Since Saturday, Nov. 7, the DeKalb Public Library has displayed the traveling Legacy Wall installation created by Chicago non-profit The Legacy Project.
The Legacy Wall is a 24-foot long, double sided interactive display that compiles the biographies and historical contributions of over 125 LGBTQ+ individuals.
People from various walks of life are represented by the exhibit, including British mathematician Alan Turing, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, NASA Astronaut Sally Ride, and Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
Various LGBTQ+ figures from DeKalb County’s history are also represented by a neighboring placard display.
Ann Shult is a research assistant with the DeKalb County History Center and a retired DeKalb High School teacher who served as the faculty advisor for the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA).
Shult says it’s been a decade long ambition of hers to bring the Legacy Wall to DeKalb.
According to Shult, officially bringing the wall to DeKalb was a yearlong effort made possible through multiple partnerships with other community organizations.
Those include the Ellwood House Museum, the DeKalb County Mental Health Board, and the DeKalb County Community Foundation.
A drag show fundraiser at Fargo Skateboarding also helped pay for the rental fee.
“This is a dream of mine that has come true,” said Shult. “To bring the wall here to help educate people. Not only people in the LGBTQ+ community, but also our allies and maybe even those individuals who don’t really know anyone who’s LGBTQ. It was just this culmination of all these different things, all these different partners coming together.”
Shult says the wall’s presence in DeKalb affords residents a unique opportunity to learn about an important part of history that’s not taught in the classroom.
“I think it’s really important,” said Shult. “That our children, our teenagers can see that they can do this too. So, when they see stories of Bayard Rustin, when they see stories about Alan Turing and Sally Ride, Frida Kahlo, they don’t feel isolated. That there’s someone who was there before them who has paved the way. I think it’s really important that we share that we’re no different.”
In conjunction with the exhibit, the library is hosting a “More Than Rainbow – Teen Workshop” on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The free, hands-on workshop invites teens to explore the history and meaning behind various pride flags and community symbols.
The event also features creative activities, interactive challenges, and breakout sessions.
A closing reception for the Legacy Wall will be hosted on Nov. 20 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the DeKalb Public Library.
