Our Collections

At the heart of our archive lies a treasure trove of over 15,000 items and 250 hours of recorded interviews, spanning two centuries of Kentucky's LGBTQ history. From individuals to events, and from institutions to activism, our collections reflect the rich diversity of Kentucky's LGBTQ community, serving as a vital resource for activists, scholars, artists, and museums alike.

The collections of the Faulkner Morgan Archive are unique in two ways.

  1. We only collect material with a direct relationship to Kentucky's LGBTQ community and LGBTQ Kentuckians.

  2. We have developed an oral-history-based methodology of collecting, wherein donors are recorded describing their collection and the stories their collection holds. In effect, artifacts become tied to the oral histories of their donors, creating a rich resource for activists, scholars, artists, and museums.

Our collections represent numerous individuals, events, and institutions from across Kentucky, and help emphasize Kentucky's  important role within the broader national narrative of LGBTQ history.

Featured Collections

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Featured Collections •

All Collections

Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Bill Loggins

Material was gifted by Dr. William Loggins and Mr. Anthony Burgett and documents the Lexington Men’s Chorus, a gay choir group based in Lexington that operated from 1991 to 2003.

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Jon Coleman Jon Coleman

Charles WIlliams

Charles Williams (1942-1998) was born in Blue Diamond, Kentucky, a place he described as a “little old country hick town in coal mining territory, eight miles from Hazard, Kentucky, back up in the hollow where the blacks lived.” As a child, Williams taught himself to draw by copying comic book figures like Superman, Dick Tracy, and Captain Marvel but never finished high school.

Williams worked avidly on paintings, drawings, assemblages, sculptures, and furniture until his untimely death in 1998, the result of AIDS-related complications and starvation. A few months later, an organization called Moveable Feast Lexington was founded in his honor and tasked itself with providing hot meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in the region. In the past 14 years, Williams has been exhibited at Institute 193, UK Art Museum, and the Atlanta Contemporary.

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Cherie “C.D.” Collins

Cherie Collins, originally from Mt. Sterling, now in Boston, talks about her life in Mt. Sterling, coming to terms with her lesbianism, alongside her experiences at Morehead State University and the University of Kentucky. Cherie was one of the original members of the Women’s Commune on West Second Street, Lexington, in the early 1970s.

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Jon Coleman Jon Coleman

Delight Voignier

The bulk of this material relates to Womin Energy, a Lexington-based lesbian newsletter published from April 1977 to June 1979. There are also materials from other local lesbian groups, like Amber Moon Productions, as well as national lesbian groups and publications.

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Edwin Hackney

Edwin Hackney was a social worker and lifelong gay activist. In the early 1980s, he implemented the Gay Services Organization Gay Line which later became GLSO Pride Center. He was a founding member of AVOL Kentucky, which in the early days was a volunteer mobilization effort to do whatever it took to care for those suffering from HIV disease when resources were scarce. He gave mental health help to the volunteers who were aiding the sick. He also served as an officer for NALGAP (National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and their allies).

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Henry Faulkner

Henry is represented throughout many collections in our archive.

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Jill Raymond

Jill Raymond delivered this material during her visit to the Faulkner Morgan Archive on January 15, 2019. It includes material from her time imprisoned for refusing to cooperate into the investigation of Susan Saxe and Kathy Power.

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Jon Coleman Jon Coleman

Joe Devers and Mike McCormick

Michael McCormick and Joe Devers were Lexingtonians, and McCormick lived on North Broadway between 5th and 6th street.  McCormick would own Breezing’s bar, a gay bar in Lexington, on Short and Esplanade.

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

John Hockensmith

Hockensmith brokered the large sale of Faulkner paintings between Greene Settle’s estate and the Carrols of First Southern National Bank. Hockensmith talks about how he met Henry Faulkner, what work he did for Henry, how Henry taught him to “see” his art, exhibits and displays, and Henry’s house on Third Street.

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Jon Coleman Jon Coleman

Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA)

The Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) was an LGBTQ rights activist organization from 1993-2013. KFA was initially formed in response to conservative efforts to re-establish Kentucky's sodomy statute in 1993,  and its members worked alongside the Louisville-based Fairness Campaign, founded in 1991. In its early years, the organization focused its efforts on combatting anti-LGBTQ legislation as a lobbying presence. However, in 1995, KFA expanded their mission to become a "statewide, grassroots organization" consisting of local chapters and with a focus on education of the public about LGBTQ issues like marriage equality, housing and employment discrimination, and hate crimes towards LGBTQ people. The organization advanced this mission through the dual labor of the KFA Education Fund and the KFA Action fund. A landmark moment in KFA's struggle was the passing of Fairness Ordinances in Lexington and Louisville in 1999. The organization went on to be involved in many local fights for LGBTQ rights until its 2013 merger with the Fairness Campaign, which continues this important work today. 

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Kevin Bell

Kevin Bell, raised in Lexington, began his career as a hustler at the age of 12, after having been molested by a restaurant owner who afterwards gave him cash and drugs. By 14 he was working the Wall in Lexington, and was kept by several wealthy men who took him around the country. Kevin talks about Johnny Angels, Bill Sheehan, Mike McCormick, the Wall, downtown Lexington. He just turned 57, is still a drug user, and has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer. He is a long-term AIDS survivor. He currently lives on East Main Street at the Barclay East Apartments. After filming he mentioned he has a 24 year old son in Richmond, Kentucky. He identifies as trysexual, although his primary attraction is to women. He told me “if I like you, I’ll have sex with you.” He is a sweet man, asking constantly if he was “okay” and with a real desire to please and help.

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Caroline Cassin Caroline Cassin

Laura Kaplan

The material included here were gifted by Laura Kaplan, and consist primarily of photo of queer life in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1990s and assorted copies of the Central Kentuckty Pink Pages.

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Interested in USING Our Collections?

Dive into Kentucky's rich LGBTQ history with access to over 15,000 items and 250 hours of oral history. Whether you're a researcher, artist, activist, or simply curious, our archives are open to all.