Welcome to Litsy!

How 500 years of queer presidents, cross-dressing soldiers, gender outlaws, and rebel dykes have shaped our country, culture, and history as we know it. Illuminating and accessible, this new edition invites middle-grade and young adult readers to find their place in the queer liberation movement of the past, present, and future. Through engrossing narratives, letters, drawings, poems, and other supplementary materials, historian and award-winning author Michael Bronski tells the stories of Thomas Morton, who celebrated same-sex love as early as 1620, Gladys Bentley, a black blues singer who challenged cross-dressing laws in 1920s Harlem, and Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s close friend, civil rights organizer, and pioneer in the gay rights movement, Jamie Nabozny, a teen who brought national attention to the issue of LGBTQ bullying by bringing his case to the Supreme Court in the 1980s, and many more. Including 30 illustrations and photos, a glossary, and a timeline of events, Bronski shows that LGBTQ people have always been a part of our national identity.