBTQ community for decades. After an anonymous donor supplied funds to build a children’s playground at the beach, hundreds of people packed a local community center to voice concerns that the playground was an underhanded effort to drive LGBTQ citizens from a recreational area where they have long felt safe and accepted.
Rosenthal, whose research includes LGBTQ and transgender issues and history, is the author of “Living Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City.” Her remarks in the NPR piece draw from her knowledge of LGBTQ history — in the Roanoke Valley and beyond — including historically queer spaces such as Denny Blaine Park.
“Queer communities in the U.S. have always struggled to have their own spaces that are safe, that are inclusive, and where people can be their full selves, present the way they want to present in the world, and be together in community,” she said.
Click here to listen to Rosenthal’s interview on KUOW.