University of Houston Hosts the Banner Project in Its ‘Straight’ World Debut

M.D. Anderson Library displays the 34 innovative banners that tell the highlights of Houston’s LGBT history.
Photos and story by Brandon Wolf

2016 National LGBT History Month was celebrated at the University of Houston with a display of the Banner Project in the M.D. Anderson Library foyer on their central campus. The banners have hung in the foyer for the past week, and on National Coming Out Day, a special information table was assembled to answer questions, provide literature, and showcase some of the holdings of the UH LGBT History Collection.

The display was a joint effort worked out by the Banner Project, the M.D. Anderson Library, and the UH LGBTQ Resource Center. Lisa German, Dean of University Libraries, said: “It was such a pleasure to have the banners exhibited here.”

Nearly 17,000 people pass through the library’s foyer every day, so this was the biggest exposure for the Banner Project in its nearly three-year history. It was also the first display in a non-LGBT-specific environment.

The University of Houston consistently ranks high as an LGBT-friendly campus. The Advocate magazine named it “one of the seven brave campuses in the south.” A number of the individuals honored on the banners are UH alumni.

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Brandon Wolf is a frequent contributor to OutSmart magazine.