On Tuesday, the Smithsonian Institution will add hundreds of items on the history of gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender people to the National Museum of American History, including photos from Cuban-American photographer Silvia Ros.

Additions to the museum's LGBT collection include various papers and historical documents and objects, as well as memorabilia from the TV show "Will and Grace," which starred homosexual characters and ran on NBC from 1998-2006, The Associated Press reports.

On Tuesday morning, Ros, who has 86 freelance photos added to the collection, attended a reception with her partner, Anne Swanson, at the National Museum of American History.

"It was really important for me that these prints go into the Smithsonian for history, but it was more important for me that I document these people who are fighting, and the reasons they have found themselves in this position to do so," Ros told Miami Herald.

Ros has been with her partner for 10 years and was kicked out of her home because of her sexuality at the age of 17.

"This fight was personal for me," she said.

"Growing up in a conservative Cuban household, once my family found out I was gay, they threw me out of the house. They blamed me for turning my younger brother gay. That was not true. He was pretty gay to start with. When they threw me out and told people why I wasn't at home anymore, they told people I was on drugs. To them, that was better."

In order to better underscore the stories of the LGBT community, Ros carefully selected what went into her catalogue.

"I gave them really formal captions that they were happy to have, so it wasn't just a photo, there was a story attached," she said.

Ros' photos include images of various LGBT activists, such as Felipe and Juan Sousa-Rodriguez, Miami immigration activists who fought for the passage of the DREAM Act.

"The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has a long tradition of documenting the full breadth of the American experience and what it means to be an American," the museum said in a statement. "The LGBT narrative is an important part of that American story, and the Smithsonian has been documenting and collecting related objects for many years."
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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