Advocate NL 6/18/26

Hello folks, Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez back in your inbox to catch you up after missing a day!

Speaking of missing: As Route 66 celebrates its centennial this year, communities across its more than 2,400 miles are marking the occasion with festivals, museum exhibits, and tributes to the roadway's place in American history.

But after visiting Route 66 landmarks and museums, Alysse Dalessandro kept noticing who was missing from the story: LGBTQ+ travelers.

"Yet their stories are everywhere once you start looking," writes Alysse, a Cleveland-based queer femme writer, digital creator, and founder of Ready to Stare.

From a 1954 police record in St. Louis to a Black trans-led organization in Chicago, the Mother Road’s queer history has been hiding in plain sight, and Alysse will be documenting it for The Advocate throughout the next few weeks. As someone trying to visit all 50 U.S. states, I will eagerly be awaiting her next dispatch to share with you all, but in the meantime, make sure to check out her first one!

A quick note: If you notice this newsletter to be a bit longer than usual, it's because we're trying to give you some extra content for the long weekend, as we'll be taking a break Friday for Juneteenth (don't miss this explainer of how Juneteenth came to be and why it's so important.)

Thanks folks, have a great weekend, and we'll be back in your inbox Monday!

Dispatches from Route 66: Discover the queer stories hidden along the iconic road trip

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Why the right is losing it over Virginia governor’s pick for state’s LGBTQ+ advisory board

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