Half a decade of LGBTQ+ history has arrived at Dallas College North Lake Campus.
The exhibit “Pride in Dallas: Landmarks and Faces of the LGBTQ+ History” is currently showcased in North Lake’s Art gallery until Oct. 6, located in the J building. The collection has 55 panels presenting photos from the last 50 years of Dallas Pride parades. In addition to the panels, a video installation shows 30 years of the parades captured by the late photographer Terry Butcher.
Steven Benezue, Coordinator of Student Engagement Programs and Initiatives, said: “I think people need to know the LGBTQ+ history. It gets buried or other groups don’t care and it’s important to be saved. The photos up there are valuable and they are fun to look at.”
Benezue attended two events that were photographed and exhibited in the gallery. Benezue wasn’t out about his sexuality when he was young so he would scamper to the back of the crowd when he would see a person with a camera. Now Benezue wishes he was standing in the front when he sees the pictures in the gallery.
Benezue said it was very brave of people to attend the Pride parades during those years. He likes looking at the pictures knowing he was there. “It’s good to see them up there,” Benezue said. “It is nice to know that exhibit is there and hasn’t been messed with. Ten, twelve years ago those would be defaced, pull down, [or] drawn on.”
The “Pride in Dallas” exhibit is on loan from the Texas Pride Museum.
The panels from the exhibit will be temporarily displayed in the NLC gallery but the panels along the ramp in the P Building going into J Building are permanently installed.
“Pride in Dallas” was first showcased at El Centro Campus in Oct. 2022 in the H. Paxton Moore Fine Art Gallery.
The exhibit was previously presented by the University of North Texas Libraries Special Collections and sponsored by The Dallas Way, a Dallas based organization focusing on highlighting and preserving the history of the LGBTQ+ people in Dallas.
A reception open to the public will be held Oct. 5, noon – 2 p.m. in the gallery.
