With Pride month right around the corner, and Harvey Milk's birthday coming up shortly, now is a good time to think back over the decades and recognize the strides our community has made for itself. It is thanks to the brave acts of our elders that we have the rights we have today.
May 16th, National Honor Our LGBT Elders Day, is an opportunity for us to look back and celebrate all that our community has acheived, despite the oppression and barriers presented to us. Among our elders were protestors, marchers, pioneers, caretakers, social workers, and cheerleaders. Many LGBT people risked their security and safety to further the movement, many others cheered their accomplishments and offered support when needed.
Check out the books and movies listed below to learn more about the LGBT pioneers and trailblazers. Below that, there's also a list of local resources in Gainesville that are working to keep our colorful history alive.
Our collection has lots of books, audiobooks, and movies about LGBT History. Make sure to check those out, or any of these biographies about LGBT elders that helped pave the way for future generations:
This book is an assiduously researched history of an early champion of gay liberation, one who fought for the right to follow his passion and serve his country in the wake of Joseph McCarthy's Lavender Scare. We follow Kameny as he explores the underground gay scenes of Boston and Washington, D.C., where he formulates his arguments against the U.S. Government's classification of gay men and women as "sexual perverts." At a time when staying in the closet remained the default, he exposed the hypocrisies of the American establishment, accelerated a broader revolution in sexual morals, and invented what we now know as Gay Pride.
Anne Lister was extraordinary. Fearless, charismatic and determined to explore her lesbian sexuality, she forged her own path in a society that had no language to define her. She was a landowner, an industrialist and a prolific diarist, whose output has secured her legacy as one of the most fascinating figures of the 19th century. Gentleman Jack: The Real Anne Lister follows Anne from her crumbling ancestral home in Yorkshire to the glittering courts of Denmark as she resolves to put past heartbreak behind her and find herself a wife. This biographical portrait introduces the real Gentleman Jack, featuring unpublished journal extracts decrypted for the first time by series creator Sally Wainwright and historian Anne Choma.
Throughout her prodigious life, activist and lawyer Pauli Murray systematically fought against all arbitrary distinctions in society, channeling the discrimination she faced to make America a more democratic country. In this definitive biography, Rosalind Rosenberg offers a poignant portrait of a figure who played pivotal roles in both the modern civil rights and women's movements.
In a world of banal and opinionated soundbites, she regularly crushes Sean Hannity's ratings thanks to her deeply researched reports. And in our highly polarized world, Maddow amiably engages the staunchest conservatives, while never hesitating to expose their light-on-facts defenses.
As a result, she's become the top anchor for MSNBC and a beloved representative for all that progressive America holds dear. The news that Maddow was the first publicly-out lesbian to anchor a prime-time TV news show seemed almost anticlimactic to her millions of viewers, who will be surprised and intrigued by little-known details of her life, as written by New York Times bestselling biographer Lisa Rogak.
He has starred in over four hundred plays and films and he is that rare character: a celebrity whose distinguished political and social service has transcended his international fame to reach beyond the stage and screen. The breadth of his career—professional, personal and political—has been truly staggering: Macbeth (opposite Judi Dench), Iago, King Lear, Chekhov’s Sorin in The Seagull and Becket’s tramp Estragon (opposite Patrick Stewart) in Waiting for Godot. Add to all this his tireless political activism in the cause of gay equality and you have a veritable phenomenon. Garry O’Connor’s Ian McKellen: A Biography probes the heart of the actor, recreating his greatest stage roles and exploring his personal life. Ian McKellen will show readers what makes a great actor tick. His life story has been a constantly developing drama and this biography is the next chapter.
Don't forget the local resources available to help you learn more about LGBT history, too!
(Please keep in mind that these buildings may be closed or have limited hours due to COVID-19 restrictions.)
The FQH is housed at the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) offices at the University of Florida. The SPOHP offices are located on the second floor of Pugh Hall in Rooms 240-250. Pugh Hall is on Buckman Road across from Turlington Hall at the University of Florida. Their address is: 241 Pugh Hall,The University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
PCCNCF hosts the Audre Lorde library, which boasts a collection of over 2000 books on various LGBTQ-related topics. The building is located in the Liberty Center, off of Highway 441, north of 2nd & Charles. Their address is: 3131 NW 13th St., Suite 62, Gainesville, FL.
There is no SAGE organization in Gainesville at this time. However, their website offers lots of online resources, and there are also affiliates in Tampa and South Florida.
If you know an older person in the LGBT community, consider taking the time to ask them about their life: were they involved in any movements; what was it like in the 80s during the AIDS crisis; when did they first feel safe to come out; what did marriage equality mean to them -- there's so much to be learned from our elders.
We should always make time to listen to the stories of our elders, but today is a great excuse to do so!