Karen Wisely | Oral History

Karen Wisely

OH 2016

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Owner of Mable Peabody’s Beauty Parlor and Chainsaw Repair, Denton’s first LGBT-friendly bar. Childhood in East Texas and in Gainesville, Texas; brief marriage to a man; coming out narrative; experiences managing bars in Dallas; experiences during the AIDS crisis; relationships with LGBT community; decision to open Mable Peabody’s, and experiences there.

OH 1918

For the Dallas LGBTQ Oral History Project. Their lives prior to meeting. Injustices experienced by being gay. How they met in Dallas in 1961. Recalling the gay bar scene in Dallas and the gay movement in Dallas. Evans and Harris were the first same-sex couple to be married in Dallas County, in a civil ceremony, following the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision.

OH 1911

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Experiences attending bible-nursing schools as a gay woman. First memories of sexuality and crushes on women. Becoming a part of the gay community in Dallas. Gay bar scene in Dallas. Membership in various religious groups for LGBT. Founding member of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas and Austin. Participation and planning of the first pride parade in Dallas. Memories and thoughts on President Kennedy’s assassination.

OH 1807

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Retired statistics professor, former Dallas Gay Alliance board member, and longtime activist in the Dallas LGBT community. Police harassment of the Dallas gay community; Village Station arrests; coming out in the late 1970s; Dallas Gay Alliance; childhood in the United Kingdom; travels in the Middle East and Asia; moving to the United States; mentoring gay students at SMU; gay rights activism; renaming the Dallas Gay Alliance the Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance; creation of the Dallas gay community; philanthropic work; current Dallas LGBT community.

OH 1797

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Licensed counselor and longtime activist in the Dallas LGBT community. Childhood in Big Spring, Texas; college in the Dallas area; work with Oak Lawn Counseling Center; AIDS crisis; involvement in the Human Rights Campaign; work as a columnist with the Dallas Voice; the Dallas Gay Alliance (DGA); coming out; involvement in the Dallas gay community.

OH 1817

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Businessman and long-time Dallas LGBT activist. Childhood in Cambridge, England; first realization of being gay; being gay in the post-World War II Royal Air Force; immigration to the U.S. in 1956; Texas gay rights movement; Human Rights Foundation; activism in the Dallas LGBT community; rejection of citizenship application for homosexuality and subsequent legal battle; gay marriage.

OH 1829

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Author and LGBT activist. Family history; childhood in Corsicana, Texas; gay high school culture in the 1960s; horsemanship; Dallas Gay Rodeo; lesbian culture in the 1950s and 1960s; Dallas LGBT community; Circle of Friends; AIDS epidemic; LGBT night life; writing career.

OH 1889

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. English professor and longtime Dallas LGBT activist. Childhood in Iowa; educational and professional background; homosexuality in literature; Oscar Wilde; activism in women’s and gay rights movements; move to Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex; Gay Caucus for the Modern Languages; Dallas Gay Alliance; LGBT activism at UNT; conditions for gay and lesbian faculty and staff in the 1970s; LGBT support groups and anti-discrimination policies; the AIDS crisis and the Dallas LGBT community; Baker v. Wade.

OH 1796

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. President and CEO at AIDS Service of Dallas, lawyer, and longtime activist in the Dallas LGBT community. Childhood in Michigan; move to Chicago, Illinois, and then to the Dallas, Texas area for college; work for Dallas County Juvenile Department; law school in San Antonio, Texas; coming out; involvement in the Dallas Gay Alliance (DGA); AIDS epidemic; work at AIDS Service of Dallas; Texas anti-gay legislation and police raids; Village Station arrests and trials; activism in Dallas.

OH 1859

For the Dallas LGBT Oral History Project. Administrator and co-founder of the UNT Ally program. Building LGBT resources at the UNT library and Ally program; Safe Zone programs; faculty training to support LGBT students in the DFW Metroplex; education and work experiences; influence to become an Ally; support of the gay community.