Not Straight, Not White

This compelling book recounts the history of black gay men from the 1950s to the 1990s, tracing how the major movements of the timesfrom civil rights to black power to gay liberation to AIDS activismhelped shape the cultural stigmas that surrounded race and homosexuality. In locating the rise of black gay identities in historical context, Kevin Mumford explores how activists, performers, and writers rebutted negative stereotypes and refused sexual objectification. Examining the lives of both famous and little-known black gay activistsfrom James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin to Joseph Beam and Brother Grant-Michael FitzgeraldMumford analyzes the ways in which movements for social change both inspired and marginalized black gay men.Drawing on an extensive archive of newspapers, pornography, and film, as well as government documents, organizational records, and personal papers, Mumford sheds new light on four volatile decades in the protracted battle of black gay men for affirmation and empowerment in the face of pervasive racism and homophobia.