This collection contains various materials documenting the history of LGBTQ+ people and culture in Miami Beach, Florida. Included within are periodicals, ephemera, general documents, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting Miami Beach's queer history through the lives, activism, and historical contributions of spouses Dennis Leyva and Clark Reynolds, the donors of this collection.
This collection intersects with the history of the Winter Party Festival, one of the biggest annual LGBTQ+ celebrations for the Greater Miami and Miami Beach areas, as Dennis Leyva and Clark Reynolds are among the co-founders of the event. This collection also compliments the Safeguarding American Values for Everyone (SAVE) records, as they both have worked closely with the organization for decades.
The posters in this collection were created by students for a project answering the question "What is Queer?" The project was part of Dr. Steve Butterman's Queer Studies class at the University of Miami. The posters in the collection present a variety of visual and textual representation of the students' interpretations of what it means to be queer, ranging in focus from familial concerns and sexual health/HIV to media representation, politics, and fashion. Many of the posters discuss the history of the use of the term "queer" and question the idea of a single definition of queer.
