- Theme > Civil Rights and Citizenship (x)
- Historical Eras > Postwar America (1946-1975) (x)
- Theme > Gender and Sexuality (x)
We found 9 items that match your search
An Activist Explains the Conflicted Role of Women in the March on Washington
Dorothy Height became active in civil rights causes in the 1930s, working towards anti-lynching legislation, desegregation of the military, and other issues. In 1957 she was elected the president of the National Council of Negro Women, and was the [...]
Bayard Rustin Describes the Fellowship of Reconciliation
Bayard Rustin was a gay civil rights activist who was particularly passionate about racial equality. He helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a president, and which influenced the civil [...]
Mugshot of Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was a gay civil rights activist who was particularly passionate about racial equality. He helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, of which Martin Luther King Jr. was a president and which influenced the Civil [...]
Pat Bond Describes the Military Purge of LGBTQ+ Service Members
Pat Bond was a member of the Women’s Army Corps (a WAC) during World War II. As a lesbian, she risked a “blue discharge” from the army if she was discovered. Blue discharges were highly stigmatized penalties for alleged dishonorable behavior [...]
A Letter from Perry Watkins on his Mistreatment in the Army
Perry Watkins was a gay African American soldier who was drafted to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was open about his sexuality throughout his entire career. Despite this, in 1981, the army revoked his security clearance after 13 years [...]
Perry Watkins Describes his Mistreatment by the Army
Perry Watkins was a gay African American soldier who was drafted to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. He was open about his sexuality throughout his entire career. Despite this, in 1981, the army revoked his security clearance after 13 years [...]
Background Essay on the LGBTQ+ Community and the Military
This essay outlines broad trends in LGBTQ+ American history and traces the evolution of LGBTQ+ people’s involvement in and relationship with the United States military.
A Civil Rights Organizer Condemns "Jane Crow"
Pauli Murray entered law school in 1941 with the "single-minded intention of destroying Jim Crow." Though on the frontlines of civil rights demonstrations and behind the scenes of many organizational meetings since the 1940s, Murray and other [...]
A Feminist Draws Parallels Between African Americans' and Women's Rights
The March on Washington and other demonstrations finally brought Congress close to passing a sweeping civil rights bill in 1964. At the last moment, and to the surprise of many, "sex" was added to the clause that would prevent employment [...]