Synopses & Reviews
American Queer tells the hundred-year history of queer activism in a series of revealing close-ups, first person accounts and intimate snap-shots of some of LGBT pioneers and radicals, both the known and many heretofore unknown. These players have shaped America, even as America did her level best not to acknowledge them or their queerness, and occasionally both. Adrian Brooks's bold and brave book brings to life a diverse cast, stretching from the Edwardian period to today, alive to the many differences beyond sexuality that have animated some of its best known and least known figures—including those who, by virtue of race, gender or class tended to become effaced even in our queer histories.
Described by gay scholar Jonathan Katz as "willfully cacophonous, a chorus of voices untamed," American Queer sets itself apart from all other histories and herstories by covering the period from the freewheeling turn-of-the-century Bohemianism of Isadora Duncan and the 1924 establishment of the nations first gay group, the Society for Human Rights; it also includes the organization and gay activism of labor unions in the 1920s and 1930s; the 1950s Civil Rights Movement; the 1960s anti-war protests; the sexual liberation movements of the 1970s and more contemporary issues such as marriage equality, and queers at the forefront of contemporary peace and social justice movement from antiwar protests to Palestinian rights. The book shows how LGBT and Intersex folk have always been in the forefront of progressive social evolution in the United States, artistically, spiritually and politically. It references such celebrated heroes and heroines as Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk and Edie Windsor, all having played parts in the nations steady advance towards full equality. Equally, the book honors some whose names arent in history books, from participants in the Names Project, now a national phenomenon memorializing 94,000 people who have died of AIDS, to the current underground anonymous agitprop artists—Bay Area Queers Unleashing Power— who take their politics to the street. Among its many contributors are some of the pioneering voices in queer history itself.
Central to the tale this book tells is the role of queer people in the spasmodic expansion of civil rights and civil liberties in a country that has promised a lot more than it has delivered. Of course, as socially marginalized ourselves, we queers have long had reason to identify with other marginalized populations. But there is something beyond empathy in our tendency towards progressive politics. For many of us, queerness was an elected identity. We could have lived like countless others who swallowed our differentness and aped a life that was foreign to our nature. Instead, the people whose voices fill this book elected to cast themselves out of the social norm, to willfully bear a stigma that is only now lifting. There is power in that, and pleasure to be sure. But mostly there is a deep, ethical commitment to the founding ideals that this nation honors as much in breach as in act. In holding fast to a centuries old promise, queer Americans have regularly reminded their fellow citizens that free is not a noun, but a verb.
Review
"
The Right Side of History's fundamental premise: Queer activism is an act of patriotism, and radical Queer activists are, and have always been, central to the struggle for a more perfect union. To read this book is to join our Queer ancestors as they dance, riot, write, organize, sew, sashay, and howl their way through American history."
Katie Gilmartin, author of Blackmail, My Love
Review
"
The Right Side of History is not an original work of historical scholarship. The essays, when they arent first-person pieces or interviews, rely on secondary sources for most of their historical claims. However, as I was reading it I thought of myself as a twelve-year-old, and how I likely would have benefited enormously from having a copy of
The Right Side pressed into my hands as a birthday or Christmas gift. I was the sort of child who voraciously read young peoples biographical sketches of inspiring women of history (some of whom I now know were decidedly queer). This collection would have helped me see possibilities for myself in a similar way as those women-of-history collections did helped me find language and historical context for longings I was just beginning to form. I suggest you consider this book for the queer, questioning, and just plain historically interested teenagers in your life; its never too early to start peering through the windows of the past and considering how and where you might fit yourself."
thefeministlibrarian.com"The Right Side of History's fundamental premise: Queer activism is an act of patriotism, and radical Queer activists are, and have always been, central to the struggle for a more perfect union. To read this book is to join our Queer ancestors as they dance, riot, write, organize, sew, sashay, and howl their way through American history."
Katie Gilmartin, author of Blackmail, My Love
Synopsis
Before, During, and After Stonewall: 100 Years of Heroes and History
The Right Side of History tells the 100-year history of queer activism in a series of revealing close-ups, first-person accounts, and intimate snapshots of LGBT pioneers and radicals. This diverse cast stretches from the Edwardian period to today, including first-person accounts of the key protest that is at the heart of the 2015 movie Stonewall.
The book shows how LGBT folk have always been in the forefront of progressive social evolution in the United States. It references heroes like Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Edie Windsor. Equally, the book honors names that aren't in history books, from participants in the Names Project, a national phenomenon memorializing 94,000 AIDS victims, to underground artists and writers.
Synopsis
The Right Side of History tells the 100-year history of queer activism in a series of revealing close-ups, first-person accounts, and intimate snapshots of LGBT pioneers and radicals. This diverse cast stretches from the Edwardian period to today.
Described by gay scholar Jonathan Katz as "willfully cacophonous, a chorus of voices untamed," The Right Side of History sets itself apart by starting with the turn-of-the-century bohemianism of Isadora Duncan and the 1924 establishment of the nations first gay group, the Society for Human Rights; it also includes gay activism of labor unions in the 1920s and 1930s; the 1950s civil rights movement; the 1960s anti-war protests; the sexual liberation movements of the 1970s; and more contemporary issues such as marriage equality.
The book shows how LGBT folk have always been in the forefront of progressive social evolution in the United States. It references heroes like Abraham Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, and Edie Windsor. Equally, the book honors names that arent in history books, from participants in the Names Project, a national phenomenon memorializing 94,000 AIDS victims, to underground agitprop artists.
About the Author
Adrian Brooks is an American writer and activist who's been the vanguard of progressive political, spiritual, and social movements since the 1960s. An international traveler, poet, performer, playwright, painter, and designer, he is also a novelist and nonfiction writer. Born in Philadelphia, Brooks was raised Quaker. After graduating Episcopal Academy in 1966 as an early hippie and anti-war protester, he attended the international Friends World Institute a radical Quaker school intent on its students becoming nonviolent "agents of social change." In 1968 he volunteered for Martin Luther King in Washington, D.C. Following Dr. King's assassination, Brooks did field work in Mexico and East Africa before attending Woodstock in 1969, then went to India with the Friends World Institute. In the early 70s, he was active in New York's then radical SOHO Movement, then moved West where he became a prominent as one of the first gay liberation poets and as the scriptwriter and star performer of the legendary San Francisco "Angels of Light," an offshoot of the Cockettes. Brooks remains devoted to good works and activism to this day. He supports orphans and assists education in rural India and contributes to the Huffington Post as well as Lambda Literary. He lives in San Francisco.
Jonathan N. Katz is an independent scholar and historian of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual American history. He is also a visual artist.
His historical work has focused on same-sex attraction and changes in the social construction of sexuality and intimate relationships over time. His works stress that the categories with which we name, describe, define, and understand human sexuality are historically and culturally specific, along with the social organization of sexual activity, desire, relationships, and sexual identities. In his work, language is studied as one important tool that human beings use to construct different, historically specific sexualities and sex/gender systems. He lives in New York.