John D’Emilio is one of the leading historians of his generation and a pioneering figure in the field of LGBTQ history. At times his life has been seemingly at odds with his upbringing. How does a boy from an Italian immigrant family in which everyone unfailingly went to confession and Sunday Mass become a lapsed Catholic? How does a family who worshipped Senator Joseph McCarthy and supported Richard Nixon produce an antiwar activist and pacifist? How does a family in which the word divorce was never spoken raise a son who comes to explore the hidden gay sexual underworld of New York City? Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood is D’Emilio’s coming-of-age story in which he takes readers from his working-class Bronx neighborhood to an elite Jesuit high school in Manhattan to Columbia University and the political and social upheavals of the late 1960s. He shares his personal experiences of growing up in a conservative, tight-knit, multigenerational family, how he went from considering entering the priesthood to losing his faith and coming to terms with his same-sex desires. Throughout, D’Emilio outlines his complicated relationship with his family while showing how his passion for activism influenced his decision to use research, writing, and teaching to build a strong LGBTQ movement. This is not just John D’Emilio’s personal story; it opens a window into how the conformist baby boom decade of the 1950s transformed into the tumultuous years of radical social movements and widespread protest during the 1960s. It is the story of what happens when different cultures and values collide and the tensions and possibilities for personal discovery and growth that emerge. Intimate and honest, D’Emilio’s story will resonate with anyone who has had to chart their own path in a world they did not expect to find.

First Published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The variety of gay life in Chicago is too abundant and too diverse, to be contained in a single place. But since 1981, the Gerbert/Hart Library & Archives on the city's North Side has strived to do just that, amassing and cataloging a wealth of records related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified people and organizations in the city. In Queer Legacies, John D'Emilio--a pioneering scholar of gay and lesbian studies--digs deep into the collection at the Gerbert/Hart Library to unearth a kaleidoscopic look at the community built by generations of gay men and women in Chicago. Excavated from one of the country's most important, yet overlooked, LGBTQ archives, the stories included in his book are populated by athletes, lawyers, publishers, artists, performers, and organizers, each offering their own fascinating contribution to Chicago's historically vibrant scene . The breezy and enthusiastic essays that make up Queer Legacies range in focus from politics, culture, social life, and the history of institutions like Dignity--the foremost organization for LGBTQ Catholics--and the Gay Academic Union. Though the book is anchored in Chicago, many of the essays reach farther revealing the connections to events and issues of national import. Queer Legacies illuminates how archives can be more than musty spaces far from the urgent concerns of the present day, and shows that institutions like the Gerbert/Hart are a life-giving resource for the historically marginalized communities they serve. This book gives readers an inclusive and personal look at fifty years of a national fight for visibility, recognition, and equality led by LGBTQ Americans who, quite literally, made history. In these troubled times, it will surely inspire a new generation of scholars and activists.

The variety of gay life in Chicago is too abundant and too diverse, to be contained in a single place. But since 1981, the Gerbert/Hart Library & Archives on the city's North Side has strived to do just that, amassing and cataloging a wealth of records related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified people and organizations in the city. In Queer Legacies, John D'Emilio--a pioneering scholar of gay and lesbian studies--digs deep into the collection at the Gerbert/Hart Library to unearth a kaleidoscopic look at the community built by generations of gay men and women in Chicago. Excavated from one of the country's most important, yet overlooked, LGBTQ archives, the stories included in his book are populated by athletes, lawyers, publishers, artists, performers, and organizers, each offering their own fascinating contribution to Chicago's historically vibrant scene . The breezy and enthusiastic essays that make up Queer Legacies range in focus from politics, culture, social life, and the history of institutions like Dignity--the foremost organization for LGBTQ Catholics--and the Gay Academic Union. Though the book is anchored in Chicago, many of the essays reach farther revealing the connections to events and issues of national import. Queer Legacies illuminates how archives can be more than musty spaces far from the urgent concerns of the present day, and shows that institutions like the Gerbert/Hart are a life-giving resource for the historically marginalized communities they serve. This book gives readers an inclusive and personal look at fifty years of a national fight for visibility, recognition, and equality led by LGBTQ Americans who, quite literally, made history. In these troubled times, it will surely inspire a new generation of scholars and activists.

Contents:
Part One: Rewriting History 1. Capitalism and Gay Identity 2. Dreams Deferred: The Birth and Betrayal of America's First Gay Liberation Movement 3. The Homosexual Menace: The Politics of Sexuality in Cold War America 4. Gay Politics, Gay Community: San Francisco's Experience 5. Gay History: A New Field of Study Part Two: Remaking the University 6. The Universities and the Gay Experience 7. The Issue of Sexual Preference on College Campuses: Retrospect and Prospect 8. Not a Simple Matter: Gay History and Gay Historians 9. The Campus Environment for Gay and Lesbian Life 10. Inaugurating the First Lesbian and Gay Studies Department: San Francisco City College 11. Gay and Lesbian Studies: New Kid on the Block? 12. Graduation Day Part Three: Living Politics 13. Making and Unmaking Minorities: The Tension between Gay History and Politics 14. The Supreme Court and the Sodomy Statutes: Where Do We Go From Here? 15. Saturday Nights 16. Women Against Pormography: Feminist Frontier or Social Purity Crusade? 17. The Names Project Quilt: A People's Memorial 18. You Can't Build a Movement on Anger 19. A Generation of Progress 20. After Stonewall

This book provides an overview of the history of LGBT community newspapers and magazines in America. It provides a specific focus on weekly and biweekly newspapers, but also assesses the LGBT state of print media overall. Finalist for the 2013 Lambda Literary Awards; Top 10 selection for the American Library Association Over the Rainbow Project Book List, a committee of the GLBT Round Table of the ALA. The book starts with an in-depth look into the reasons a gay press started in the 1900s--as a response to either absent or anti-gay coverage by the mainstream media. It then explores the early gay media and journalists working in the gay press from the 1950s to the 1980s. The book includes chapters on some of the longer-lasting LGBT newspapers, such as the Washington Blade, Bay Area Reporter and Philadelphia Gay News. There is also an in-depth exploration of advertising and marketing in LGBT media, and a look at the future of queer media in America. Quotes about Gay Press, Press Power: "Tracy Baim's Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Newspapers in America is a complete treasure for anyone interested in queer history, the intricacies of social movements, or media in the United States. Comprehensive, well written, and well researched, this media journey from homosexual to gay to queer is eye-opening and inspiring. If you thought you knew about this aspect of the gay movement -guess again: You will be endlessly surprised. The bravery of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations here is breathtaking and vital. You can't understand queer life today without understanding the history of the LGBT media. This book is endlessly entertaining and extremely important." -Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States, Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media, Harvard University. "Gay Press, Gay Power is a meticulous and prodigious work, long overdue. It will be a reference source-but, more importantly, a source of inspiration." - Barbara Ettorre, former reporter for The New York Times, New York Daily News and Chicago Today. Founder and editor, LetterBalm.com. "This meticulously researched book captures the flavor and nuance of a myriad of specific events and times, such as the coverage of LGBT issues in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, through compelling interviews with the people involved, gay and straight, backed up with insightful analysis. Hundreds of images of magazine covers, news clips, photos and ads from the 1800s to today present a comprehensive, stunning visual history of the evolving relationship between the media and the LGBT community. Belongs on everyone's bookshelf." -Jean Latz Griffin, former Chicago Tribune reporter, author ofIn the Same Breath and One Spirit: A Creation Story for the 21st Century. "For the past two hundred years no oppositional movement has succeeded without the involvement of an engaged community press.The political successes of the gay liberation movement, and the defeats, were reported in the pages of the lesbian and gay press while the mainstream press ignored or denigrated our efforts. Today, in the age of presidential evolution towards recognition of our humanity, and in the era of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, it is possible to presume that the need for an independent GLBT press is past. But this would be a mistake. As we learned during the AIDS epidemic, when push comes to shove - as it reliably does - there is no substitute for a focused, relentless and smart GLBT press. Tracy Baim has long represented the best of the GLBT press, and this book will be a valuable resource in the struggle not to forget our history as we continue to fight for our future." -- Larry Gross, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Author, Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America.

The battle of Gettysburg was the largest engagement of the Civil War, and--with more than 51,000 casualties--also the deadliest. The highest regimental casualty rate at Gettysburg, an estimated 85 percent, was incurred by the 26th North Carolina Infantry. Who were these North Carolinians? Why were they at Gettysburg? How did they come to suffer such a grievous distinction? In Covered with Glory, award-winning historian Rod Gragg reveals the extraordinary story of the 26th North Carolina in fascinating detail. Praised for its "exhaustive scholarship" and its "highly readable style," Covered with Glory chronicles the 26th's remarkable odyssey from muster near Raleigh to surrender at Appomattox. The central focus of the book, however, is the regiment's critical, tragic role at Gettysburg, where its standoff with the heralded 24th Michigan Infantry on the first day of fighting became one of the battle's most unforgettable stories. Two days later, the 26th's bloodied remnant assaulted the Federal line at Cemetery Ridge and gained additional fame for advancing "farthest to the front" in the Pickett-Pettigrew Charge.

As the first full-length study of the history of sexuality in America, "Intimate Matters" offered trenchant insights into the sexual behavior of Americans from colonial times to the present. Now, twenty-five years after its first publication, this ground-breaking classic is back in a crucial and updated third edition. With new and extended chapters, John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman give us an even deeper understanding of how sexuality has dramatically influenced politics and culture throughout our history and into the present. Hailed by critics for its comprehensive approach and noted by the US Supreme Court in the landmark Lawrence v. Texas ruling, "Intimate Matters" details the changes in sexuality and the ongoing growth of individual freedoms in the United States through meticulous research and lucid prose.

With thorough documentation of the oppression of homosexuals and biographical sketches of the lesbian and gay heroes who helped the contemporary gay culture to emerge, "Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities" supplies the definitive analysis of the homophile movement in the U.S. from 1940 to 1970. John D'Emilio's new preface and afterword examine the conditions that shaped the book and the growth of gay and lesbian historical literature.
"How many students of American political culture know that during the McCarthy era more people lost their jobs for being alleged homosexuals than for being Communists? . . . These facts are part of the heretofore obscure history of homosexuality in America--a history that John D'Emilio thoroughly documents in this important book."--George DeStefano, "Nation"
"John D'Emilio provides homosexual political struggles with something that every movement requires--a sympathetic history rendered in a dispassionate voice."--"New York Times Book Review"
"A milestone in the history of the American gay movement."--Rudy Kikel, "Boston Globe"

One of the most important figures of the American civil rights movement, Bayard Rustin taught Martin Luther King Jr. the methods of Gandhi, spearheaded the 1963 March on Washington, and helped bring the struggle of African Americans to the forefront of a nation's consciousness. But despite his incontrovertibly integral role in the movement, the openly gay Rustin is not the household name that many of his activist contemporaries are. In exploring history's Lost Prophet, acclaimed historian John D'Emilio explains why Rustin's influence was minimized by his peers and why his brilliant strategies were not followed, or were followed by those he never meant to help.

Something happened in the 1990s, something dramatic and irreversible. A group of people long considered a moral menace and an issue previously deemed unmentionable in public discourse were transformed into a matter of human rights, discussed in every institution of American society. Marriage, the military, parenting, media and the arts, hate violence, electoral politics, public school curricula, human genetics, religion: Name the issue, and the the role of gays and lesbians was a subject of debate. During the 1990s, the world seemed finally to turn and take notice of the gay people in its midst. In "The World Turned, " distinguished historian and leading gay-rights activist John D'Emilio shows how gay issues moved from the margins to the center of national consciousness during the critical decade of the 1990s.

In this collection of essays, D'Emilio brings his historian's eye to bear on these profound changes in American society, culture, and politics. He explores the career of Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader and pacifist who was openly gay a generation before almost everyone else; the legacy of radical gay and lesbian liberation; the influence of AIDS activist and writer Larry Kramer; the scapegoating of gays and lesbians by the Christian Right; the gay-gene controversy and the debate over whether people are "born gay"; and the explosion of attention focused on queer families. He illuminates the historical roots of contemporary debates over identity politics and explains why the gay community has become, over the last decade, such a visible part of American life.