Queer Archives from South Bend: Archiving as Protest and Preservation

In 1971, Gloria Frankel, a cab driver from New York City, established South Bend’s first drag bar, the Seahorse Cabaret. Her visionary leadership and mentorship profoundly shaped the growth of queer and drag spaces throughout the Michiana region. Exploration of drag history, both locally and internationally, reveals its socio-cultural significance and the urgent need to preserve the narratives of drag performers.

Recognizing the impact of drag performers on queer communities, archival work serves to safeguard and celebrate this vibrant cultural heritage. The archive functions as both a visual and narrative repository, capturing the evolution of drag and its broader implications for community identity, resilience, and visibility.

Beyond the glittering façade of sequins and performance, spaces such as the Seahorse have operated as stages where political activism and social resistance converge. Frankel created inclusive environments that enabled community members to engage safely and creatively, fostering a sense of belonging often absent in small-town contexts. Her story represents a necessary pillar of South Bend’s history, and preserving it counters the erasure of queer memory, particularly amid political attacks and cultural neglect targeting LGBTQ+ archives.

Through oral histories, artifact collection, and storytelling, this project positions archiving as both preservation and protest, emphasizing that queer memory is essential for sustaining future generations and supporting ongoing acts of cultural and political resilience.