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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

Alexandria Library @alexlibraryva.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

October is LGBTQ+ History Month. 🏳️‍🌈 Join us for a special event featuring local historian Amy Bertsch. Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. RSVP link below.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Pick up LGBTQ+ History Month freebies at the Oct 14 library event in Alexandria! alexlibraryva.org/event/17224672 #LGBTQHistory #Transgender #TransHistory

Mix of images, including magnet with book cover of Queer Virginia; a heart shaped sticker with rainbow colors with lettering reading Embrace LGBTQ+ History; a round sticker with a black and white image of a woman and the transgender flag in the background and text reading Hannah Nokes, 1936, Transgender people have always existed; small paper mini-zines reading Researching Virginia Queer History and a mini-zine reading Trans and Gender-Variant Lives and History Close to Home with an outline of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Happy LGBTQ+ History Month! On Oct 14, I'll discuss the "Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes" in Old Town Alexandria. Will be selling and signing "Queer Virginia" from @uvapress.bsky.social and giving away mini-zines, stickers + magnets alexlibraryva.org/event/17224672 #TransHistory #LGBTQHistory

Poster from Alexandria Library for LGBTQ+ History Month for The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes talk on October 14, 6pm at Local History/Special Collections library. Images of Hannah Nokes wearing an apron and mob cap at a wash tub and the cover of the book Queer Virginia.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

ASALH conference has been outstanding and this morning’s panel on New Research on Black Virginians’ Struggle for Freedom and the poster session blew me away! #ASALH2026

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

Gautham Rao (pronounced: Knicks in 5) @gauthamrao.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Man not accustomed with idea of consequences

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Such an excellent experience at Alexandria Pride on Saturday! Met many interested people, sold 30+ copies of "Queer Virginia" and shared much info on local transgender history and researching Virginia queer history. Thanks to the Library of Virginia and @afrocharities.bsky.social for their support!

Alexandria Pride participant smiling and holding the book, Queer Virginia. Subject is Dexter Davis who taught the History of Line Dancing to attendees.

Mini history guides including Researching Virginia Queer History from the Library of Virginia and Trans and Gender Variant Lives and History Close to Home with one page open to Louis Diggs, a popular entertainer who performed as a woman.

Individual standing behind table, holding a book and smiling. Table is covered with a rainbow table cloth, Queer Virginia books and other items.

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

City of Alexandria, VA @alexandriavagov.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

We can't wait to see you on Saturday, June 27, for the 9th annual Alexandria Pride! Visit alexandriava.gov/LGBTQ for all the deets. See you at John Carlyle Square Park from 2 to 6!

Promotional poster for Alexandria Pride. It features a colorful sign with "Alexandria Pride" and includes logos for the City of Alexandria and Alexandria LGBTQ+ Task Force. Additional text reads, "Celebrate Pride with the City of Alexandria." The background shows a festive outdoor setting with tents and rainbow decorations.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Alexandria Pride is this Saturday, June 27, rain or shine! Proud among 100+ exhibitors participating! Free magnets, stickers & zines, including items from the Library of Virginia. "Queer Virginia" from @uvapress.bsky.social available at 30% off #pridemonth www.alexandriava.gov/sites/defaul...

Mix of images, including bookmarks and mini-zines. Images include book cover of Queer Virginia; a heart shaped magnet with rainbow colors with lettering reading Storytelling is Resistance, Embrace LGBTQ+ History; a round magnet with a black and white image of a woman and the transgender flag in the background and text reading Hannah Nokes, 1936, Transgender people have always existed; small paper items including bookmarks and mini-zine reading Researching Virginia Queer History and a mini-zine reading Trans and Gender-Variant Lives and History Close to Home with an outline of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

On Saturday I’ll be at Alexandria Pride sharing local LGBTQIA+ history, selling “Queer Virginia” book and giving away queer and trans history freebies, including mini-zines. #pridemonth #queerhistory #alxpride #transhistory www.alexandriava.gov/LGBTQ

Mix of images with text reading Fab Queer History Freebies and Magnets, Stickers, Bookmarks and Mini-zines. Images include book cover of Queer Virginia, a heart shaped magnet with rainbow colors with lettering reading Storytelling is Resistance, Embrace LGBTQ+ History; a round magnet with a black and white image of a woman and the transgender flag in the background and text reading Hannah Nokes, 1936, Transgender people have always existed; small paper items including bookmarks and mini-zine reading Researching Virginia Queer History and a mini-zine reading Trans and Gender-Variant Lives and History Close to Home with an outline of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

This evening I’ll be at Oatlands discussing the life and legacy of Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman who testified in a high profile murder trial in the 1930s. Free and no reservations required! oatlands.org/event/pride-... #TransHistory

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

UVA Press @uvapress.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

June is Pride Month! Explore incredible stories, outstanding scholarship, and beautiful books Take 30% off select titles using promo code <10PRIDE26> at checkout www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10093/ #booksky #readUP

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

In 1983 an Alexandria woman's USPS job offer was withdrawn after she told them she was transgender. Attorney Victor Glasberg took Jane Doe's case and won the first successful discrimination case by a transgender person against the govt. #PrideMonth #TransHistory alextimes.com/lifestyle/ou...

alextimes.com

Out of the Attic: The landmark case of a transgender Alexandrian - Alexandria Times

In 1985, a local woman named Jennifer Casoni achieved what is widely regarded as the first successful federal discrimination challenge by a transgender person. Her case, Jane Doe v. United States Post...

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Appreciate @fairfaxcounty.gov Public Library including “Queer Virginia” from @uvapress.bsky.social on its Voices of Pride and Progress book list www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/news... #PrideMonth #QueerHistory

Fairfax County Public Library website snapshot of books for America 250 June: Voices of Pride and Progress with several book covers

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

UVA Press @uvapress.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

oatlands.org/event/pride-...

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

I have a single chapter, get zero $ and have no info about sales, but I try to talk it up because the LGBTQ people and lives we wrote about deserve to be remembered and their stories matter today www.upress.virginia.edu/title/10093/

upress.virginia.edu

Queer Virginia

A new, definitive queer history of the Commonwealth Queer Virginia is a long-needed record of the courageous and creative ways

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Appreciate Julie Carey covering this and the Thomas Balch Library for hosting us! “Queer Virginia” is published by @uvapress.bsky.social

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Loved seeing these books featured as new additions to the collection at the Thomas Balch Library! Special surprise was seeing @goberle.bsky.social too!

Books on a shelf: Lineage by Karin Wulf, Living Queer History by Gregory Samantha Rosenthal, For the Love of Animals by Anna C. Briggs, Another Appalachia by Neema Avashia, Escape to America by David T. Truong, and Creating an Informed Citizenry by George D. Oberle III

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Registration is open for 2026 Virginia Forum history conference! I'm presenting "Unclaimed but No Longer Unnamed: Recovering Identities of Prisoners Buried at Stoney Lonesome Cemetery" and excited for papers from @historyherring.bsky.social and @goberle.bsky.social virginia-forum.org/2026-confere...

virginia-forum.org

2026 Conference – Virginia Forum

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

As it turned out, Sarah Grant never lived in the region I was studying and the celebration she recalled had taken place in or near Chillicothe, Missouri, so I did not use her account in my project. But I learned a lot by tracking down her story. 9/end

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Unfortunately, this account mistakenly attributed to Albert Brooks has now been repeated. Charles P. Henry used it in his introduction to “The Obama Phenomenon: Toward a Multiracial Democracy” (University of Illinois Press, 2011) and referenced Clark’s book in his citations. 8/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

A man named Albert Burks had conducted the interview and the source was a woman in her 80s named Sarah Grant. Clark had accurately quoted the original informant but somehow got the names wrong. By misidentifying Grant, Clark also got the gender wrong. 7/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Clark’s citation indicated the account came from a volume in the “American Slave” series of WPA slave narratives edited by George P. Rawick. When I checked the book, I did not find Albert Brooks’ name among those who had been interviewed by the WPA but I did find the account Clark had referenced. 6/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

My research focused on emancipation celebrations in the Mid-Atlantic region and I wanted to know where this particular celebration had taken place. 5/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

In her introduction titled “Language that Cannot Be Misunderstood,” Clark opens with this powerful account of a formerly enslaved person recalling an emancipation celebration that occurred not long after the Civil War ended: 4/

The incomparable thrill of the Emancipation Day celebration never left Albert Brooks. In a 1938 interview with a worker for the Works Progress Administration, Brooks vividly recalled a ceremony he had attended as a young child shortly after the end of the Civil War. On the appointed day, African Americans journeyed from the surrounding countryside to march in a massive parade that quickly overflowed the streets of the town where Brooks lived with his family. Caught up in the excitement, white missionaries rushed to join the procession. One teacher was so intoxicated with joy that she “stood on the church steps and just shouted unashamed before all the people that were present.” In Brooks's memory, the wind blew strong as his stepfather climbed to the top of the church, shouldering a massive American flag. Brooks described the scene as the Stars and Stripes came to life, snapping and pulling in the fierce wind; his stepfather struggled to hold his ground, then triumphantly raised the flag overhead. Looking back, Brooks recalled: “Since that first celebration I have attended many others . . . but I'll never forget the first Emancipation proclamation celebration.”

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Several years ago while researching emancipation celebrations, I read Kathleen Clark’s “Defining Moments: African American Commemoration and Political Culture in the South, 1863-1913” (UNC Press, 2005). 3/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Was it such a basic thing that no one saw a need to check it? Or was it something so compelling that no one challenged it? 2/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

I completely understand that mistakes happen but I’m always curious to find out what went wrong. Where in the research or writing process did the misunderstanding occur? How did a fact get botched? 1/

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

During a 1998 visit to DC, Vaclav Havel went to the Brickskeller, known for its massive beer menu, for dinner. My girlfriend and I were there with friends and she bought the President of the Czech Republic a Pilsner Urquell.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

My AI response was so surprising, I didn’t believe it. I asked if it was just made up and ChatGPT “thought” for more than two minutes before admitting that it “invented details” bsky.app/profile/amyb...

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Big thanks to the Thomas Balch Library for inviting me to talk about Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman who testified in a high profile murder case Loudoun County in 1933 #TransHistory #QueerHistory youtube.com/watch?v=WS1J...

youtube.com

Beyond "Red-Wigged Boy-Girl" Researching the Life of Hannah Nokes with Amy Bertsch

YouTube video by Thomas Balch Library

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Thrilled to be discussing my research on Hannah Nokes Dec 13 at Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg. "Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion" from @uvapress.bsky.social will be available for purchase. #QueerHistory #LGBTQHistory #TransHistory #Loudoun www.leesburgva.gov/Home/Compone...

On left, book opened to show first page of chapter, and a 1930s photo of Hannah Nokes, a Black transgender woman at a wash tub. On right is the cover of book, Queer Virginia, with historic map image in background. Chapter is titled: Beyond ‘Red Wigged Boy-Girl’ Perceptions of a Black Transgender Woman in Northern Virginia before Queer Liberation.

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

Style Weekly @styleweekly.com · 05/11/2025

Author Jay Watkins' research offers proof of Richmond's rich queer history, especially in the world of theatre.

dlvr.it

The Queer South

Author Jay Watkins' research offers proof of Richmond's rich queer history, especially in the world of theatre.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Proposals for 2026 Virginia Forum history conference due tomorrow, Nov 2 virginia-forum.org/2026-confere...

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

I decided to see if ChatGPT could help with some transcribing, probably just getting a few words here and there to get me started and maybe save some time. Instead of it saying it couldn't read a PDF of faded handwriting, it completely made stuff up.

Transcript from ChatGPT:
Me: Are you just making stuff up?
Response:
Thought for 2m 7s>
You’re right to call that out. I’m sorry—I didn’t actually read the PDF and I invented details. That’s not okay.

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Many thanks to the Arlington Public Library for hosting our “Queer Virginia” author event for LGBTQ+ History Month! We definitely appreciated the insightful, engaged audience! #queerhistory @uvapress.bsky.social

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Twenty years ago, I took a historical archaeology class in the Public History and Historic Preservation program at @novacommcollege.bsky.social that changed my life. My program classmates were brilliant and continue to do amazing research and I still work on the project I was assigned that semester.

Two images. Rural road with large oak tree on one side. Close up of stoneware crock with cobalt decoration and stamped maker's mark reading L Gardner.

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Reposted by Amy Bertsch

Megan Kate Nelson 📚 @mkn.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

It was a pleasure to read and write about Marni Sandweiss's new book, "The Girl in the Middle" for the Emerging Civil War blog. It also gave me a chance to experiment with book review writing style, which was great fun! emergingcivilwar.com/2025/07/31/b...

emergingcivilwar.com

Book Review: The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West - Emerging Civil War

The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West. By Martha A. Sandweiss. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2025. Hardcover, 368 pp. $32.00. Reviewed by Megan Kate Nelson Toda...

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

On August 8, in remembrance of lynching victim Benjamin Thomas, the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project welcomes historian Steven Hahn who will present "Political Violence, Racial Terror, and the Perpetual Struggle of American Democracy"

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Amy Bertsch @amybertsch.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

So excited to receive Krystyn Moon’s “Proximity to Power: Rethinking Race and Place in Alexandria, Virginia” from @uncpress.bsky.social today!

Book reading “Proximity to Power:
Rethinking Race and Place in Alexandria, Virginia” by Krystyn R Moon and cover design with a photo of an African American woman sitting among file cabinets

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