For her Masters in Applied Anthropology post-internship project, Emma Satterfield, M.A.A. ’26, knew she wanted to bring to light previously overlooked queer history in a local Maryland community.

“We have the Smithsonians and these big-picture institutions nearby, but I was more interested in [working with a place] that needed help recording their history, that just didn't have the technological knowledge to do so,” Satterfield, a Texas native, recalled. 

Satterfield started her project by searching for local organizations in need of documenting their community heritage. During the 2021 spring semester, Satterfield came into contact with Montgomery History, a Montgomery County, Md. historical society, and was inspired to make documenting the area’s LGBTQ+ history her post-internship project after having a conversation with the society’s executive director. 

“They didn’t know much about this side’s history, and were eager to grow into a more inclusive society by further documenting the country's changing social and cultural identities,” she said.

At first, it was hard to uncover any physical records of the LGBTQ+ community in the county. Due to discrimination, many LGBTQ+ individuals did not openly donate historical artifacts to the county, plus, what little reporting on LGBTQ+ issues were included in old Montgomery County newspapers were lost because many of the newspapers weren’t digitized. 

Nevertheless, Satterfield did find a few breakthroughs. Interviews conducted with Montgomery History members provided information about historical events like the AIDS protests outside the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the case of Joe Afancora, a middle school teacher in Rockville who was fired for being gay in the 70s. Interviews with outside-Montgomery County sources, such as the Maryland Historical Trust, provided additional information on legal rights and health activism, including that Montgomery County was one of the first jurisdictions to add anti-discrimination laws based on sexuality to their discrimination codes. 

“These sort of legal battles were going on in the county, and were a part of a grassroots movement that I found really interesting.” Satterfield said. 

Paired with newspaper clippings from The Gazette and The Blade—a queer Washington, D.C.-based newspaper that Satterfield said was  “a gold mine” for the project—Satterfield was able to get a better sense of her final project’s primary focal points. Those Montgomery County LGBTQ+ focal points, which can be accessed today through a virtual exhibition, are Law and Activism, Health, and Community life. Each point has its own exhibit webpage, which discusses how far the county has come with regards to its treatment of LGBTQ+ citizens.

The success of the exhibit has given many in Montgomery County the opportunity to learn more about this overlooked part of their history, which Satterfield has since taken to teaching. Satterfield joined one of her professors for a Zoom class discussion of the project during the fall 2022 semester, and is planning to give a talk titled "The Full Spectrum: Uncovering LGBTQ+ Heritage in Montgomery County"  on January 21 from 1:45-3:00 p.m. at the 2023 Montgomery County History Conference.

Satterfield concluded by saying that the exhibit is only meant to serve as a starting point in documenting the history of Montgomery County’s LGBTQ+ community; she hopes it will add to the continuation of LGBTQ+ issues being taught to younger generations, and inspire others to learn more. 

“There are some areas that are definitely missing that left the exhibit kind of limited. We would love to revisit it and be able to include more representation for bisexual and transgender folks, people of color, and more women's voices,” she said. “This kind of exhibition shows that LGBTQ+ people have made important contributions to Montgomery County, and have been there all along.”