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Speaking for Our Lives Honors Those Who Stood for Equality Collection of Speeches from 1892-2000 Gays and Lesbians Risking All to Demand Rights |
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 Standing up for equality always took courage, but few had the fortitude to speak out to hundreds and thousands demanding that gays, lesbians and transgender people be treated fairly. A new book, entitled Speaking For Our Lives, revives some of the best gay activist speeches from 1892-2000, and highlights the risks these individuals took.
Edited by Robert B. Ridinger, MA, MLS, Speaking For Our Live: Historic Speeches and Rhetoric for Gay and Lesbian Rights (1892-2000) collects more than a hundred years of the most important public rhetoric on gay and lesbian subjects. In the days when homosexuality was mentioned only in whispers, a few brave souls stood up to speak for the rights of sexual minorities. Individuals such as:
Many of these historic individuals' words have long been out of print. Speaking for Our Lives makes these noteworthy texts readily available and preserves an essential part of twentieth-century history. Speaking for Our Lives comprises speeches and manifestoes prompted by events ranging from demonstrations to funerals. Each speech also includes a commentary about the speech's author, the occasion, and the political and social contexts in which it first appeared. "Power and righteousness shout from these exciting, if little-known, documents. The book demonstrates the richness and diversity of the pioneers who have dared to speak out against bigotry and ignorance," says Jim Van Buskirk , Program Manager, James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library. "This collection (reiterates) the importance of the courage to tell the truth." Speaking For Our Live: Historic Speeches and Rhetoric for Gay and Lesbian Rights (1892-2000) is available from Haworth Press. You can view an except of the book by going to http://www.haworthpress.com/store/SampleText/4998.pdf |