When Kirk Baxter first agreed to help create a series of banners honoring Houston’s LGBTQ history in 2014, he only had two weeks to do it. A national convention at the George R. Brown convention center was approaching and with it, members and leaders of LGBTQ communities from across the U.S. By the time of the event, Baxter had prepared 27, 3-foot wide banners highlighting the history of pride and activism in Houston.
“I am a self-employed graphic designer and I was really busy at the time so I kind of hemmed and hawed but eventually I said, ‘okay I’ll do it,’” Baxter said. “I don’t want to pat myself on the back but it was pretty monumental. People would walk in... and they were just dumbfounded by how it turned out. They were so happy and surprised.”
Since the convention the effort, known as The Banner Project, has grown to 48 banners that are stored at the University of Houston MD Anderson Library. The university displays them during pride month and lends them to organizations and businesses for temporary installations throughout the year. In recent months the banners have been on display at Minute Maid Park, the Toyota Center and will soon head off for an exhibit at Texas A&M.
While researching and working with the founders of the project, Sara Fernandez and JD Doyle, Baxter said he learned more than he expected about his own community’s history.
