October 2023 MBR The LGBTQ Studies Shelf

The LGBTQ Studies Shelf

Bending Toward Justice
Vic Basile
Querelle Press
https://querellepress.com
9798985034165, $21.00, PB, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bending-Toward-Justice-Leadership-Founding/dp/B0C7JNFQ6J

Synopsis: With the publication of "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership and the Founding of the Human Rights Campaign", Vic Basile (with the assistance of Donna Mosher) deftly chronicles the early years of a movement pressing for equal rights and lifesaving resources for LGBTQ people -- who for centuries had been shunned by the ignorant, reviled by the so-called faithful, and shamed even by their own families.

Vic Basile was one of those who led the Human Rights Campaign through the AIDS epidemic, as it suffers too many lives lost, fights for essential funding for research, education and treatment, confronts ignorance and discrimination, and begins to shift the hearts and minds of Americans about equal treatment.

These unsung heroes of the LGBTQ movement worked unobtrusively and bravely within the system to change the system. Some of them are still here, too many are gone. Every single one of them has a poignant, powerful story that must be told and that never should be forgotten.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, comprehensively informative, impressively 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership and the Founding of the Human Rights Campaign" is a vital and appreciated history of the LGBTQ community struggle for equal rights and recognition politically, culturally, socially, and legally. While also readily available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99), "Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership and the Founding of the Human Rights Campaign" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library LGBTQ History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Vic Basile (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vic_Basile) has enjoyed the rare opportunity and extraordinary privilege of a career of public service and social justice advocacy. A widely recognized national leader in the LGBTQ community, he currently lives in Maryland.

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