The American LGBTQ+ Museum

Event Details:

In 1973, a small group of gay men and lesbians founded “Gay Community News,” a local Boston newsletter to report on LGBTQ+ events. That community-driven newsletter grew into a major newspaper with an international readership. Join The History Project in collaboration with the American LGBTQ+ Museum to explore the arc of GCN’s history and its influence on LGBTQ+ activism.

“A stint at GCN left no one unmarked. We were always on deadline, but we were not simply a newspaper. Ours was the only listing under gay in the Boston telephone book; thus, phone duty could involve anything from taking down the copy for a personal ad to giving directions to the gay cruising area in the Fenway Victory Gardens, providing the number of a sympathetic lawyer, or persuading a distraught kid to call the gay youth group … Innumerable people, many of whom went on to become leaders of gay and social justice organizations, journalists, authors, and teachers, whirled briefly in and out. GCN trained an entire generation of activists.”

– Amy Hoffman, An Army of Ex-Lovers

Panelists:

Loie Hayes

Gordon Gottlieb

Russ Lopez

Moderatored by Richard Burns

Our series of evening panels continues:

To honor the 50th anniversary of Gay Community News, The History Project is organizing a series of panels exploring GCN’s history and impact, an oral history project, and a birthday party in Fall 2023. We need to document and celebrate the community stories surrounding this community-driven publication while those who founded and ran the publication are still with us.

• Wednesday, November 8: Gay Community News at 50: Content, Controversy, and CoverageThroughout its run, Gay Community News’ staff, volunteers, and readership all debated how to answer the question, “What is gay news?” This panel will explore the intersections and divergences of opinions about what issues GCN covered, from feminist politics to international affairs.
• Wednesday, November 29: Gay Community News at 50: GCN’s Impact and LegacyWhen Gay Community News ceased publishing in the 1990s, it was the oldest, continuously published national gay newspaper. This panel will explore the impact GCN had and continues to have on LGBTQ+ writing, news coverage, and activism.

The GCN50 Planning Committee includes Amy Hoffman, Michael Bronski, Sam Valentine, Joan Ilacqua, Gavin Kleespies, and Olivia Sayah.

Background

This year is the 50th anniversary of Gay Community News (GCN). In 1973, a small group of gay men and lesbians founded a local Boston newsletter to report on LGBTQ events. That newsletter grew into a major newspaper with an international readership. Volunteer writers, photographers, artists, and other members of the LGBTQ community published GCN through the 1990s. The publication itself is a rich historical source providing insight into the many issues concerning the gay community, and many of its contributors continue to have an impact on LGBTQ organizing and culture to this day. The History Project holds GCN’s photograph collections and a full run of GCN. GCN is also now available digitally via Northeastern University.