Research Guides: LGBTQIA+ Pride Collection: Resistance in the LGBTQIA+ Community

Resistance in the LGBTQIA+ Community

In the 1950s and '60s, homosexuality was not only rejected by society, but also illegal in 49 states. Members of the LGBBTQIA+ community were often subject to violence, harassment and discrimination - with punishment under law ranging from fines to imprisonment. On June 28, 1969, a riot broke out at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The protest - now known as the Stonewall Riots - marked a turning point in the LGBTQIA+ rights movement sparking political activism/awareness across the United States. At a pivotal time when the Women's and Civil Rights movements were also underway, the Stonewall Riots comprised one piece of a national political call to action. This led to the formation of the Gay Liberation Front - the first group to publicly advocate for equal rights regardless of sexual or gender orientation. The following year, a Pride Parade was organized that would mark the one year anniversary of the Gay Liberation Front which continues to be a yearly celebration in New York City and across the globe.

Selected Sources within the Pride Collection [Main Level]

The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues by John Strausbaugh
Call Number: F128.68.G8 S77 2013
ISBN: 9780062078193
Publication Date: 2013
This is an anecdotal history of Greenwich Village, the prodigiously influential and infamous New York City neighborhood, from the 1600s to the present. In this book, the author weaves a narrative history of the Village, a tapestry that unrolls from its origins as a rural frontier of New Amsterdam in the 1600s through its long reign as the Left Bank of America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Village plays a role as a culture engine, a bastion of tolerance, freedom, creativity and activism. The author brings to life the long line of famous nonconformists who have collided there, collaborating, fusing and feuding, developing the ideas and creating the art that forever altered societal norms. From Dutch farmers, Washington Square patricians, slaves and bohemians to Stonewall, Abstract Expressionism and AIDS - the connecting narratives of The Village tell the fresh and unforgettable story of ongoing uprisings for liberation.
A Restricted Country by Joan Nestle
Call Number: HQ75.4.N47 A3 1987
ISBN: 0932379370
Publication Date: 1987
An essential collection of essays written in the Reagan and feminist era, Joan Nestle tells the stories of working class 50s queer, feminist, femme, and butch/femme history and lineage. A proud working-class woman and lesbian long before the Rainbow revolution, Nestle stands at the forefront offering an intimate personal account of the lesbian, queer and civil rights movements.
From the Closet to the Courtroom: Five LGBT Rights Lawsuits That Have Changed Our Nation by Carlos A. Ball; Michael Bronski
Call Number: KF4754.5.A53 B35 2010
ISBN: 9780807000786
Publication Date: 2010
From marriage equality to the right to privacy, many LGBTQIA+ individuals are impacted on a daily basis by court rulings both past and present. From the Closet to the Courtroom addresses five Supreme Court cases that have set monumental precedent for lawyers, activists and individuals leading the fight for equality. Ball frames each case, Braschi v. Stahl Associates, Nabozny v. Podlesny, Romer v. Evans, Baehr v. Lewin and Bowers v. Hardwick, in its own chapter under simplified headings that organize the accounts in an engaging, highly detailed and thoroughly investigated manner. The book captures readers from all levels - from individuals to scholars - in a style that is appealing to the emotions of his readers without having a strictly dry academic tone.
It's Not Over: Getting Beyond Tolerance, Defeating Homophobia, and Winning True Equality by Michelangelo Signorile
Call Number: HQ76.3.U5 S535 2015
ISBN: 9780544381001
Publication Date: 2015
LGBTQIA+ acceptance has triumphed in business, entertainment and even major league sports in the aftermath of marriage equality becoming law under the Supreme Court of the United States. However, as longtime queer advocate Michaelangelo Signorile, the excitement of such breathless change makes this a more pivotal time than ever for the future of equality. Tearing down the notion that victory is now written in stone, Signorile paints sharp evidence that age-old hatred and homophobia is still woven into the fabric of American life. By exposing the bigotry of the religious conservative backlash against LGBTQIA+ rights, he challenges the complacency and hypocrisy of supposed allies in Washington DC, the media and Hollywood. Signorile's It's Not Over is a roadmap for the fight to come in the march toward equality while telling the stories of LGBTQIA+ individuals who have refused to be merely tolerated and continue to demand full acceptance.
Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America by Dudley Clendinen; Adam Nagourney (Based on a work by)
Call Number: HQ76.8.U5 C58 1999
ISBN: 9780684810911
Publication Date: 1999
This is an expansive account of the struggle for equal rights for LGBTQIA+ individuals in the twentieth century. The author covers the birth of the gay rights movement at the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969, through 1988 when the movement was overshadowed by HIV/AIDS activists. Told through the voices of gay activists and their opponents, a first-hand account is given spanning cities across the country and their transformation into a national force that changed the face of America forever.
Stained Glass Windows: the Life and Death of Jimmy Zappalorti; The Hate Crime That Shocked a City and Changed The Law by Robert Zappalorti
Call Number: PS3626.A668 S73 2014
ISBN: 9780692291771
Publication Date: 2014
Recounting a true story that happened on Staten Island, Zappalorti tells the story of of his brother, Jimmy, who was brutally murdered in 1990 because he was a gay man. Jimmy's death sparked outrage in the community that led to the passage of the New York State Hate Crimes Bill on July 10, 2000 - the first to be introduced in New York. This personal account is an eye-opening depiction of the ongoing fight towards LGBTQIA+ equality in the face of ignorance, prejudice and violence.
The Gay Decades by Leigh W. Rutledge
Call Number: HQ76.8.U5 R88 1992
ISBN: 9780452268104
Publication Date: 1992
An in-depth timeline of prominent historical events in the LGBTQIA+ community ranging from the Stonewall Riots of 1969 until the early 1990s. This is a particularly important literary work because it thoroughly analysis the AIDS epidemic and the response from the Reagan Administration.