SAGE Blog

On the 60th Anniversary of The Lavender Scare, Don’t Forget About LGBT Employment Discrimination

Today SAGE is pleased to present a guest post from Josh Howard, director of the upcoming film The Lavender Scare, described as "a bold new documentary film that shines a light on this topic… and one of the biggest witch hunts ever." Here, he tells you a bit about the film, which highlights a little-known part of American history, and ways you can get involved with making sure more people see it. 

Did you know that this year marks the 60th anniversary of a witch hunt against gays and lesbians that was as aggressive and vicious as any in modern American history?

Some SAGE members may have experienced this travesty firsthand and remember it all too well.  Others may have friends and family who were impacted.  Called The Lavender Scare, this appalling act was launched 60 years ago this month by the federal government and still reverberates in ongoing employment discrimination today. 

Please join The Lavender Scare Kickstarter Campaign and help us finish a documentary that exposes this shameful, decades-long witch hunt of gays and lesbians in federal jobs.  Not many people know the story, which is outlined in my film trailer.

How an Old Lesbian Learned New Tricks

This is a guest post by Pam Chamberlain, former educator and producer of an independent documentary film  based on a Boston LGBTQ youth theater troupe.

When I retired last spring from a career in education and research, I wondered what effect the transition would have on my identity. I was joining the first big wave of LGBT baby boomer retirees. What did that mean? Would I feel liberated, at loose ends or useless? Little did I know that my ideas about identity would be challenged in such fundamental, and intellectually curious, ways by a new generation of queer activists.

Sharing Your Story Through Video

This post is brought to you by Christina DaCosta, Online Media Manager for SAGE. Christina will be teaching a 4-week course titled “Sharing Your Story Through Video” for LGBT older adults in the NYC area, as part of SAGE Story. SAGE Story is a national digital storytelling program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. The purpose of our program is to strengthen the storytelling skills—and draw on the unique life experiences—of LGBT elders to diversify the public narratives on aging, long-term care and LGBT rights.

Video storytelling has become a powerful tool for nonprofits, the largest for-profit corporations in the world, and everyday people. Why? Because stories have power. From Greek mythology to fairy tales, to campfire ghost-stories, people love to tell and hear stories. Nowadays, videos, and the ease of creating and posting videos online, are the modern-day equivalent of storytelling. The rise of affordable smartphones, tablets and webcams has led to more and more individuals and companies uploading their own content to the web to tell their story—and you can, too!

Reports show that 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. You read that right, every minute! With that staggering fact, you may wonder if your story is important enough to share, and I’m here to tell you, IT IS.

As a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) older person, the story of just one experience out of the many in your life can create a ripple effect! You could help change a Senator’s mind on the Older Americans Act; you could give a young lesbian girl hope; you could create respect in a work environment; you could inspire someone to volunteer—and so much more.