Earlier this week, Denver Public Library held the annual Eleanor Gehres Award ceremony at The Center on Colfax. This year’s award was presented to David Duffield for his outstanding service and contributions to the Colorado LGBTQ History Project.
The Colorado LGBTQ History Project was established in 2015 by David and The Center to collect and preserve oral histories from those who lived it, archive these histories and make them available to the public, and actively tell the story of the LGBTQ community in Denver throughout history.
David’s work with the DPL Western History and Genealogy Department to collect archives for the Colorado LGBTQ History Project has led to 28 collections being added to DPL’s Western History Collection.
The collections explore the HIV/AIDS epidemic, support organizations, social clubs, and the personal papers of community members. David also curates an extensive collection of oral histories that delve into personal stories and experiences throughout history.
It is for these immense and meaningful contributions that David was honored with the 2023 Eleanor Gehres Award. Established in 1999, this annual honor recognizes an individual or organization that made a significant contribution to the DPL Western History Collection, enhancing its value and expanding the department’s significance to the community. The award is named in honor of its inaugural winner, Eleanor Gehres, who headed the library’s Western History department for 25 years.
The Center had a chance to speak with David about his work and what this award means to him.
What sparked your interest in historical & library-related work?
In 2014, I helped to begin the Colorado LGBTQ History Project. What got me into this work was the need for people to have their written words stored in a safe place, which other people could study and have access to. This is a sense of what the philosopher Derrida calls “the archive drive”. In the wake of such loss, people who want to memorialize their loved ones need to create things for them like art, archives, or public acts of memorial. These acts build meaning and significance and help with the loss. For me, the spark came from the need of people to see themselves in the archive, and that this work had not been done for a very, very long time.
"I realized throughout simple observation and pieces of activism and work that queer people would be bound into the historical closet if we couldn’t record our own stories."
How did you first get involved with the Colorado LGBTQ History Project and The Center on Colfax?
I created the Colorado LGBTQ History Project after what seemed like a battle over civil unions in 2012 and 2013. I realized throughout simple observation and pieces of activism and work that queer people would be bound into the historical closet if we couldn’t record our own stories. So in 2014 and 2015, I approached The Center on Colfax with a pilot project, focusing on four core areas: oral history, document archiving, education, networking, and eventually different forms of programs. Today, I have collected well over 100 oral histories and contributed 28 collections to the Denver Public Library. I have contributed to every exhibit in the Colorado LGBTQ History project. For this among other accomplishments, I am honored and proud to receive this year’s Eleanor Gehres award.
What is your vision for the future of the Colorado LGBTQ History Project?
There are several things I would like to do in the future. Among them is establishing a permanent cultural day where the LGBTQ community can donate their words to the Denver Public Library. I also hope to write a book and to foster a cycle of research that will continue to build upon the work that’s been done so far.
It is difficult to say what the future of the project will be. I can only hope and believe that its future will be decided by the people who do the work, the community who they serve, and what they believe will be in the best interest of preserving their history and legacy. There are many areas of historical work that I would like to address, such as the stories of more black, brown, Indigenous, and gender diverse people. My vision is that the work should continue as long as it is necessary, and I believe it will be permanently necessary for this work to be done.
What does winning the Eleanor Gehres Award mean to you?
To me, this award represents both an overwhelming feeling of joy, and a reticence of purpose. I have been working so hard for so long, seeing the forest through the trees so to speak, and it is difficult to see the greater impact of the work at times. To receive this award is to be acknowledged by the community of historians and scholars who have created this work with me. I feel I cannot say thank you enough to everyone for these opportunities that I’ve been afforded.
You see, to live a life where something changes you and gives you purpose, is to live a life which is blessed and true. This is something that I have been afforded by the Colorado LGBTQ History Project. I have helped to create something which I hope will outlive me. More specifically, alongside so many people I have created something that has laid the foundation for something much greater than ourselves: the legacy of the LGBTQ people of Colorado. We are bound to a duty and a destiny which is emerging and shifting, yet is rock solid in our hearts and souls. We need to move with our whole hearts in this work.
I cannot tell people with certainty what the future holds, but I can tell them that their voices have meaning and their lives matter, and that our collective stories are a cure for fear. I can say that in all of this work, and all of the many places from which it comes, the first and foremost is the human heart.
The words we teach our children will shape the world. To be afforded this honor means that I have the privilege to tell people what I feel. More importantly, I can sit with them and listen, and in the wake of everything this project means, look back and say we’ve created something greater than ourselves together.
For me personally, this award is a mark in the passage of time which states that a phenomenal thing has occurred: our history has reached a maturity to a point that it is stronger today than it has ever been, and it will be stronger tomorrow with our continued work. Greater still is the legacy, which demands a fortitude of soul that we cannot be so cavalier to neglect. In short, this means we must work harder and achieve more, but also realize that the legacy of it all is greater than the sum of its parts.
"We must realize that the work changes us, and that we are making history by simply talking about it."
Any other comments?
The comment I want to leave everyone with is that their voice matters. Donating your written and spoken words to be preserved for legacy is one of the greatest forms of liberation we can give to one another. I am so deeply honored, and I am humbly dedicated to the work and our community.
On behalf of The Center on Colfax and the Colorado LGBTQ+ community, we express our immense gratitude to David, and a congratulations to him for this well-deserved honor. You can peruse the repository of LGBTQ oral histories, documents, stories and more by visiting our Omeka catalog.