Earlier this month, I was invited to speak with a class in NYU’s Tourism & Hospitality program. At first, I hesitated. My academic background isn’t actually in tourism – it’s in education. While there’s overlap between the two fields, I couldn’t help but wonder if my practical experience in LGBTQ+ tourism would resonate with students who study the theories and frameworks behind it. But as it turned out, the conversation flowed easily, and it ended up being one of the most engaging classroom discussions I’ve ever had.
The class was structured as a roundtable discussion, which turned out to be the perfect format. I shared my journey – how and why I founded Christopher Street Tours, and why preserving and sharing LGBTQ+ history means so much to me. The students were thoughtful, curious, and engaged. Their questions pushed me to think critically about my own work in new ways.
One question, in particular, stood out: How do you keep your tours relevant and fresh?
I paused before answering. The truth is, every Christopher Street Tour is a little bit different, often unintentionally. That’s because the world around us is constantly changing, and our tours evolve with it. When it comes to LGBTQ+ history, we don’t have the luxury of presenting a static narrative. The personal is political, and so is the historical. As our rights, stories, and visibility are challenged in real time, our tours must rise to meet that moment.
Take a recent tour, for example. The group was lively and well-informed about the Stonewall Riots, one of our key stops. As we walked from the Stonewall Inn to Christopher Park, home of the Gay Liberation Monument, I noticed a new laminated sign posted by the National Park Service. It read:
“During this lapse in appropriations, national parks will remain as accessible as possible. We are doing our best to take care of your parks at this time, but some amenities and services may not be available.”
For those not following U.S. politics, that message refers to the ongoing government shutdown. In that moment, standing in front of a national monument to queer liberation, the sign spoke volumes. It was a tangible reminder that politics directly impact our community, our spaces, our stories, our rights. A closed park might seem minor, but it reflects something larger: the erasure of queer history, the rewriting of our narratives, and the ongoing attempts to undo hard-won progress.
At Christopher Street Tours, our mission is simple yet powerful: to increase access to LGBTQ+ history by sharing stories and uplifting the voices of those who paved the way before us. My hope is that through these stories, people feel inspired and empowered to keep paving the way forward.
Because while we’ve come a long way, there’s still a long way to go. History isn’t just something we look back on, it’s something we live and shape every day. And by embracing that truth, our tours stay not only relevant and fresh, but also deeply human and profoundly connected to the world around us.
