In a world where history often overlooks LGBTQ+ voices, one individual has made it his mission to capture and preserve these stories for future generations. Rainbopedia, the online archive dedicated to global LGBTQ+ history in over 38 languages, stands as a testament to one founder’s passion for activism, design, and remembrance.
Here, he shares his journey, the challenges he’s faced, and the impact he hopes Rainbopedia will have on society.
Inspiration from a Life of Activism
Growing up in the 1970s, Eric witnessed an era of fierce activism, with the American civil rights and anti-war movements shaping his early years. This environment, along with his passion for art and design, led him to become a founding member of a Los Angeles based AIDS activist artist collective during the 1980s and 90s.
“I knew hundreds of gay men who died before they turned 40,” he shares. “With each generation, I see our history disappearing, being repressed, or even erased.”
Inspired by these experiences, Eric set out to preserve LGBTQ+ history through Rainbopedia, an archive that would combine his two lifelong passions: Queer activism and design.
Building Rainbopedia from the Ground Up
In the early days, Eric managed every aspect of Rainbopedia himself—conceptualizing, planning, and financing offshore web development to establish a basic structure.
A significant milestone came on October 11, 2016—International Coming Out Day—when Rainbopedia achieved nonprofit status, enabling him to raise initial funds. By June 2020, he and his team launched a prototype website featuring 14 stories that embodied the user-generated content Rainbopedia aims to collect.
Since then, Rainbopedia’s audience has grown steadily.
It now receives over 1,000 unique visitors each month and has reached more than half a million people worldwide.
“People immediately recognize the absence of a global resource like this,” Eric says. “When we have presented it at events like Google Pride or LA Pride, people are visibly moved by the idea.”
Rainbopedia’s Mission: Promoting LGBTQ+ Visibility
Rainbopedia’s mission is to counteract the systemic erasure of LGBTQ+ history by creating a space where Queer stories from around the world can be shared and preserved.
“Our vision is to build an international meeting place where people can exchange ideas and learn from one another”, Eric explains.
Although further funding is required to build the fully realized platform, Rainbopedia is already making an impact by sparking conversations and inspiring people to recognize the importance of Queer history.
This last October, Eric hosted a special event at the West Hollywood Library: Rainbopedia’s LGBTQ+ History Month Storytellers Video Screening. This event featured a curated selection of short videos from Rainbopedia’s Storytellers Project—a powerful engagement program designed to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ individuals from diverse backgrounds around the world.
Advice to Aspiring Change-Makers: “Focus on What Matters”
Reflecting on his journey, Eric highlights the importance of staying focused on the core mission.
“If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself to skip the unnecessary details and focus on what I really want to achieve.”
As a designer and perfectionist, he often got caught up in exploring different approaches to fundraising and partnerships. “I constantly ask myself: Is this really what I’m trying to achieve? That focus would have saved me time.”
Eric’s advice to other entrepreneurs who are just starting out with a similar mission?
Our history — the struggle we’ve endured and how we’ve overcome it — is disappearing all the time. I encourage people to cooperate in an effort to build a collaborative record of global Queer history that will be used by Queer people and allies in perpetuity.
A Call to for Inspiration & Allies
Eric’s mission is clear: to prevent the erasure of LGBTQ+ history. Rainbopedia is his call to action, a cooperative effort to document these stories for future generations. For those interested in supporting this mission, joining as a mentor, ally, or supporter is a unique opportunity to protect and honor Queer history.
About the Founder
Eric Handel is a designer, lifelong activist, and the founder of Rainbopedia. An alumni of our program AARP Work for Yourself@50+ with a background in graphic design and a passion for Queer activism, he has worked tirelessly to preserve LGBTQ+ stories. Today, Rainbopedia continues his mission of documenting Queer history across the globe.
