We've Always Been Here: South Asian Queer Activism in '90s NYC

Newspaper clipping of SALGA parade. Caption states: Members of the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA) who took out a separate parade to mark the golden jubilee and to protest the decision of the FIA to bar them from taking part in the parade. India in New York 8/22/97.

Subah Sumaiiyat began this exhibit as a high school student at Brooklyn Tech, where she studied in the Law and Society major. She is currently a student at Harvard concentrating in government.

Educator Guide

Educator Guides are created by LHP youth for New York City teachers. These guides compile the primary and secondary sources featured in each exhibit, making them easy to print and integrate into existing classroom materials.

Subah Sumaiiyat's research project investigates the history of queer South Asian activism in New York City, with a focus on the conflict between the South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association (SALGA) and the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) surrounding SALGA’s repeated exclusion from the India Day Parade from 1992 to 2001. The project aims to build an interactive digital archive that preserves this local activist history and highlights the intersectionality of diaspora and queerness, as well as the importance of solidarity in NYC queer activism.

Enter the Exhibit

Neighborhood

Midtown

Theme

Joy, Celebration, Achievements

Resistance, Organizing and Community