Our Own Community Press

By Robert Hines, SMC Librarian, June 2024.

Our Own’s first article relating to the AIDS epidemic came in it’s June 1982 issue. “New 'Gay Diseases' Affect Men” read the title of the article.[i] Our Own would carry substantial information related to AIDS as it affected the gay community throughout the decade and beyond. Reader opinions on topics, organizations, and news stories related to AIDS would be a major point of engagement in the years after this first article broke.  As the paper moved into the 1990s it carried full sections related to topics covering the AIDS epidemic. This included themes relating to medical breakthroughs, public opinion, and awareness campaigns.

Our Own faced significant distribution restrictions throughout its tenure. Issues of the paper provided lists of shops and locations that carried copies to help accessibility. One noteworthy problem in distributing the paper came with the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Public Libraries. As early as 1978 Our Own was barred from the shelves of Norfolk Public Library; the problems with the Virginia Beach Libraries were more reported on. Throughout 1980, Our Own was challenged by the “Citizens for the Family” group in VA Beach, resulting in the removal of the paper from libraries and the subsequent suing of Virginia Beach City by the UUGC.[ii]

In 1982, Our Own separated from the UUGC. In doing so, the paper would take on a slightly more unique identity. This would also lead to further complications in the paper’s life regarding advertising and classifieds. The latter had been heavily restricted due to the UUGC’s mission statement with the paper previously. While under publishing by the UUGC, national news was less frequent, save for major incidents and developments. As the paper found it’s footing under new publishing, Our Own began to include a wider variety of national trends and stories in the paper. Still, the paper continued to highlight groups and community issues through Norfolk, Hampton Roads, and greater Virginia.

As the paper moved into the 90s, greater space and pages were given to adverts, businesses and blogs, along with editorials, compared to the first decade of the paper. Further still, the paper grew from an eight page monthly, or bimonthly, release to monthly editions of thirty to forty pages.  Our Own became less involved in hosting and planning as it moved away from the UUGC, but still routinely promoted and advertised festivals, rallies, and events going on in Norfolk and abroad.

In shifting away from the UUGC, Our Own, began offering stock shares for investors in the company. Alongside this the paper began offering subscriptions for readers and businesses. Efforts to have the paper advertised in other regional publications, such as the Virginian Pilot or Ledger Starr, also resulted in complications, with both companies turning down both Our Own and efforts for awareness from the UUGC.

Throughout it’s tenure, Our Own included a multitude of cases regarding discrimination. Victims, attorneys, and occasionally defending parties would be interviewed for their thoughts on said incidents. As such it regularly included articles, advice columns, and other inserts to help protect and educate readers on issues that were more commonly relevant at the time. Common themes included generic legal advice, local resources, support groups, and so on were included in issues all through the paper’s lifetime

 Despite surviving for over twenty years, Our Own was in a constant state of financial insecurity. Advertisements were few and far between; ongoing distribution concerns continued even into the 1990s. Staffing issues plagued the paper throughout the 80s and 90s. The paper’s final publisher outlined some of the major problems the paper had during the outgoing article for the final issue of Our Own. Inadequate payments for staff and ad revenue continued to keep the paper publishing at a significant loss up through its closure in August 1998.[iii]

 Even with it’s long running publication, Our Own was not without its complaints, even within the LGBT community. The 1980s saw the paper repeatedly accused of taking a white, gay centric view for articles, advertisements, and classifieds. This was seen highlighted in editorials and letters to the editor commenting on stories in previous issues.

Stances on community groups, events, and centers was also a point of grievance at times with the paper. A notable back and forth with TACT regarding a proposed Gay and Lesbian Community Center can be seen in the August 1990 edition of the paper.[iv] A November 1995 Letter to the Editor, titled, African-Americans not adequately represented In Our Own, bemoaned the perceived bias the paper had in the stories and individuals Our Own represented regularly.[v]

In August 1998, following several years of continued working at a loss, Our Own ceased publication. The final issue highlighted the ongoing issues the paper had faced for virtually its entire run: long term staffing, distribution and visibility, subscription and stock purchases, advertisement, and revenue. Staff routinely went unpaid and many worked on a rotating door of involvement; coming and going for articles and sections in Our Own one month, gone the next.

At the time of its publication run, Our Own had been one of the longest-running LGBT publications in the United States, at 22 years. Another, short term LGBT publication was established in 1981 by a former Our Own editor, Gary Haskins. This publication was known as "The Paper" and lasted only through 1981. Information on this publication can be found here: The Paper.

 Sources:

[i] Our Own, June 1982.

[ii] Our Own, April 1980;May 1980; August 1980.

[iii] Our Own, August 1998, Farewell Issue.

[iv] Our Own, August 1990

[v] Our Own, November 1995

Name (Original): Our Own Community Press 

Address: 1709 Colley Avenue, Suite 306 Norfolk Virginia 23517

Name of Founder(s): Unitarian-Universalist Gay Community

Date of Founded:1978

Type of Entity: Newspaper 

Major Keywords/Search Terms:

Gay activists; Gay community; Gay liberation movement; Gay rights; Lesbian activists.

Norfolk (Va.)—Newspapers;

Sources:

1.    Primary Sources:

Sargeant Memorial Collection -

Our Own Community Press Newspapers, 1977-1981, 1983-1991, 1996-1998 (MSS 0000-392) – 1976-1998

http://smcarchives.libraryhost.com/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=229

         Newspapers: (Selective)

• • • • Bernstein, - Adam. "2 Publications Are Voices of Hampton Roads' Gay Community." Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA), FINAL ed., sec. DAILY BREAK, 14 June 1997, p. E5.

      • Matray, Margaret. "“Our Own” stories: New podcast brings LGBTQ history to life." Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA), sec. A, 8 Aug. 2018, p. 001.

      • Stone, Steve. "As Our Own Sets Final Issue, Area Gays Lose Outlet." Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA), FINAL ed., sec. LOCAL, 16 Aug. 1998, p. B3.

      • Watson, Denise. "A Voice of Our Own Growing Gay Papers Attract Readers but Feel Shut Out By Advertisers." Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA), FINAL ed., sec. DAILY BREAK, 2 Mar. 1991, p. E1.

2.     Secondary Sources:

Books:

Ford, C. H., Littlejohn, J. L. (2016). LGBT Hampton Roads. (n.p.): Arcadia Publishing Library Editions.

Blogs:

Frizell, Mel.(2021) Hampton Roads LGBTQ+ Community Snapshot 1977. ODU Special Collections Blog. https://sites.wp.odu.edu/scua/category/our-own/

Photographs/Images:

• For Additional photographs of rallies, demonstrations and news; please consult the following subject file from SMC's Pilot Photograph Collection:

• Subject Prints, "Gay Alliance," The Virginian Pilot Photograph Collection, MSS 2021-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia. 

• Subject Prints, "Gays and Lesbians," The Virginian Pilot Photograph Collection, MSS 2021-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia. 

• Subject Prints, "Gay and Lesbian Demonstrations," The Virginian Pilot Photograph Collection, MSS 2021-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia. 

• Subject Prints, "Gays and Lesbians in the Military," The Virginian Pilot Photograph Collection, MSS 2021-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia. 

• Subject Prints, "Gays and Lesbians in the Military: Hearings," The Virginian Pilot Photograph Collection, MSS 2021-001, Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia. 

3.    Held by Other Institutions:

Old Dominion University -

Our Own Community Press Newspapers (MG 143) - 1976-1998

https://olddomuni.access.preservica.com/index.php?name=SO_9495ba00-5360-4443-9ba5-534e6ae581e6