Before Stonewall
Explore the early history of the gay rights movement!\ In the words of editor Vern L. Bullough: “Although there was no single leader in the gay and lesbian community who achieved the fame and reputation of Martin Luther King, there were a large number of activists who put their careers and reputations on the line. It was a motley crew of radicals and reformers, drawn together by the cause in spite of personality and philosophical differences. Their stories are told in the following pages.”\...
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Twenty-four entries (including one on the editor, who helped form the ACLU guidelines regarding gay and lesbian rights) provide biographical portraits of individuals important to the homosexual rights struggle in the era just before its modern incarnation. Among the people profiled are Alfred Kinsey, Harry Hay, Barbara Grier, Stephen Donaldson, Allen Ginsberg, Christine Jorgenson. As might be evident from the preceding list, the definition of "activist" is more expansive than usual. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR Library Journal The 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City, which thrust the struggle for civil rights for homosexuals into the consciousness of North Americans, was so seminal an event that it is easy to forget that it did not occur in a vacuum. Editor Bullough (ed., Encyclopedia of Birth Control; coauthor, Sexual Attitudes) redresses this with a collection of 49 short biographies of activists, written by such authors as Felice Picano, James T. Sears, Wayne R. Dines, and Charley Shively. Included are not just gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals but such figures as Alfred Kinsey, Evelyn Hooker, and Bullough himself, who, although not themselves gay, worked to reduce the stigma attached to homosexuality. Most of the names, with such exceptions as Kinsey, Allen Ginsberg, Christine Jorgensen, and perhaps Franklin Kameny, are undeservedly obscure. A few of the biographies are uneven or awkwardly brief, but overall they admirably convey the passion and commitment of these men and women. This inspiring chronicle of risk takers and trendsetters (the book's original title) merits a place in all history, gay and lesbian studies, and human sexuality collections.-Richard J. Violette, Special Libs., Victoria, BC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
About the EditorContributorsPrefaceIntroduction1Pt. IPre-195011Alfred C. Kinsey (1894-1956)13Henry Gerber (1895-1972): Grandfather of the American Gay Movement24Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson (Xavier Mayne) (1868-1942)35Prescott Townsend (1894-1973): Bohemian Blueblood - A Different Kind of Pioneer41Jeannette Howard Foster (1895-1981)48Pearl M. Hart (1890-1975)56Lisa Ben (1921- )63Berry Berryman (1901-1972)66Pt. IIOrganizational Activists69Harry Hay (1912- )73Dale Jennings (1917-2000): ONE's Outspoken Advocate83W. Dorr Legg (1904-1994)94Don Slater (1923-1997)103Jim Schneider (1932- ): ONE's Guardian Angel115William Edward (Billy) Glover (1932- )121Jim Kepner (1923-1997)124Stella Rush a.k.a. Sten Russell (1925- )135Helen Sandoz a.k.a. Helen Sanders a.k.a. Ben Cat (1920-1987)145Herb Selwyn (1925- )148Hal Call (1917-2000): Mr. Mattachine151Del Martin (1921- )160Phyllis Lyon (1924- )169Billye Talmadge (1929- ): Some Kind of Courage179Cleo Glenn (Bonner) (Dates Unknown)189Pat Walker (1938-1999)191Bob Basker (1918-2001): Selling the Movement193Shirley Willer (1922-1999)203Pt. IIIMovers and Shakers on the National Scene207Franklin E. Kameny (1925- )209Jack Nichols (1938- ): The Blue Fairy of the Gay Movement219Lige Clarke (1942-1975)232Barbara Gittings (1932- ): Independent Spirit241Barbara Grier (1933- ): Climbing the Ladder253Stephen Donaldson (Robert A. Martin): (1946-1996)265Randolfe Wicker (1938- )273Arthur Cyrus Warner (1918- )282Richard Inman (1926?- )291Pt. IVOther Voices and their Influence301Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997): On His Own Terms304Walter H. Breen (J. Z. Eglinton) (1928-1993)312Warren Johansson (1934-1994)322Donald Webster Cory (1913-1986)333Evelyn Gentry Hooker (1907-1996)344George Weinberg (1935- )351Vern L. Bullough (1928- ): Making the Pen Mightier Than the Sword361Christine Jorgensen (1926-1989)369Virginia Prince (1913- )372Jose Sarria (1923- )376Charlotte Coleman (1923- )380Reed Erickson (1917-1992): How One Transsexed Man Supported ONE383Troy Perry (1940- )393Morris Kight (1919- ): Community Activist399Index407
\ Library JournalThe 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City, which thrust the struggle for civil rights for homosexuals into the consciousness of North Americans, was so seminal an event that it is easy to forget that it did not occur in a vacuum. Editor Bullough (ed., Encyclopedia of Birth Control; coauthor, Sexual Attitudes) redresses this with a collection of 49 short biographies of activists, written by such authors as Felice Picano, James T. Sears, Wayne R. Dines, and Charley Shively. Included are not just gays, lesbians, and transgendered individuals but such figures as Alfred Kinsey, Evelyn Hooker, and Bullough himself, who, although not themselves gay, worked to reduce the stigma attached to homosexuality. Most of the names, with such exceptions as Kinsey, Allen Ginsberg, Christine Jorgensen, and perhaps Franklin Kameny, are undeservedly obscure. A few of the biographies are uneven or awkwardly brief, but overall they admirably convey the passion and commitment of these men and women. This inspiring chronicle of risk takers and trendsetters (the book's original title) merits a place in all history, gay and lesbian studies, and human sexuality collections.-Richard J. Violette, Special Libs., Victoria, BC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \
