Published in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the first Pride Parade, writer and journalist Matthew Todd brings us PRIDE: THE STORY OF THE LGBTQ EQUALITY MOVEMENT (Weldon Owen; May 12; $40.00)– a beautiful, exhaustively researched history of milestones in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality.
The book publishes to a new iteration of Pride Month, one defined by pandemic-related concern and nationwide protest of systemic racism and police brutality. Matthew Todd is explicit in linking the fight for LGBTQ+ equality with any struggle to secure fairness and justice. As he says in his introduction to the book: "If we really want to honour the people who fought at the Stonewall Inn on that unusually hot June night in 1969, then we need to defend those hard-won rights and confront anything that threatens the free and stable societies protecting them. Those who wish to control others or have an interest in the status quo will tell you that protest never achieves anything. I hope this book assures you that protest can achieve a great deal, and that when people act together they have true power – and that sometimes using that power is absolutely necessary."
Matthew Todd brings us a wealth of rare images and documents, accompanied by moving essays from key players and witnesses to the moments that pushed the movement forward. Pride is a unique and comprehensive account of the challenges facing the LGBTQ community, and a celebration of the rights that have been won for many as a result of the sacrifices and passion of this mass movement.
The book Includes personal testimonies from many key figures of the movement, including:
Judy Shepard, activist and mother of Matthew Shepard
Legendary photographer Nan Goldin
Reverend Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church.
Novelist, Playwright, Essayist Darryl Pinckney
Jake Shears of The Scissor Sisters
Activist and Former Pride Award-winner Jonathan Blake
New Zealand politician Georgina Beyer, the world’s first openly transgender Mayor and trans member of Parliament
Deborah Brin, one of the world’s first openly gay Rabbis
And many more!
Matthew Todd was editor of Attitude magazine from 2008 to 2016. His first book, Straight Jacket, was shortlisted for the Polari Prize 2017 and was voted winner of the Boyz LGBT Book of the Year Award. His play, Blowing Whistles, has been performed in the UK, Australia, and the United States. He was named Editor of the Year 2011 and 2015 by the British Society of Magazine Editors and Stonewall Journalist.
