(LGBTQ+) Human Rights Resources
Doing research for this booklet (download here if you haven't yet!) was a wonderful learning experience for me. There are so many powerful and impactful aspects of American history that we just don't talk about enough because they are wrongly marginalized as a niche aspect of LGBTQ+ human history. Below are some of the resources that I used to unlearn that niche perspective. I also have to repeat my appreciation for Olanrele Oni and Justin Fair of Unmatched Athlete and Betsy Schick for their feedback and suggestions to ensure the booklet was accurate and respectful.
Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution
This was my primary source for the booklet. It's based on many interviews with both police who were there as well as the people in the uprising. It begins with the context of the laws against homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s as well as the early activism. From there it details the uprising itself, the groups that the community organized and created in that first year after the uprising, and ends with the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1970. It also goes into detail about the blackmail of important figures by the mafia, including J. Edgar Hoover, which I will go into more in my next email. Finally, there is an episode of PBS's America Experience that is based on this book that you can watch online for free until July 8, 2023.
How to Survive a Plague
My initial outlines for my booklet included an entire section on ACT UP and the amazing citizen science movement to do drug trials to treat AIDS in the 1980s. I have not yet had a chance to read the book, but there is a very powerful documentary about it based on the book. It's another example of me learning something about the LGBTQ+ human rights movement and then asking, "Why didn't I already know about this!? Why isn't this more publicly discussed!?" Unfortunately, due to time and length, I was not able to discuss this topic in my booklet but it probably deserves an entire booklet in its own right. Hopefully I can one day in the future.
A Child's Introduction to Pride: The Inspirational History and Culture of the LGBTQIA+ Community
This is another good resource for children. It is longer and broader in scope than my booklet but doesn't have the same specific lens of human rights or "acting as if you are already free". However, it does go into how different cultures across history have understood and included LGBTQ+ people and how European colonization often brought oppression for them. It covers some of the same topics I did, such as Mattachine Society, Stonewall Uprising, and the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day. There a nice section on Coming Out as well. Another difference is that I was very intentional to not mention the word "sex" in my booklet, even as a contrast to "sex vs gender". That was to avoid being misconstrued considering the current political climate. This book of course does not talk about sex acts but it does go into sex vs gender, attraction, and even has a page on The Kinsey Scale. If those are topics you are ready to discuss with your children, it could be a good resource for you.
Three generations of trans Americans speak about how times have changed — and haven't
The quote on the past page of my booklet by Rev. Debra Hopkins, age 66, comes from an interview with her and two transgender young adults about their experiences and how they are different for different generations. I highly recommend listening to the entire interview.
What’s Next!?
Thanks again for your interest. Next week you will receive a deeper dive into some of the interesting mycelium (check my mushrooms newsletter) that didn’t make it into the booklet. I had hoped to create a booklet about how to discuss Independence Day with your kids considering an enslaver wrote about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” but time just hasn’t allowed. I will hopefully still provide a truncated version of those thoughts in a July newsletter.
After that, in August, it’s using historically accurate understandings of pirates to teach your kids about storytelling, conflict resolution, and democratic decision making! Aarrrr! (I don’t know yet if they actually said, “aaaarrrr!” - I’ll get back to you.)