“Wait, What?”
“You mean you aren’t the museum where all the stuff
from the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969 is located?”
No – we’re not. But given our name, it’s an understandable question. It gets asked a lot.
The Stonewall National Museum and Archives (SNMA) is one of the largest gay archives and libraries in the United States, now almost 50 years old. However, we have no direct link to the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. When we were founded in 1972, the founder Mark Silber used the name “Stonewall” to recognize the fight for LGBTQ liberation that began at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. It was a name with meaning then and it has become nearly synonymous with gay liberation efforts since that time.
SNMA presents an ongoing 12-month schedule of exhibitions on LGBTQ themes and public programs, including author presentations, films, panel discussions, and collaborative events at its museum and library in South Florida and in cities across the United States.
The Stonewall National Museum and Archives is a Florida non-profit charitable organization exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code. To see our current 990 tax return, please visit Guidestar.org.
Our Mission
Stonewall National Museum & Archives is a safe, welcoming place that inspires and promotes understanding through collecting, preserving and sharing the proud culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and queer people of all stories, and their significant role in American society.
Vision
Values
Freedom/creativity/collaboration – Recognizing that every person has the intrinsic ability to create, we seek to build community among LGBTQ people and organizations and their allies, working together in a cooperative and supportive environment.
Equity – Understanding how aspects of one’s social and political identities (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, etc.) might combine to create unique modes of discrimination, we work to create policies and practices that foster an embracing and inclusive environment, welcoming to everyone, treating them with respect, care and empathy. While preserving the history of past generations, we seek to engage future generations.
Professionalism – We collect, preserve, exhibit and teach within the highest of academic standards. We perform our work ethically, honesty and with integrity. We acknowledge our temporal relationship to SNMA’s assets and obligation to manage and preserve the organization for future generations.
Service – Rooted in scholarship, our programs are offered in service to the general public, visible and accessible to the widest group possible.
