Review of the Lavender Scare Book 

 

Topics on the Page

 

Summary of the Lavender Scare

 

Primary Sources

 

Multimedia Resources

 

Frank Kamney and Barbara Gittings, Gay Rights Activists

 

 

 U.S. History Cross-Links

 

• AP U.S. History Key Concept 8.1: The US and the Cold War

 

• Anticommunism and McCarthyism

 

• LGBTQIA Civil Rights Movement

 

• Harvey Milk, Gay Civil Rights Leader

 

What is McCarthyism? And How Did It Happen?

 

 

Event Summary

 

Commonly referred to as the fraternal twin of the Cold-War era Red Scare, the Lavender Scare was arguably more vicious and impactful.

 

• Targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community, widespread homophobia in the U.S. government led to the firing of thousands of state department employees and an overall intolerance for non-heterosexual people in the workforce.

 

• Through documented evidence of employment discrimination a well as rhetoric across media channels, we can see that homophobia was fed by the anxiety surrounding the Cold War, and that LGBTQ+ people have faced stigmas, harassment, and institutionalized discrimination throughout US history.

 

• Lavender Scare: U.S. Fired 5,000 Gays in 1953 Witch Hunt from ABC News (March 5, 2012) 

 

 Executive Order 10450: Security Requirements for Government Employment (April 27, 1953)

 

 

The Lavender Scare: The History You Didn't Learn

 

• I included this Youtube video about the Lavender Scare, which is when people were fired for being a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I included this because it is a very interesting video that tells personal stories from people who lived during the Lavender Scare. Because of this, I think it would be really engaging for students to watch. I also think it is important to include this resource because many people might not associate McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare with the LGBTQ+ community. This is a more unknown history that does not get told enough, so this video would be very educational for students (Jenna Boyer, April 2022). 

 

 

For an overview of the Lavender Scare, link to this Wikipedia Page.

 

The Lavender Scare from the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

 

The Lavender Scare: Gay and Lesbian Life in Post- WWII America

 

 

  Kicked Out of the Air Force for Being Gay, Helen Grace James Wins Honorable Discharge, NPR (January 20, 2018)

 

Paper published in Western Illinois Historical Review on the Persecution of Lesbianism during the Cold War

 

Sketchnote by Isabella Koutsantanou (April 2020)

 

 

 Primary Sources

 

For more background, go to this Lavender Scare article from the National Archives that includes primary sources and photographs.

 

For a Government Analysis of the Lavender Scare and the reasons behind it click here.

 

Employment of Homosexuals and other Sex Perverts in Government, 1950

 

 

 

Documented Evidence of Employment Discrimination & Its Effect on LGBT People, University of California School of Law (July 2011)

 

 

Transcript of Congressional Record from House of Representatives, 1950

 

 

1960s CBS Documentary Clip "The Homosexuals" from Mike Wallace that gives an idea of the general public opinion of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly gay men.

 

State Department Apologizes for the Lavender Scare: In January 2017, outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry issued a formal apology to the LGBTQ+ community for decades of discrimination from the State Department

  Multimedia Resources

 

Lavender Scare Film Trailer

 

The Lavender Scare Videos on Vimeo

 

See also The 60th Anniversary of the Lavender Scare from Human Rights Campaign

 

 

The Second Red Scare's Fraternal Twin, Book Review of The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government, David K. Johnson (University of Chicago Press)

 

• Summary of the book from OutHistory

 

• An interview transcript with David K. Johnson, author of The Lavender Scare

 

 

Frank Kamney, and Barbara Gittings, Gay Rights Activists

 

Frank Kamney, 2010

 Frank Kamney

 

 

Frank Kameny: Gay Rights Pioneer Who Took on the U.S. Government from Independent (October 23, 2011)

 

 

 

• For a full autobiographical interview with Frank Kameny watch this video.

 

• Video about the Lavender Scare, highlighting the work of Frank Kameny from CBS News. 

 

 

Frank Kamney from LGBT History month

 

Franklin Kamney, Gay Rights Pioneer, Dies at 86, New York Times, October 12, 2011

 

 

Frank Kamney, Fought to End Discrimination in the Federal Workforce, to be Honored with Induction in Labor Hall of Fame from the United States Department of Labor

 

 

Artifact Walls: Frank Kamney, National Museum of American History.

 

 

See also Remembering Frank Kamney: Civil Rights Pioneer also from National Museum of American History

 

Excerpts from an Interview with Frank Kameny discussing his life and work

 

 

 Barbara Gittings

 

Barbara Gittings (2006)

 

 

 

 

 

Barbara Gittings Canva Poster by Tyler Volpe-Knock (March 2020)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Biography

  

Obituary. Barbara Gittings, 74, Prominent Gay Rights Activist since '50s, Dies, New York Times, May 15, 2007

 

Barbara Gittings from LGBT History Month

 

 Barbara Gittings Lesson Plans from the Legacy Project 

 

 

 

 

Today

 

The Long Road to Marriage Equality, a New York Times opinion piece that gives an overview of the history of LGBTQ+ rights in the United States, and discusses the Lavender Scare