Williamsburg Regional Library

The deviant's war, the homosexual vs. the United States of America, Eric Cervini

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The deviant's war

bibliography

1119765233

Eric Cervini

the homosexual vs. the United States of America

"A biography of gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny. From a young Harvard- and Cambridge-trained historian, the secret history of the fight for gay rights that began a generation before Stonewall. In 1957, Frank Kameny, a rising astronomer working for the U.S. Defense Department in Hawaii, received a summons to report immediately to Washington, D.C. The Pentagon had reason to believe he was a homosexual, and after a series of humiliating interviews, Kameny, like countless gay men and women before him, was promptly dismissed from his government job. Unlike many others, though, Kameny fought back. Based on firsthand accounts, recently declassified FBI records, and forty thousand personal documents, Eric Cervini's The Deviant's War unfolds over the course of the 1960s, as the Mattachine Society of Washington, the group Kameny founded, became the first organization to protest the systematic persecution of gay federal employees. It traces the forgotten ties that bound gay rights to the Black Freedom Movement, the New Left, lesbian activism, and trans resistance. Above all, it is a story of America (and Washington) at a cultural and sexual crossroads; of shocking, byzantine public battles with Congress; of FBI informants; murder; betrayal; sex; love; and ultimately victory."--, Provided by publisher

The astronomer -- The letter -- The panic -- The union -- The Mattachine -- The Bureau -- The crusader -- The alliance -- The congressman -- The march -- The bouquet -- The picket -- The student -- The illustrator -- The floor plan -- The chaos -- The riots -- The liberation -- The pride -- The candidate -- Epilogue: the White House

adult