Protecting the safe spaces of Nashville's queer community

Pride Month brings rainbow flags, parades, and celebration. But for many queer people in Middle Tennessee, it also raises a more complicated question: where do you actually belong the other eleven months of the year?Nashville has a long history of gathering places where queer residents can find community, visibility, and refuge. Some have endured for decades. Others have quietly faded or been displaced. The losses ripple through the communities that depend on them.Today we look past the festivities to examine something more fundamental: what it means for a space to feel safe, why these spaces matter so deeply to LGBTQ+ communities, and what is lost when they disappear. What emerges is a portrait of community infrastructure that often goes unacknowledged until it's gone—and what it takes to build it, sustain it, and fight for it.This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi.Guests: Sarah Calise, curator of Community Histories, Vanderbilt University Archives; founder, Nashville Queer History Project Ashley Hampton, executive director, Healing in the Margins; founder and clinical director at Hampton House Jerry Ivery, CEO, MashUp!