Eric Cervini, Historian
On February 2, 2021, Pete Buttigieg became the first openly gay man to win Senate confirmation to run a Cabinet department. This historic appointment has its roots in an extraordinary moment in 1957 when Frank Kameny, a young astronomer, decided to stand his ground when the federal government dismissed him from his job for being gay.
Join Washington History managing editor Jane F. Levey and historian Eric Cervini, author of The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America for a conversation about Kameny’s legacy. Levey and Cervini will discuss how Kameny’s battle to decriminalize homosexuality fundamentally changed Washington and the world. Kameny spent five decades here as a civil rights activist and politician, including serving on Mayor Walter Washington’s inaugural Commission on Human Rights soon after DC gained Home Rule. As Cervini’s research in the extensive Frank Kameny Papers at the Library of Congress revealed, Kameny (1925-2011) developed what would become known as Gay Pride inspired by the legacy and tactics of the Black Freedom movement.
This talk is the first in a planned series discussing DC history books of distinction, led by editors of Washington History. It is also part of the DC History Center’s Context for Today series of online conversations with thoughtful and thought-provoking historians.
**Registrants can also purchase The Deviant’s War at checkout!**
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