“Benjamin Franklin may have discovered electricity, but it was the man who invented the meter who made the money.” — Earl Wilson Earl Wilson struggled for years as a writer. In 1942, he received an offer to take over a the column of a colleague who was going off to war. He was employed by …
“Come Get It, Get It, Come, Come / Walk on guilded splinters Come Get It, Get It, Come, Come / Walk on guilded splinters” Dr. John explained that the song “Walk On Guilded Splinters” was based on a traditional voodoo church song. He said, “It’s supposed to be ‘Splendors’, but I turned it into ‘Splinters’… …
This is it, Elizabeth! The big one! I’m comin’ t’ join ya, honey!
In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450, establishing who could receive a federal security clearance. The order named security risks as Communists, subversives, drunks and drug users, and “sexual perverts.” As far as this order was concerned “sexual perverts,” meant homosexuals. Frank Kameny was employed as an astronomer for the US Army’s cartography …
In 1969, Motown’s mighty Temptations released their Psychedelic Shack album with the title track as the lead — and only — single. The second track on side two of the record was a Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong composition that offered fierce opposition to the continuing conflict in Vietnam. The song, “War,” featured three-way vocals by Dennis …
From 1970 until 1972, Gilbert Baker served as a medic in the US Army while stationed in San Francisco at the beginning of the gay rights movement. He always exhibited artistic tendancies and was taught to sew by a fellow activist. After his discharge from the service, he began to create banners for demonstrations in …
“I’m a muscle fa-an!”
Audre Lorde was a writer and civil rights activist. As a poet, she is best known for her extremely expressive style. Her poems express anger and outrage at the civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life. The overall themes of her poetry and prose focused largely on issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, …
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sylvia Rivera was a pioneering advocate for civil rights. She, and her friend Marsha Johnson, co-founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, a group to help homeless gay youth on the streets of New York City. Sylvia fought hard for the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act in New York. The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination on the …
