Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" »

The story of a man who fought to leave a better world than he found

One of the founders of the gay and lesbian liberation movement, Jack Nichols was a warrior for gay equality. Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" is his story, blending the man, the movement, and the moment into a memory of his life's work. This powerful biography captures the wisdom, passion, and spirit of a man who refused to be silent at a time when even gay thoughts were considered by society to be a crime of the soul.

As a journalist, activist, co-founder of the Mattachine Societies of Washington, DC, and Florida, and editor of the first gay weekly newspaper in the United States, Jack Nichols left a legacy of gay rights, gay pride, and tremendous courage. Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" charts the life of this vastly important figure from his childhood in the suburbs of Washington, DC, to his final impassioned days in a Florida cancer treatment center in 2005. Braided throughout this crucial text is not only the history of the man, but also the ideas he used to bring the movement to critical mass and the sources of those ideas so influential to all of his work before Stonewall and after, during the AIDS epidemic, and beyond. Here is everything from the early influence of Burns and Whitman to Nichols's revolutionary relationship with Lige Clark to the integration of androgyny and anarchism into his activist philosophy. It is the story of a prolific activist and inspirational human being.

Among the many important topics detailed in Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" are his:

• Family history and its unique influence on his activist tendencies
• Relationship with Lige Clark becoming "the most famous homosexuals in America"
• Plan for the social construction of androgyny
• Attack on the psychiatric establishment's theory of homosexuality as a "sickness"
• Work and vision in men's liberation
• Groundbreaking editorship of American's first gay weekly newspaper, GAY
• Use of Walt Whitman as the "fountainhead" of the homosexual movement
• Incorporation of anarchistic theory into his economic and gender ideas
• And countless more!

Thoughtful and moving, Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" is a compelling look at the man and the movement.

With a wealth of hard-to-find summaries of underground gay journalism, detailed references, personal photographs, and a complete bibliography of Nichols's major writings, Jack Nichols, Gay Pioneer: "Have You Heard My Message?" is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the history and future of LGBT movements, as well as students, educators, and researchers seeking a comprehensive and thorough treatment of this revolutionary figure.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Reflections in the Bubble Room
Chapter 2. Dining Room Memories
Chapter 3. The Burgeonings
Chapter 4. Bertie's Deal
Chapter 5. Shrinking the Shrinks
Chapter 6. Lige Signs On
Chapter 7. Quiet in the Holler
Chapter 8. Free the Willies
Chapter 9. Amerika, America
Chapter 10. Last Will and Testament
Notes
Bibliography
Index