The Lavender Scare (Throwback) : Throughline


Frank Kameny and members of the Mattachine Society of Washington marching in 1970.

Kay Tobin/New York Public Library

Frank Kameny and members of the Mattachine Society of Washington marching in 1970.

Kay Tobin/New York Public Library

One day in late April 1958, a young economist named Madeleine Tress was approached by two men in suits at her office at the U.S. Department of Commerce. They took her to a private room, turned on a tape recorder, and demanded she respond to allegations that she was an “admitted homosexual.” Two weeks later, she resigned.

Madeleine was one of thousands of victims of a purge of gay and lesbian people ordered at the highest levels of the U.S. government: a program spurred by a panic that destroyed careers and lives and lasted more than forty years. Today, it’s known as the “Lavender Scare.”

In a moment when LGBTQ+ rights are again in the public crosshairs, we tell the story of the Lavender Scare: its victims, its proponents, and a man who fought for decades to end it.

Guests:

David K. Johnson, professor in the history department at the University of South Florida

Margot Canaday, the Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University

To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.



Source link

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post