A Queer History of the United States for Young People (ReVisioning History for Young People)

by Richie Chevat (Adapter)

Paperback, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

306.76

Publication

Beacon Press (2019), Edition: Illustrated, 336 pages

Description

LGBTQIA+ (Nonfiction.) History. Sociology. Young Adult Nonfiction. HTML:Named one of the Best Nonfiction Books of 2019 by School Library Journal Queer history didn�t start with Stonewall. This book explores how LGBTQ people have always been a part of our national identity, contributing to the country and culture for over 400 years. It is crucial for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth to know their history. But this history is not easy to find since it�s rarely taught in schools or commemorated in other ways. A Queer History of the United States for Young People corrects this and demonstrates that LGBTQ people have long been vital to shaping our understanding of what America is today. Through engrossing narratives, letters, drawings, poems, and more, the book encourages young readers, of all identities, to feel pride at the accomplishments of the LGBTQ people who came before them and to use history as a guide to the future. The stories he shares include those of * Indigenous tribes who embraced same-sex relationships and a multiplicity of gender identities. * Emily Dickinson, brilliant nineteenth-century poet who wrote about her desire for women. * Gladys Bentley, Harlem blues singer who challenged restrictive cross-dressing laws in the 1920s. * Bayard Rustin, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.�s close friend, civil rights organizer, and an openly gay man. * Sylvia Rivera, cofounder of STAR, the first transgender activist group in the US in 1970. * Kiyoshi Kuromiya, civil rights and antiwar activist who fought for people living with AIDS. * Jamie Nabozny, activist who took his LGBTQ school bullying case to the Supreme Court. * Aidan DeStefano, teen who brought a federal court case for trans-inclusive bathroom policies. * And many more! With over 60 illustrations and photos, a glossary, and a corresponding curriculum, A Queer History of the United States for Young People will be vital for teachers who want to introduce a new perspective to America�s story.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran

A Queer History of the United States for Young People, published in 2019 by Beacon Press, is an adaptation by Richie Chevat of Michael Bronski's 2011 Stonewall Book Award-winning work A Queer History of the United States. Not having read Bronski's original work, I'm uncertain if some of the flaws

that exist in Chevat's adaptation are simply carried over from the source material, but I suspect that may be case in at least some instances — essentially, A Queer History of the United States for Young People has not been adapted or updated enough to reflect more recent developments in the conversations surrounding queer identities. Though to be fair, this is and will always be something of a moving target and difficult to successfully achieve.

For a work that rightfully emphasizes the importance of language and careful use of words and terminology, A Queer History of the United States for Young Pepole frustratingly does not always follow those professed ideals. As a result, the book is not nearly as inclusive as it could, needs, or intends to be. For example, some of the definitions used are incomplete, lacking in necessary nuance, or are quite simply wrong (e.g. "transgender" is not a term meaning a person who is attracted to another person of the same sex). A Queer History of the United States for Young People handles some queer identities fairly well — in particular those of gay men and lesbians — but it sometimes struggles with conveying a thorough understanding other marginalized groups, especially people who are gender-nonconforming, asexual, or have more fluid or liminal identities.

Even so, A Queer History of the United States for Young People, while at times infuriating, also has its good points and its intentions are certainly commendable. The writing is approachable and accessible, offering biographical sketches of more than thirty notable queer figures in United States history from the 1500s through the 2000s. I loved learning about these people and the historical context of their lives. I was previously aware of some of the figures chosen to be featured in the book while other I was encountering for the first time — people I look forward to learning even more about. While I wouldn't hand A Queer History of the United States for Young People to a reader without some caveats or the intention to incorporate it into a larger conversation, the work does have the potential to be a great starting place (an emphasis on starting place) for discovering how queer history is United States history.

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LibraryThing member JJMcDermott

This book is an adaptation of Bronski's 2011 book, A Queer History of the US. Most of the material is presented as biographies of one or two individuals, but there is enough background information incorporated into their stories to show how these individuals were part of larger developments taking

place in the US.

Many of the people in the book get little mention in most histories, or at least the queer aspects of their lives get little mention. There is a good diversity of race and gender in the individuals included. However, there is an emphasis on people from the arts and entertainment, fields stereotypically associated with LGBTQ people, and almost nothing on scientists and scholars (Frank Kameny is mentioned twice in passing, but is identified only as an activist, not as an astronomer who was fired from is job for being gay.)

This is a useful, well-written book. I hope it inspires it's readers to continue learning about LGBTQ history.

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LibraryThing member belgrade18

Overall a good history LGBTQ history of the US, well-written and covering a lot of important points. The format is mainly short biographies of LGBTQ people over the past 400 years, giving examples of various people and issues. I've been out as LGBTQ and reading about our history for nearly forty

years, and I learned more than I expected here, especially about the 19th century. As almost anyone will, I wondered about some of the choices made about whom to feature. For instance, I've never heard of Felix Gonzlez-Torres, and I wasn't convinced by his story that he was more deserving of description than Tennessee Williams or Gore Vidal, neither of whom were even mentioned in the book. There also is not a lot about transgenderism considering the book's intended goal- maybe either add more on that subject, or leave it out. There were also only a few pages on the HIV/AIDS crisis, which should have received much more discussion because it was so central to LGBTQ history. Also, no mention of the anti-same-sex marriage movement of the 2000s; what a major issue. But don't get me wrong, I think that this book will be a welcome addition to high-school and maybe even college curricula about LGBTQ and just plain US history, not to mention a "must-purchase" for all high school libraries.

Oddly, there were several typographical errors in the text; I was sent a review copy, but no word that this was an "uncorrected proof". For instance, the word "Communist" in the story about Harry Hay was mis-spelled as "Community" ... Did some bot make a few changes to the original text? Hoping these get fixed before the book goes out to the public.

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LibraryThing member simchaboston

I'm honestly conflicted about this book. On the one hand, any information about the LGBTQ community and his history is welcome, especially when hate crimes are on the rise, and I did learn about some people I'd never heard of. On the other hand, this is far from a comprehensive history -- it's

really a collection of short biographies, interspersed with background -- which is quite different from the book it's supposedly adapted from. I also take issues with some of the definitions (when your own book talks about the importance of using precise language, you better use it yourself), and the text in general feels oversimplified. I'm currently reading DK's The Feminism Book, and that work proves you can explain big ideas clearly and concisely without talking down to your readers. I'm going to steer away from any other works by this particular adapter in the future.

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LibraryThing member bookwormteri

This is a great basic primer on the who's who of queer American history. Basic, but you get a general idea of who the activists have been and their basic history. Should be in middle school curriculums everywhere.

LibraryThing member PeggyK49

I was really not aware of how far back in history A Queer History of the United States for Young People would delve, or that it would cover LBGTQ history in so many cultures. I have no young person in my family and got this book for myself, to better educate me on the subject. That said, it is not

a book that I can just sit and read, but will pick it up from time to time to learn from. I received A Queer History of the United States for Young People by Michael Bronski as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

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LibraryThing member cougargirl1967

Lots of great historical information. I think it would be a great read for anyone, especially if you have any interest in the subject.

LibraryThing member MarkHufstetler

A review of this interesting little book needs to lead off with a couple of disclaimers. First off, this isn't really a "queer history," per se -- rather, it's mostly a series of 30-odd vignettes about noteworthy folks in American history who (probably, at least) happened to be queer. Secondly, the

book professes to be "for young people" ... and while the essays serve as a great Queer History primer for anyone who's middle school-age or above, it's written in a style that would make the subject interesting and accessible to many adults, as well.

The biographical vignette themselves are balanced and straightforward, and accurate as far as I can tell. The subject-matter balance isn't perfect, due in part to the way sexuality was known and expressed over time -- more people of letters in the earlier years, and more social and political activists in later years. Most of the individual stories are pretty intriguing, though, and the format makes it easy to pick up the book during a few spare minutes, and read one free-standing story at a time. When you're made it through them all, it would be hard not to capture the main message of the volume -- that queer folks have been an integral part of our society and culture from the beginning.

For that, this book gets five stars from me. Reading some of the other reviews, I honestly think it's a little sad and misguided that some other folks see this book as exclusionary and insufficient. I disagree with that view pretty strongly, and it reminds me that in this social-media age, it's pretty much impossible to write or do *anything* without pissing at least someone off. But so it goes.

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