historical memory

Martin Luther King Jr. and the History of Sexuality

By Gillian Frank January 18, 2016 Post-1945 United States 1 comment

Gillian Frank Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. To reflect upon Dr. King’s life, legacy and influence, NOTCHES offers some primary sources with which to begin thinking about King’s place in the history of sexuality. Even as historians are increasingly reckoning with King’s complicated private life, King’s views on […]

Truly Ugandan: Martyrs, Pope Francis, and the Question of Sexuality

Francis obscured both the colonial Christian and queer sexual contexts of the executions.

Rainbow Plaques: Mapping York’s LGBT History

By Kit Heyam July 23, 2015 LGBTQ, United Kingdom 0 comments

Kit Heyam There are over 70 plaques in York, marking historically significant places from a Roman fortress (Bootham) to a minuscule street (Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate). While the original “blue plaque” scheme was started by English Heritage, any group may erect a plaque, marking spaces linked to people or events they consider worthy […]

Sex and the American Quest for a Relatable Past

By notcheseditor March 14, 2015 Early America 0 comments

Thomas Foster I’m sure our TRUNNELS look’d clean As if they ne’re up A—se had been; For when we use ‘em, we take care To wash ‘em well, and give ‘em Air, Then lock ‘em up in our own Chamber, Ready to TRUNNEL the next Member. In 1751 the Boston Evening-Post […]