Queer Jewish elders share their lives with USF students

More than 40 student-produced legacy videos came online on Oct. 1, the start of LGBTQ History Month. They are part of the digital exhibition “Honoring Our Queer Elders,” the latest installment of “Mapping Jewish San Francisco,” an ongoing digital humanities project within the JSSJ Swig program.

The exhibition is the final result of the semester-long course “Honoring our LGBTQIA+ Elders”, developed by Rabbi Camille Angel and part of USF’s Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice. Small groups of students are paired with an older queer Jewish San Franciscan, meeting to interview their assigned elder each week, asking personal and often intimate questions about their lives. Topics have included coming out to friends and family, San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic, and feelings about aging and death. The interviews are recorded, and students edit them into roughly 12-minute documentaries.

Read the full story at J.-The Jewish News of Northern California.