There is a documentary about one of the victims of this fire that wasn't identified for over 40 years. And his family didn't even know he had died in the fire. He just left one day and never came back. They thought that he was mad at the family but that turned out not to be the case at all.

I fucking love Karl. He’s the bravest gun-tuber for being outspoken about everyone’s rights

Karl and Atun as 68 year old bi man I remember the fear and terror of those days. I was only 19 then, and did not know about this until tonight. I came out to my parents about 2 years later, and my father refused to talk to me for almost ten years. I was lucky, because I worked in the gay community, not so for many of my friends at that time. I am now old, alone (widower twice husband (also best man at my straight wedding) and my wife and I don't care who knows. There are many young LBGTQ people out there who still need understanding and acceptance, Putting away my soap box, great job Karl and Atun thank you.

Atun shei sometimes surprises me but never disappoints with his choice of content.

Atun-Shei pushing that envelope with above and beyond content. Bravo sir, you're truly an asset to the world. Let no one tell you otherwise.

Oh boy, this has been a whirlwind of a past couple of hours. I've lived in Louisiana since the mid-90's, but have had family here since the 80's. My boyfriend sent me this video and immediately from the start, I said to myself, "I recognize that corner!" It's kind of surreal to see a documentary on a place where you've literally stood. As well as being gay myself, I have a sister who's gay and was active in the French Quarter in the 80's. I was shocked to have never heard about this, and I asked her if she had. I barely got past "fire in a gay bar in the early 70's" before she started rattling off all sorts of details, names, everything. She had known people who had been there that night, and had become friends with them. She even said that I had met some of them when I was a kid: describing a towering 6'8" redheaded transwoman named Miss Fury. Once she'd dug out a picture of Miss Fury, I recognized her immediately. It was surreal to have - just now - realized that I had met someone who had been there that night. It's shocking to have not have heard of this until today. While I'm not originally from Louisiana, I've been here long enough to know that - while shocking - it's not surprising that I hadn't heard about this until now. Thankfully, we've come a long way since then, and we've certainly got a long way to go. But thank you so very much for unearthing this piece of not only LBGTQ+ history, but New Orleans history.

InRange have covered some surprising stuff, always happy to see them improving the image of gun owners and showing that we're not all cop-worshipping bigots.

EVERY COLAB WITH INRANGE IS FANTASTIC. KEEP PUTTING THIS SHIT OUT, THE WORLD NEEDS IT. From one dedicated fan, thank you so much.

I dont think the editing in any documentary I've ever seen has so perfectly conveyed how sudden and horrific a tragedy was as the sudden shift from images within the bar to the aftermath at 6:44 excellent work and thank you for putting such hard work into a piece about an event with so much impact that in most circles is probably completely unheard of.

Wow this was horrifying but it's great to shine a light on historical events that many don't know about.

I never doubted that either of you were allies but, the conformation that you two are in fact sane is comforting.

I am totally straight, but the way you both described the UpStairs I thought: "Damn, this sounds nice. This sounds like a great place that I probably would have enjoyed." Inclusivety is great for everyone, even thou the marginalized need it most. I'll put this on my list of locations to visit once time travel gets invented.

We will be in New Orleans for the 50 year honoring of the fire. My husband’s Uncle, Ferris LeBlanc was killed in this fire, and our family, along with many wonderful people are still fighting to get his body back for a proper burial.

I rarely comment on KZfaq videos, but I feel the need to briefly tell my story just in case there are LGBT+ folks reading the comments who either haven’t come out yet, or simply can’t do so safely due to their circumstances. I grew up in rural Maine, with a French Catholic family (québécois roots are common this far north). I knew I was effeminate from a young age, and my school yard peers bullied me mercilessly starting in 4th grade until I eventually dropped out of high school to attend adult education. I eventually did graduate high school and, through the help of some inspiring educators, attended college in Southern Maine. I had only been to “the City” (Portland) twice before in my life. I’ve met so many amazing queer people here, and it’s truly become my home after six years of living in town. The space that provided me the freedom to be myself, dress, act, present, and enjoy life in only the unique way I can, was our local gay bar. It was intimidating at first as a young person walking into a warhorse of an establishment, but within time I became a regular who is still greeted with hugs and smiles every time I walk in. Having an active and accepting social life is frankly life saving for LGBT+ people. If I hadn’t have escaped my rural predicament to find my community, I believe I would’ve taken my own life. If you’re a young LGBT+ person reading this, or an older one, just know that you are not alone.

The moment he said "The tragedy was over," I realized I'd been holding my breath through almost that whole description of events. The way that it only seemed to get more and more intense, the descriptions so much more vivid and horrific, it was only when it had finally drawn to a close that I felt I could breathe again. As genuinely unpleasant an experience as that was, I think it's a crime that I'm only learning about this tragedy now, and not so much sooner.

Thank you both for having an immensely important conversation such as this. As you said, it is essential that we bring light to injustices and tragedies such as this (victims of selective amnesia after all) as a reminder of what those who came before fought for and won, and what's at stake when rights are actively being eroded away. Keep up the good fight and great work as always!

I was 18 in 1973. We never heard about this. This is the first I've heard of it. I knew about the cruelty of homophobia from my oldest and closet friend. Watching what he went thru taught me a great deal about society. Thank you for this video.

I am a 67 yo married gay man. I have lived in the closet during my late teens through my 50s. We have made progress in the fight for our civil rights and equally, the fight must continue The Republican party is trying to take us back to the 1960s and 70s. We will NEVER return to those days! The younger generation does not understand what life was like in the not so distant past. History is trying to report itself now in 2023. We will never give up the fight

Ya'll both are some of the best on KZfaq for shining a floodlight on parts of history that a lot of people in the U.S. would like to forget. Deep respect and appreciation from me guys, keep at it.

Meanwhile people like Tucker Carlson and Matt Walsh publicly said the Club Q victims deserved what happened. The more things change... 😢

InRange sent me here. Karl is a great presenter of all things, not just firearms. Thank you both for bringing this to our attention.

The hard cut from the pictures of people enjoying themselves in the bar to the aftermath of the fire was incredibly jarring. But in a good way. Amazing video

My grandparents are from New Orleans, so I’ve been to this beautiful city many times and never heard of this story. Thanks!

I’ve taken to watching your videos while doing easygoing stuff in video games. For this one, I had to stop and hold back tears. Thank you for keeping these people’s stories and their inspirational resilience in the face of tragedy and bigotry alive.

It's absolutely horrible that this whole tragedy was swept under the rug. I was a bartender. In a gay bar. In New Orleans. And I am ashamed that I had never heard of this incident. It is easy to forget that so many people made sacrifices and fought for the things we take for granted today.

I was going to show this video to a friend of mine who has a number of LGBTQ friends, but the description of the actual fire has brought me to tears and turned my stomach and I don't want to ruin her day. As someone who is LGBTQ myself, and someone who doesn't really talk about it to the majority of my family, this hurts. This hurts a lot.

Both of you show a courage I’ve found so disappointingly lacking in both popular “history-tube” and certainly “guntube” circles. I can’t imagine many other channels I follow telling this story. Maybe that’s a fault of me only focusing on a narrow slice of the platform, but I feel like to some extent it’s also a fault of the community to which you both provide a glimmering exception. I respect you two like I respect very few people on this platform.

Atun Shei at his best: when he surprises me A colboration on New Orleans history dealing with human rights is not new. But this happened in living memory, unlike a failed slave revolt Homophobia is once again a political talking point for some... Thank you.

My own life as an LGBT person has been terrifying enough, fraught with violence, menacing, alienation, career sabotage, and loss of family - and I'm a Millennial. This event you've covered so well happened about a decade before I was born, and life as an LGBT person would have been unimaginably terrifying - so much more than in my own time (which was REALLY recently). The fact that two presenters as esteemed as you and InRange can talk openly about this is pretty remarkable, but I think it's equally remarkable that we, as a society, can still contemplate locking LGBT people back in the closet. TL;DR - I don't know whether to feel relieved or terrified. But thank you so much for teaching us about this event - something that I'm honestly angry I didn't know about.

I did a report on the Stonewall riots for my Sociology class. This video was mind blowing 🤯. Thanks for sharing

My great-uncle is gay and he was very lucky to be accepted by much of our family and he knew folks who died in the fire and he still recounts the horror of it all as well as people's indifference.

Thank you #inrangetv for being historically expansive and socially concious. I am proud I follow you and Ian's work. Also, Atun-Shei ... and such, subscribing for this content.

The words about how this isn’t some distant event really touched me. The people who died because of this fire died in 1973; my mother was born in 1973. It’s horrifying. 49 years ago. God.

Karl's comments on the need for community and mutual aid is 100% correct. It's something more Americans need to understand, you can't live alone, nobody is self-reliant, it's a fantasy. Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps was literally meant to describe an impossible and absurd task. This is an absolutely tragic story that needs sharing.

It’s an odd headspace. To be so far removed from the reality of 40-50 years ago, but still yet hearing the same stories repeating themselves. This video has had me contemplating all afternoon.

I feel like there should be a colab series called “Forgotten History” Great job on this Dream Team

All you can drink for 1 dollar. Fuck, I'd go gay for that price.

I am subscribed to a bunch of disaster KZfaqrs and have seen several club fires covered, famous and obscure, in several countries. I'd never heard of this, probably for the same reason there was no real police investigation. Thanks for telling this story. I worked in theater in school. One night after rehearsals we decided to go out for drinks. We went to the local gay bar because it was a great bar with a huge firepit to sit around on the patio. I went in to get a drink and ran into a man I saw almost every morning getting coffee and breakfast. I said "Hi!" and he froze. He got a look of utter terror on his face and I realized he was afraid he'd be outed. I had to quickly remind him where we were and that if I wasn't OK with it I wouldn't be there. I assured him his secret was safe. I will see that man's look of terror until the day I die. No one should ever have to live with such fear.

Hi Karl, I have got to know your work through some random memes and later your collabs with Ian. The last couple of contributions from You made my respect for you grow immensely. I really appreciate the way people like you defy stereotypes or tropes and display real affection and empathy for forgotten/ marginalized people. All without following convenient and easily monetizable fake ideologies or catering to the lowest common denominator.

I remember watching that horrendous movie about gays being mentally ill that was distributed to schools back in that time period, the 70’s. Being gay could get you killed. I graduated from high school in ‘77. I had one male classmate that was very feminine and was assumed to be gay. He moved out of my little town the week after graduation and never came back. He never came back to class reunions or for anything that was connected with his hometown. I knew his father and mother and talked regularly with them. He was very low contact with them, because if their conservative religious beliefs. I don’t know where you are Rick B. but I want you to know that I am ashamed I wasn’t a supporter of yours or a good enough man to be your friend when you needed friends.

When people say "we're not going back", it's stuff like this

Man, both of your channels’ uploads are always instant watches whenever possible. Y’all always have good insights and have top notch presentation.

The mention of being arrested just for holding hands really got to me. My girlfriend and I are both trans, but she lives in England while I'm working on finishing my degree before moving over there. The first time I went over there to visit her, she was very nervous about holding hands and that kind of thing because she didn't want to attract any sinister attention. It never occured to me that despite being in a place so much more progressive than America (and we were in a city, not a random rural area), and in this day and age, that people still might want to hurt us for who we are. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like to be LGBT in the 1970s in the Deep South. Thank you, Atun-Shei and Karl, for telling the story of such a tragic event.

This is good shit! Thanks to both of you for doing this. I'm sadly one of those who doesn't have to imagine too much how dangerous it was for those who came before me, because I'm unlucky enough to be stuck in an area where homophobia is still alive and well, and thanks to some fuckups that've stalled my life I'm still stuck here, closeted, and just biding my time until something gives for me to make a change.

Interpret this information however you will: Iveson B. Noland, the (Episcopal) Bishop of Louisiana at the time, was the man who ridiculed one of the reverends under his leadership for holding a small prayer service for the victims, on the basis of them being gay. He died in a plane crash in 1975… on the second anniversary of the tragedy.

This reminds me of the Kiss Nightclub fire in Brazil. Since the 242 lives lost were mostly drunk partying university kids, there were people that said that "If they were in church, they'd be Alive". Truly disgusting.

The description at around 12:00, even without pictures or video, was absolutely chilling. You always put together videos with the most compelling story telling no matter what topic you're talking about.

I’m 58 n queer, n it bums me out how hard younger folks are on older ppl. I get their reasoning but it hurts that we don’t get the credit we deserve for the risks we took in the 70s n 80s. I helped start Pride in Gainesville, Fl(home of U of F), in the mid-80s, at that time called the rape capital of the country. We had a real problem with frat boys gang assaulting teenage girls(“little sisters”) at sorority parties. I can remember 20 of us walking in the 1st Take Back the Night March(anti-rape), where we literally had to dodge full cans of beer chucked at our heads by speeding frat boys in pick ‘em up trucks while the cops stood back n smirked. Honestly, none of us would be enjoying the rights we’ve managed to hang onto rn, if it wasn’t for ppl who came b4. Hope I didn’t come off like a Karen. Said my piece. Love 🏳️‍🌈

thank you so much for educating even younger lgbt people like myself on this topic and our shared history, Atun-Shei. I've been a fan for a while now, but never expected a dedicated episode from you for people like me. applause to you!!

You mentioned not needing a brick. As a trans woman prepared to fight, "I was made as brick, and my destiny is a wall. I hope to build a new one,but I'm prepared to break an old one"

Thanks so much for your continued efforts in bringing events on the local level into conversation with issues of national, and international, importance. The work you do in this video is so important not just because it raises interest, but also because of the visibility it provides for traditionally-underrepresented queer communities. Well done!

I can’t believe that people made jokes about this. It was very disturbing to hear the story but it has to be told. I had no idea. Beyond tragic. Thank you for sharing their story.

Always great videos. Always interesting material. thank you so much for all that and couldn't wish better channel's. Thanks a lot again. Wishing you and the people who help/support you all the best.yake care and stay safe

2 of my favorite historical youtubers what more could I ask for Edit: after watching about the story I don't know about anyone else but I visualized and heard everything as it was described and I feel such horror I heard screams of help and sobbing the brain is a powerful thing

Thank you for everything you do for history and bringing the struggles of marginalized peoples through time to the light.

I really appreciate that you take the time to find these lesser know histories and bring them into the forefront. Thanks for making amazing content ❤️

Just listening to the description of what happened to the patrons as they burned to death made me physically cringe. Makes it clear the "people" who made jokes about the fire didn't see it.

You did a lot of wonderful things here. A lot of great information, a lot of excellent presentation and clear facts and no bones about it with the community reaction. But nothing hit me like the very end, with the picture of the bar, the sounds of voices, the music playing... And letting us remember the Upstairs Lounge as it was for all but the final horrible hour of its existence: A place where people spurned by the outside world could meet, leave the weight at the door, and feel some peace and community. We know of it for the horror of its tragedy but most of its existence was love and connection. That's how it deserves to be remembered.

Something that struck me really hard about this video is how you both treated queer people as... people. It upsets me that that hits so hard right now, because more often than not it feels like we're just a punching bag for politicians to attack. It's such a small thing to do, yet it means so much. Thank you.

I’ve literally never heard this before. Thank you.

Both of your channels have imo some of the best historical story telling, and neither of you shy away from painful topics. Beautiful work around such a tragic topic once again.

I love your videos, you are great but this one hit very hard. I never comment but I have tears in my eyes right now from this tragedy. I would love to see more videos about the LGBTQ community in New Orleans.

Outstanding as usual! Thanks for covering the worst of history. There's a movement to forget and/or sanitise unpleasant history that needs to be viciously fought for the sake of progress; glad that there's creators willing to broach such subjects.

No justice, no freedom without solidarity.

A very organic collab with InRange. Two of my favorite KZfaqrs. Thank you so much for your content and the thought and effort you put into it.

It's shocking how much of our history isn't brought up in schools

Two of my favorite channels. I love when you and Karl collaborate. RIP to the patrons of the Upstairs Lounge.

Here's to hoping for a future where attacks like that at the Upstairs Lounge and Club Q don't happen. Wishing my LGBTQ brothers and sisters a safe and accepting Thanksgiving. Everyone deserves to be able to be themselves in peace

Your New Orleans history stuff is my favorite part of this channel

Thank you for sharing this. Please keep up telling these little-known stories.

Shame that more Louisiana natives have never heard of this tragedy. Thank you so much for making this video!!

Very moving video. Always interesting content when you two work together!

Dark but important topic. The pacing of the story telling is quite good and conclusion by the end of the video really helped to digest this story as a whole.

Thank you for making this!

Thank you for making sure these stories get told instead of continuing to be lost in history and in a format that is easy to share with others.

People are still making jokes and shrugging off tragedies that happen to LGBT people. I've seen people talking about the victims of that shooting in Colorado like they deserved it somehow.

Imagine trying to teach this event today in a classroom. Probably "illegal" in Florida, and here in Virginia I'm sure many parents would be calling the "legal" hotline to rat out teachers who dare to cover "controversial" events.

I hope you keep looking for these moments of "induced amnesia," guys. I know you say it doesn't do so well with the audiences (or at least the algorithm), but I think it's important and great work!

Fantastic video, this is the kind of history that needs to be shared. Keep up the great work

Thank you for discussing this topic, among the many tales of historical injustice you guys have related to us. As a member of the community, this moved me to tears. But it was a cathartic experience, to relate oneself to a group identity, and to realize that much progress *has* been made, some of it thanks to independent content creators like yourselves.

This one brought me to tears. Thank you for your work

I remember how poorly gay people were treated in the 70s. Even in New York where civil rights for almost everyone were starting to be accepted, there was almost no tolerance for gay people. In fact it was totally acceptable to mis treat gay people. We were actually encouraged to be homafobic in school. I'm ashamed to admit I was as anti gay as anyone else simply because I was taught to be from a young age by church and school.

You're deploying your film knowledge in such an impactful way, thank you so much for this

I just saw this video. The opening scene has what was the Upstairs Lounge in the background (Chartres and Iberville)...and is currently the site of a timeshare, The Quarter House, where I am an owner and have been since 1997. None of this was ever mentioned when we purchased the property back in the day. They said at the time that a lot of the space was former slave quarters, but that wouldn't be anything unusual in antebellum New Orleans.

Fantastic Video Guys!

Two of my favorite youtubers making great content? Love it.

I don't have the words to articulate how this made me feel, but community is important. Where I live, in South Dakota, we still lack a true LGBTQ+ community. It's still not ok to come out, out here. Sure there are more accepting places then there was 20 years ago, but it's still a struggle. And I think a big reason for that is we are not banned together to tell people that the way they treat us isn't right. I try and be as open as I can be about the fact I'm a trans woman. Though all that occurs out here is transphobic comments and parents saying "it's not natural". The community may be legal, but it's not accepted. It's not getting lynched in the streets bad. But still people go missing or are beat. I do quite enjoy your dives into such topics you don't hear about in history class, and I can't wait for the next. Have a good one.

This is heartbreaking. The descriptions made me sick to my stomach. And how the trauma for the victims only snowballed since... It's horrific to think human beings can be so devoid of pity and compassion.

Two of my favorite creators, on a topic near and dear to my heart. I’m not gay myself but have many friends in the circle. Civil rights shouldn’t have such a cloudy history it’s truly a shame we must fight for them.

I wouldn't mind you mixing in these New Orleans history vids every once in a while. It's how I found your channel

You two are great every time I watch your work I either learn something I didn’t know or learn something new about something I was already aware of thank you.

The horror and injustice of this event is literally making me feel my blood pressure rise in real time. These people died unimaginably horrible deaths. The way that pastor suffered and how indifferent and vicious the people were about it makes me wish more than the worst on them.

This is seriously one of the best videos you guys have created. This is what grade A+ youtube documentaries should be like. Giving context, putting the audience in the mindset of the time, showing the societal implications, and really homing in on its relevance as a lesson today.

I Didn't Know this , Thankyou for this piece x

Outstanding. I had never heard of this incident and appreciate you guys bringing it to the YT world in such a (typically for each channel) erudite and considered fashion.

Admittedly this was a hard video to watch. And I think it's a tragedy that this event isn't talked about at all, as it's a story that needs to be shared. I think you two did a wonderful job explaining what happened at the Upstairs Lounge and in the aftermath, and highlighting the bravery and courage of the friends and family that didn't let this tragedy be hidden. Thank you for sharing this. Thank you for saying their names.

Really glad to see Karl collaborating with you on stories like this. Fantastic video, thank you

I’ve never ugly cried during one of you videos before until now. The description of the fire was hellish, literally my worst nightmare coming true. When you described those people who were trapped inside, I saw my own friends in there, my own surrogate family I made from the safe spaces here on my college campus and out in the city. Being queer myself and being heavily picked on for it in school, safe spaces played a very vital part in my growth and self-acceptance and they still do. Hearing about one ruined so suddenly and so violently shatters my heart, especially to hear that this was an LGBTQ+ house of worship.

This video almost brought me to tears. You do such an amazing job about being sensitive to topics that are so painful to so many. Thank you for speaking about this event.

I remember reading about this years ago and being horrified at both the deaths and the callousness of New Orleans as a whole towards the victims due to their sexuality.