Synopses & Reviews
"[A] swiftly written debut memoir...[Segal] vividly describes his firsthand experience as a teenager inside the Stonewall bar during the historic riots, his participation with the Gay Liberation Front, and amusing encounters with Elton John and Patti LaBelle....A jovial yet passionately delivered self-portrait inspiring awareness about LGBT history from one of the movement's true pioneers."
--Kirkus Reviews
"The pioneering gay rights activist chronicles his advocacy for gay and lesbian equality with tales of his involvement with the Stonewall riots and crashing live TV broadcasts, including the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite."
--Publishers Weekly, Fall 2015 Announcements
"In this memoir we see the inside story of how the battle of LGBT civil rights was played and won. It is a compelling story told by someone who is at the forefront of the fight and who deserves substantial credit for its victories."
--Governor Ed Rendell
"Mark Segal's work for LGBT equality is historic and significant. The fact that he is still connecting our community is a testament to the passion which he shares in this memoir."
--Billie Jean King
"Read Mark Segal's memoir and you'll get the inside story of how and why he interrupted a live broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. What happened afterward will surprise you. It's one of many surprises in this must-read first-person account of LGBT history as it unfolded after Stonewall. Segal was a witness to that history, and he made some of it happen, changing our country and our lives for the better."
--Louis Wiley Jr., executive editor, Frontline (PBS)
"Mark Segal's approach to his considerable accomplishments is a classic example of the best in American boosterism. His optimism, zeal, and perseverance have served our community well."
--Don Michaels, former publisher of the Washington Blade
On December 11, 1973, Mark Segal disrupted a live broadcast of the CBS Evening News when he sat on the desk directly between the camera and news anchor Walter Cronkite, yelling, "Gays protest CBS prejudice!" He was wrestled to the studio floor by the stagehands on live national television, thus ending LGBT invisibility. But this one victory left many more battles to fight, and creativity was required to find a way to challenge stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Mark Segal's job, as he saw it, was to show the nation who gay people are: our sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers.
Because of activists like Mark Segal, whose life work is dramatically detailed in this poignant and important memoir, today there are openly LGBT people working in the White House and throughout corporate America. An entire community of gay world citizens is now finding the voice that they need to become visible.
Review
"
And Then I Danced is a fascinating page-turner that prompted my tears, laughter, envy, and astonishment--but most of all left me feeling very proud of what our community has accomplished and grateful to Mark for sharing his intimate memoir. While there are many who have witnessed the extraordinary history of the LGBT community, few have played as major a role in creating it as has Mark. It is no exaggeration to say that there is no person alive today who has been a more central participant in as much of the contemporary LGBT rights struggle than Mark Segal."
--Sean Strub, author of Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survival
"Mark Segal has for decades been a pathfinder for LGBT journalists of all stripes. We're indebted to him for his years of radical activism, helping to foster a movement for change that has had a dramatic and positive impact for millions."
--Michelangelo Signorile, author of It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality
"Real change never comes without real guts and real vision and real leaders. Mark Segal is the real deal."
--Robert Moore, cofounder of Dallas Voice
"Mark Segal's ideas run from the alpha to the omega. Sometimes I think there's got to be more than one Mark Segal: he has done way too much for one lifetime. I highly recommend this book. If you cant get to meet Mark in person, this is the next best thing!"
--Michael Luongo, author of Gay Travels in the Muslim World
"Before there was Ellen, Will, Grace, Rosie, Andy, and Anderson, Mark Segal was the squeaky gay wheel of American television, pulling stunts that forced the medium to open its closet door. If Walter Cronkite were still alive, he'd say: Not HIM again! And that's the way it is. And was. Read all about it."
--Bruce Vilanch, Six-Time Emmy Award Winner
"Mark Segal has taken the LGBT aging world by storm, and in the process has made a remarkable difference for our community's courageous pioneers. We've all learned so much from him."
--Michael Adams, executive director, Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders
"Mark Segal has been a courageous and eloquent leader of the LGBT community and cause for longer than many lifetimes. His efforts have indisputably changed important elements of broad public importance--a permanent mark on the world. His life story is as compelling as it is important, and this rendering of it is as delightful as it is provocative."
--Michael Pakenham, former editor of the New York Daily News
Synopsis
A dramatic and inspirational memoir from one of the world's top leaders of the movement for gay and lesbian equality.
About the Author
Mark Segal has established a reputation as the dean of American gay journalism over the past five decades. From the Stonewall demonstrations in 1969 to founding the
Philadelphia Gay News in 1975, along with his more recent forays into TV and politics, his proven commitment as a tireless LGBT advocate has made him a force to be reckoned with. Respected by his peers for pioneering the idea of local LGBT newspapers, he is one of the founders and former president of both the National Gay Press Association and the National Gay Newspaper Guild. Segal was recently inducted into the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association's Hall of Fame and was appointed a member of the Comcast/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Board, where he advises the entertainment giant on LGBT issues. He is also president of the dmhFund, though which he builds affordable LGBT-friendly housing for seniors. He lives in Philadelphia.