'So like pre-e-mail, people writing him hate mail and putting their name on this stuff.' 'It is breathtaking and terrible,' Burford says. It's full of hate mail that belonged to an openly gay counseling professor and gay rights activist Bob Barret. The boxes are full of photos, mementos and letters.ĭuring a meeting with special collections librarians, Burford pulls out a thick manila folder from one of the boxes. He’s amassed 50 boxes worth of local LGBT history, mostly through donations. Unofficially, you can call him a collector – at least since April.

Officially, Joshua Burford is the assistant director for sexual and gender diversity at UNC Charlotte’s Multicultural Resource Center. In 1975, it was converted into senior housing. Barringer Hotel opened in 1940 and had a 'Bamboo Room Bar' that hosted gay men one night of the week.

Murrey Atkins Library The twelve-story William R.