WCU teams with Blue Ridge Pride Center
A collaboration between Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina Asheville and the Blue Ridge Pride Center will gather oral histories, archival materials and photos for an ongoing LGBTQ+ community research project.
The Blue Ridge Pride Center is a nonprofit founded in 2008 and estimates the region is home to some 35,000 people who identify as LGBTQ+.
Amanda Wray, project founder for the Pride Center, is an associate professor at UNCA, teaching women’s studies, gender and sexuality studies, and writing and rhetoric courses. Her academic work and her civic efforts concentrate on equity and anti-racist rhetoric, oral history research and community engagement within higher education.