Leading the Parade: Conversations with America's Most Influential Lesbians and Gay Men - Softcover

Cain, Paul D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0810859130 ISBN 13: 9780810859135

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 2007

Synopsis

Lesbians and gay men undeniably occupy a very different place in American society today than they did in the mid-1940s. Back then, only a few courageous gays and lesbians gathered to organize social and educational groups. Two decades later, a new generation of movers and shakers came forward to build on the firm foundation established by these fledgling groups, taking greater risks and seeking greater visibility.

Leading the Parade traces the evolution of the gay and lesbian liberation movement through the personal profiles and stories of nearly 40 individuals whose daring efforts changed America's attitude toward homosexuality during the gay rights movement of the 20th century. The personal profiles of the gay activists and political officials within this poignant book illuminate the events that shaped them. Many of their actions forced this nation to confront and change its views and helped this disparaged group gain acceptance.

About this title

About the Author:

Paul D. Cain was a monthly columnist for Outlands Magazine, a gay publication, and he periodically contributes articles for GayToday on the Web.

Review:

With ideological evenhandedness Paul Cain has artfully portrayed several dozen women and men who have enhanced queer life in America. These are our rainbow relatives and Leading the Parade is our family album. An important primer of queer history, this book goes a long way in setting the record 'straight.' (Jim Sears, Author of Lonely Hunters: An Oral History of Lesbian and Gay Southern Life (1948-1968))

...ask your local library to carry Leading the Parade. As a research tool, it is invaluable. (Gay Today)

The most interesting and informative book ever written on the evolution of the Gay and Lesbian movement in America...For those who have not read it yet, get it, read it, and learn about the people past and present that have shaped all of our lives. I promise that you will have a better understanding of why things are the way that they are. (C.J. Neumann, Senior Editor Qbliss.Net)

Paul D. Cain has written an engaging book that tells the story of one of the most important social movements of the twentieth century as seen through the very human prism of the biographies of some of the women and men who helped make it happen. Particularly distinctive is the author's commitment to telling that story not from the vantage point of the detached observer, but through the personal odyssey that sent him crisscrossing the country to chat with a wide range of individuals who have, indeed, 'led the parade' toward gay and lesbian liberation and visibility. (Rodger Streitmatter, American University)

Drawing upon personal interviews, gay activist and journalist Cain presents the stories of 39 leaders who influenced the gay and lesbian movement in the United States between 1945 and 1995. The volume begins with a biography of Dorr Legg, executive director of ONE Magazine, a gay periodical founded in the 1950s. Some of the other pioneers profiled include writer Kate Millett, Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, and singer-songwriter Holly Near. This is a paperback reprint of the 2002 original. (Reference and Research Book News, August 2007)

About this edition

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0810859130
• ISBN 13: 9780810859135
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448