Rooted in Resistance: Storytelling, Place, and the Reclaiming of Humanity in St. Louis, Missouri's Gayborhood and Washington DC's Black Lives Matter Plaza.

This article examines how two contested heritage sites—St. Louis's Central West End (CWE) gayborhood and Washington, DC's Black Lives Matter Plaza (BLMP)—are understood as places of resistance and how their histories might be interpreted to support communal healing. Drawing on qualitative front-end research with 32 diverse stakeholders connected to these sites, the study highlights themes of reclaiming humanity through everyday and organized acts of resistance, honoring storytellers via vulnerable truth telling rooted in place, engaging audiences through creative and community-led interpretation, and contributing to healing through recognition, historical reckoning, and collective belonging. The findings emphasize the importance of culturally responsive interpretation that centers lived experience, acknowledges the costs and courage of resistance, and treats storytelling and preservation as ongoing, collaborative processes. The study also discusses the potential of the Model for Engaging with Contested Heritage to guide interpretation and stakeholder engagement at sites marked by systemic oppression and political contestation.