Gay rights

Scope and Contents In the first interview from 1991, Melissa Thomas talks to Joan Nestle about her role in the Queens College Seek Program; the Lesbian Herstory Archives; her writing career; and her background as a Queens College student and as a lesbian and feminist. Nestle details her experience with the Queens College SEEK community and her lesbian feminist community. She reflects on the negative and positive aspects of teaching a multicultural program in an all white environment, discusses her illness...

Scope and Contents The interview explores Nestle's time at Queens College as a student-activist (1959-1963) and teacher in the SEEK program (1966-1995). She discusses her upbringing in New York, the conservative culture of Queens College, her oft-times combative experiences as a student, as well as her incredibly fulfilling time spent teaching in the SEEK program. Nestle also discusses how being an activist in the civil rights movement was paramount to shaping her role in the gay liberation movement, as...

Scope and Contents In this interview, Mohamed Amin talks of the transformation of Richmond Hill from 2005, when he moved there, to 2017, when he was interviewed. He talks of how he felt reintegrated to Guyanese culture through the food, music, and nightlife in the area. Despite the strong presence of his Guyanese community, however, he still felt, as a gay Caribbean American man, some racism and homophobia. And one night, in a bar, he was pushed and called an anti-gay slur, and his brother was assaulted. He...

Abstract Robert Rygor worked as a community, LGBT rights and AIDS activist in and around his neighborhood of Greenwich Village for the majority of his adult life. Graduating from New York University in 1976 with an MBA in Finance, he worked briefly for Morgan Stanley (1972-1976) and then for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (1982-1990). He organized support on a wide variety of issues and participated in several organizations, including Villagers Against Crime (1984-1988), the...