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Gays and Lesbians in the African American Civil Rights Movement

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Gays and Lesbians in the African American Civil Rights Movement University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History History, Department of 5-2013 Freedom Indivisible: Gays and Lesbians in the African American Civil Rights Movement Jared E. Leighton University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss Part of the African American Studies Commons, History of Religion Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Oral History Commons, Political History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, and the Women's History Commons Leighton, Jared E., "Freedom Indivisible: Gays and Lesbians in the African American Civil Rights Movement" (2013). Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History. 61. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/historydiss/61 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the History, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, & Student Research, Department of History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. FREEDOM INDIVISIBLE: GAYS AND LESBIANS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT by Jared E. Leighton A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: History Under the Supervision of Professor Patrick D. Jones Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2013 FREEDOM INDIVISIBLE: GAYS AND LESBIANS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT Jared E. Leighton, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2013 Adviser: PatricK D. Jones This work documents the role of sixty gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals in the African American civil rights movement in the pre-Stonewall era. It examines the extent of their involvement from the grassroots to the highest echelons of leadership. Because many lesbians and gays were not out during their time in the movement, and in some cases had not yet identified as lesbian or gay, this worK also analyzes how the civil rights movement, and in a number of cases women’s liberation, contributed to their identity formation and coming out. This worK also contributes to our understanding of opposition to the civil rights movement by examining the ways in which forces opposed to racial equality used the real or perceived sexual orientation of activists against the civil rights movement. Given the primacy of religion in the civil rights movement, this worK also looKs at the ways religious conviction did and did not motivate lesbians and gays in the movement. It also assesses the long-term influence of religion in their lives as many of these activists went on to women’s liberation and gay liberation and various denominations responded to these movements. Finally, this dissertation reveals how activists in the civil rights movement used the consciousness and strategies they acquired during their time in the civil rights movement in subsequent efforts for LGBT equality. This worK employs oral history, archival records, existing secondary literature, and other sources to add a new piece to our understanding of the long civil rights movement. These sources encourage us to thinK more broadly about the intersections of various freedom struggles and more deeply about major issues in the civil rights movement. Finally, assessing the role of these activists should help us better evaluate the long-term impact of the civil rights movement. Beyond inspiring other movements, the African American civil rights movement was the training ground for many activists in other struggles. Efforts for black civil rights helped lay the foundation for gay and lesbian liberation. iv Copyright © 2013 Jared E. Leighton v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a number oF people who helped make this work possible. More than anyone else, I must thank my parents, Gary and Kathy, who have been a constant source oF love and support. The same is true oF my brother, Alex, my sister, Megan, brother-in-law, Nathan, and niece and nephew, Harper and Liam. They have helped me in so many ways during my years in graduate school. Since we met in the Fall oF 2006, my advisor, Patrick D. Jones, has provided me with all the guidance I could ask For as I have pursued my graduate education. He is a model For outstanding scholarship, excellent teaching, and community engagement. Jeannette Jones, Tim Borstelmann, Will Thomas and Amelia Montes graciously agreed to serve on my dissertation committee and have oFFered valuable guidance over the years in the process oF course work and exams. I would like to thank all the activists who shared their liFe stories with me through oral history. They have made an immense contribution to this project and continue to offer their assistance. Special thanks go to Nina Boal, Mandy Carter, Arthur Finn, Margaret Rose Gladney, Jewelle Gomez, Jan Griesinger, Faith Holsaert, Joan Steinau Lester, David McReynolds, John O’Brien, Mary Jo Osgood, David Ostrow, Linda Seese, Don Steele, Jane Stembridge, Nancy Stoller, Kathy Veit, and Del Whan. I would also like to thank Sharon Raphael and Saundra Tignor for corresponding with me. Additionally, I am grateFul to the dozens oF movement activists who oFFered their thoughts and suggestions on this project who are simply too numerous to name here. vi The archivists and librarians I have worked with on this project have also been instrumental in completing this dissertation. I sincerely appreciate the assistance oF the stafF at the Rubenstein Library at Duke University, the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, the Mississippi Department oF Archives and History, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the McCain Archives at the University oF Southern Mississippi. A number oF others have assisted me From a distance including staFF at the National Archives and Records Administration, the Columbia Center for Oral History, and the Nashville Public Library. Travel to conduct research for this project has been supported by funding through a Viola Florence Barnes Travel Award and an Edward L. Homze Travel Award From the Department oF History at UNL as well as an Edith and Warren Day Dissertation Travel Award From the Office of Graduate Studies at UNL. The Department oF History provided Further support For this project with a one- semester Viola Florence Barnes Research Fellowship which allowed me to complete the writing process. I sincerely appreciate everyone who helped make this work possible and hope the resulting dissertation has proven the time, eFFort and Funding they have invested in this project worthwhile. Any errors or shortcomings are mine. vii Table of Contents Introduction “Hidden Lives” 1 Chapter 1 Gays and Lesbians for Racial Justice: A New History 28 oF the Civil Rights Movement, 1940-1970 Chapter 2 “You Don’t Free Part oF YourselF”: Identity Formation 104 and Gay Men in the Civil Rights Movement Chapter 3 “All oF a Piece”: From Black Civil Rights to Women’s 149 Liberation to Lesbian Liberation Chapter 4 “Discreet Inquiries” and Outlandish Stories: Attacks 215 on Gays and Lesbians in the Civil Rights Movement Chapter 5 Gay Activists and Religion in the Civil Rights 290 Movement Chapter 6 A DiFFerent Protest: Civil Rights Activists in the 349 Movement for Gay Liberation Conclusion “A Dream That Freedom Would Include Us” 419 Bibliography 426 INTRODUCTION - “HIDDEN LIVES” In his memoir Walking With the Wind, John Lewis writes, Many movements besides civil rights were taking shape, and several of those movements found both their roots and their future leaders in Mississippi that summer […] The atmosphere of openness and breaking down barriers that we developed that summer extended far beyond issues of race. They extended into everything from sexuality to gender roles, from communal living to identification with working classes. And they live on today. I have no doubt that the Mississippi Summer Project, in the end, led to the liberating of America, the opening up of our society. The peace movement, the women’s movement, the gay movement – they all have roots that can be traced back to Mississippi in the summer of ’64.”1 Congressman Lewis is astute in recognizing the interconnectedness of movements for social justice and identified a number of causes that were allied with and inspired by the black freedom struggle. However, historians have yet to establish clear connections between the black civil rights movement and many other movements. More specifically, the link from the African American civil rights movement to the homophile and gay liberation movements remains a tenuous one, often based on assertion rather than evidence. There are scattered sources mentioning gays and lesbians with backgrounds in the civil rights movement. But, even then, many authors provide little detail to give texture to the experiences of gays and lesbians in the black freedom struggle and often neglect to explain how it affected their later activism. A project which establishes strong connections between the two movements by bringing together these scattered sources, seeking out those whose stories are not on the record, and providing these narratives with greater analytical depth remains a necessity. 1 John Lewis with Michael D’Orso, Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), 273. This title is drawn from my interview with Margaret Rose Gladney. 2 Civil Rights Movement Historiography
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