Drag Bingo with Veranda L’Ni – Elvira Edition

The LGBT Legacy Project documentary looks at the continued rise of the LGBT Movement during the 1980’s – 1990’s. A movement that had cohesion of purpose, fueled by Stonewall and ignited by Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign in 1977.

The documentary will place into the historical record stories from the Midwest and South in regard to both the political advances and setbacks of the era. Parallel and interwoven stories of HIV/AIDS are told through those who experienced and survived these tumultuous years.

The cities included are guided by the producer’s own journey — from New Orleans (1983) to Dallas, Texas (1993), Wichita Kansas (1995) and finally to Cleveland OH (2002 – present day).

The documentary frames the progress of a strong but scattered LGBT movement in the 1970s into a cohesive national force by the 1990s. This still only partially visible community of social activists took on the task of gaining their civil rights. They also took on the task of caring for people within that community who had contracted HIV/AIDS.

A vast collection of broadcast quality footage from the era is at the producer’s disposal. Beginning in 1986, and for over ten years, she created LGBT programming for a local access cable TV, shooting locally and attending national conferences. Many of the storytellers are in the original footage, providing fascinating insights into the emotionally charged political struggles of the times.