Organizations

Editors

Don Romesburg

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Publication Title

The Routledge History of Queer America

Publisher

Routledge

Publisher Location

New York, New York

Edition

1

First page number:

148

Last page number:

159

Abstract

Since the mid-twentieth century, queer people and our allies have created thousands oforganizations that have helped change the cultural and physical landscape of America. Startingwith a few brave folks in Chicago in the 1920s who asserted that sexual rights are humanrights, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ) established a pleth -ora of associations, centers, sites and institutions in a bold determination to find and providecommunity where, before, it did not officially exist. Whether the need was for basic survivalor a desire to construct entities that would establish our existence and prove our value, LGBTQactivists have built ephemeral and long-lasting structures of affiliation and affirmation. Fromarchives and historical societies to athletic competitions and campus-based groups; fromreligious entities to political campaigns; and from community service organizations to activistnetworks, LGBTQ peoples and our allies have come together to provide social, political,recreational, intellectual, professional, and philanthropic resources. We fought isolation andexclusion; we also recognized that pleasure is as crucial as pain in advancing social change.

Disciplines

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Language

English


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