ODU Lecturer Dr. Betts-Green has been appointed as the Assistant Director of the Invisible Histories Project.
Dr. Betts-Green's position is part of a $600,000 grant awarded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the IHP over the course of three years, specifically focusing on supporting the expansion of collections, increase community programming, and efforts to increase access and diversity within the project. More specifically, the grant supports the addition of Dr. Betts-Green's Assistant Director position, where she will focus on community programming, diversifying the collections, and ensuring the IHP remains active in each state where it operates.
"My goal has always been to stay in the South and support the queer community," shares Betts-Green. "As a queer youth in central Alabama, I desperately needed this history; I needed to know that I was not alone and that there are and have always been so many of us here, not just surviving but thriving. To be able to be a part of the work IHP does to support the future of the queer south is a privilege, and I look forward to using my expertise to provide access to queer history so that no one ever forgets how much queerness is built into our roots."
The Invisible Histories Project locates, preserves, researches, and creates for local communities an accessible collection of the rich and diverse history of the LGBTQ+ community in the Southern United States, and acts as a liaison between the LBGTQ+ community and various institutions like archives, museums, universities, and libraries. The IHP currently collects in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.