Welcome to Litsy!

Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS memorial quilt project, writes about his life. As he says in the acknowledgments, there's a whole lot more about his life than the quilt. He talks about how the movement saved his life, about working with Harvey Milk, and life with HIV/AIDS. He now works educating and campaigning for lgbtq workers' rights.
I don't think anyone would read this for the prose: a gripping account of a life well lived (imho).

ON JANUARY 8, 1978, HARVEY MILK WAS SWORN IN AS A MEMBER OF the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. He walked from Castro Street to City Hall with about a hundred of his supporters and campaign volunteers, holding hands with his boyfriend Jack Lira. I'd like to say that I was there, but I missed the event entirely, having spent most of the previous night getting well fucked by a long-haired waiter...named David.

Harry Hay started the Mattachine Society in 1950 in Los Angeles... In 1951 Mattachine was sponsoring regular discussion groups where, for the first time, gay men had an opportunity a meet and talk about their lives in a political context and outside of the bar scene.

The new organization drafted a mission statement that was almost certainly the first call for gay people to create a grassroots political movement...

More of the #history I missed in school...

I listened to this book, and it made me both laugh out loud and sob violently, with extreme sadness at points, and sheer pride at others. It is a rare book that can achieve this, especially a memoir. I've read some reviews that said this book was basically a laundry list of Jones' sexual history, but I didn't interpret it like that. He was trying to express the liberation he felt in the gay community, before the AIDS pandemic.

Halfway through this wonderful audiobook. I think I'm going to watch the movie Milk today, because the homosexual revolution in San Francisco of the 70s and 80s is now at the forefront of my brain. Sorry, Harry Potter, you'll be back on my recuperation marathoning schedule as soon as I finish :-)

I love audiobooks when it's the author who reads them! This one... so far, so good!

I expected something else. Not just a list of all the guys he ever had sex with.
The 34 first % were enough for me, I don't need more.
//
#review #bookworm #lgbtqiabooks #lgbtqia #read #book #bookish #pridemonth

A great #audiobook, narrated with emotion by the author, about his life as a social justice activist in San Francisco and beyond. Even though this is a memoir, there's a lot of information about gay history in the US, dating from before the era of AIDS and right up to present day marriage equality. Harvey Milk, gay liberation marches, telephone tree mobilization, the AIDS quilt: Jones was in the thick of it. ❤️💛💚💙💜#LGBTQ

We bought probably every album released by Olivia Records, a women-owned recording label that would later be transformed into a women-only cruise company. Who could resist songs with lyrics like: Here come the leaping lesbians?

Goodbye Slovakia. A new audiobook is ready for the next leg of my trip.

This book was pretty good. Not quite what I expected but it was ok. I guess I expected more about the movement. I absolutely respect what he has done for gay rights and do think the book is a worthy read.

No words for how much this man's leadership has meant to me, specifically his HIV/AIDS activism. The AIDS Quilt was his method of bringing middle America/ "grannies" into the fight. He talked about the battles won were specifically because they sought to win "hearts and minds" by coming out in front of "people who would spit on us" in an effort to win even one in a crowd. Also he will never retire- he wants to drop dead "at a fucking riot". Icon!

Onto the next activism book!

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots." - Marcus Garvey

It is time to know my origin, my history, my culture.

#queer #queerculture #queerhistory #lgbtq

I just saw the schedule from the Bay Area Book Festival and am beside myself with excitement! So many panels I want to hear and I really want Cleve to sign my book. He is a hero of mine for all his activism in SF. ❤️✊🏻 Any one else thinking of coming?

This afternoon we (my partner and I) watched the entire miniseries of When We Rise. And I made progress on the socks I'm knitting. But the miniseries. It was exactly what I needed, something inspirational especially now. All the hate and divisiveness and separating back into us-es and thems, I don't like it. And I think that's exactly the message to take from the series: one struggle, one fight.

Starting this today!! #nonfiction #lgbt #lgbtbooks #memoir

The most powerful paragraph so far.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ so informative, but still so human. The author interweaves historic chronicling with personal experience to great effect. A powerful history of the movement for equal rights.

It's not often I will say I think a memoir should be longer, but that is the case here. I loved reading about the Castro in the 70's, was heartbroken by the destruction cause by AIDS in the 80s (and beyond). While the book was heavy on the activism, I would have liked more, and actually more detail. Overall though, I recommend it.

WTAF? 😠

Why am I only hearing about this now? After reading this, I did a bit of research and it appears the FF have never come out and said they no longer believe these claims. It wasn't just Nate, the entire band played a AIDS denial benefit.

About 20% in, on recommendation from a friend of mine. Very informative and insightful, at least for a cis hetero white female.

I got it in my head that I wasn't going to read my copy of Cleve Jones' book until I had watched the mini series. Well, I just finished blubbering my way through the show and am now ready to read (after I wash my face. Damn face rain.) 🖤🏳️‍🌈

More #BookMail! 📬🎉

This is the memoir written by Cleve Jones, a prominent LGBT activist, that is the basis for the new documentary series on ABC. The tv series is phenomenal and very intersectional so far, and I'm really looking forward to reading his social justice memoir to learn about his life and activism in this own words. #OverThis #ReadRiseResist

Amazing and inspiring! Cleve Jones is one of my biggest heroes, along with Harvey Milk. Highly recommended, and I can't wait for the miniseries coming to ABC next week! I give this one about 10 stars out of 5!

#LitsyAtoZ #LetterW

I'm glad I did not bail on this book. The 2nd half really took off in terms of the political analysis, historical background on AIDS and Prop 8 info. But, I needed more. My uncle died in the 90s after a battle with AIDS. At the time, he left Puerto Rico and arrived on US soil for a better chance of living as a gay man. That proved difficult. He left all he had to his partner, but the lawyer refused to recognized that and so did his mother. 👇🏼

Is anyone else finding it hard to stay focused on a book with so much going on in the world?

I'm just... I don't know...

One of a group of books I just received from Ups.Rainy day again in not sunny Southern California.What a nice group of book..When we Rise seems perfect for our world today.Thanks to all publishers 😀

Cleve Jones provides a history lesson on the gay rights movement.From the early 70's to 2015, his participation in significant events is astounding. From working with Harvey Milk to creating the concept of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, from feeling alone to seeing the White House lit in rainbow colors, he reminded me of just how far we have come.(He could have spent less time talking about all his boyfriends, but he stops doing that in the 2nd half.😁)

"We will say yes to truth, yes to beauty, yes to love. And we still say no to your deceits, no to your cruelty, no to your hatred.
You will not continue, we will not permit it. We know that it is our lives that are at stake. We know that you are our enemy.
We will count the days, and we will bring you down"

Jones speaking about George Bush as he unfolded the AIDS Quilt on the grounds of the Washington Monument. This may be my new rallying cry.

I love my small town librarian. She knows how to make me gasp with delight.

this really is a beautiful read.

at first it was a little slow. the first 80 pages are mostly name dropping and an homage to the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll of gay liberation. but then the narrative switches to a history of political engagement in California. Cleve travels all over and works with so many important figures in California and national politics on the fight for marriage equality & workers rights. I cried a lot.

I'm not crying, you're crying. This was SO good, and relevant, and has given me a lot to digest (as I'm sure you all can tell, from all my posting about it). Yes, it's a political memoir, and yes, it's a history of one small part of the movement, but what struck me most was that it is also a tribute to the friends and lovers Jones lost to the plague. My heart is both hurting and uplifted. A must read for everyone, I think.

This is the text of a speech Jones gave in November of 1979, at a vigil/memorial to mark the first anniversary of the assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone. Yes, our movement has come a long way. But this could just as easily be a speech written today, and that makes me sad and angry.

Seeing a lot of familiar names pop up here; it's been a long time since I read Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On, but it's not surprising that the early core of AIDS activists rose out of the No on 6 campaign. It sometimes feels like our history and activism is divided into pre- and post-AIDS, but really, without the groundwork of fighting the Briggs Initiative and Anita Bryant, there wouldn't have been a community in place to fight AIDS.

Sorry, not sorry for live blogging this book. I expected good stories, I expected politics. I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of sociology and theory in these pages, and how relevant all of this discussion is.

In some of my social justice communities there's an extreme policing of language when it comes to queer folk and how we choose to refer to ourselves. There's a lot I'm loving about this book so far, but one of the main things is that Jones doesn't shy away from using queer, queen, and other terms. I'm sure some people will take offense, but I'm not!

Whoo hoo, reading and knitting. Setting all my other books aside because I need to read this book. I also need to get moving on the holiday knitting.

TBR Tuesday: so excited for both of these, but especially Cleve Jones' book. He was an activist with Harvey Milk in SAN Francisco in the '70's and was the founder of the AIDS quilt, and he's still here despite decades being HIV+.