Vol. VIII Issue 167 Sunday, November 23, 2008

Top Story

Speaking for Our Lives Honors Those Who Stood for Equality Collection of Speeches from 1892-2000 Gays and Lesbians Risking All to Demand Rights Compiled by GayToday

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: the Victorian humanist and crusader Robert Ingersoll key groups such as the Mattachine Society, Homosexual Law Reform Society, Gay Activists Alliance, and International Gay Association activists and educators Robin Morgan, Joseph Bean, Jack Nichols and Dr. Franklin Kameny, artists and journalists of the movement, such as John Eric Larsen, Joan Nestle, Barbara Grier, and Jim Kepner elected officials, including Bella Abzug, Ed Koch, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Gerry Studds, Tammy Baldwin, and Bill Clinton 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

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