Age apartheid is widespread in the LGBTQ community, resulting in self-segregation by age and ageism, which hinders the transfer of our history from one generation to the next. An awareness and practice of cross-generational interdependency is an important characteristic of a healthy community.
In a rare dialogue between opposite ends of the age continuum, Dr. Don Kilhefner (age 86) and August Bernadicou (age 30) will explore the Gay Liberation revolution ignited by Stonewall and where a (r)evolutionary spirit exists in young queer imagination and political and cultural activism today.
How are queers oppressed in 2024? What differentiates a liberation movement and a civil rights effort? How can we understand the arc and politics of LGBTQ history over the past 75 years in the U.S.? Does a queer agenda exist and what does it sound like? What is meant by elite capture of the LGBTQ community and how is it impacting our young people? How does community organizing in the 1970s compare to organizing by queers in the current age of social media? What strategies exist for intergenerational collaboration?
“(R)evolution and (D)evolution: A Dialogue between Gay and Queer Generations” will take place at One Gallery in West Hollywood on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 3-4:30 p.m. The presentation will include time to dialogue with the audience.
This program is suitable for all ages.
Panelists
August Bernadicou is the Executive Director of The LGBTQ History Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the lives and legacies of LGBTQ activists from the first wave of gay liberation. Through The LGBTQ History Project, August produces the QueerCore Podcast, hosts LGBTQ history events, and publishes excerpts from his archive online, in newsletters, and on social media. August is the winner of the Troy Perry Media Activism Award (2020) and the Charles Shively Award in Gay Liberation by the William A. Percy Foundation (2023). August is driven by his mission to counteract the erasure of history and provide a platform for individuals seeking to reclaim their legacies, firmly believing that the lessons of the past can pave the way for a better-informed future.
Don Kilhefner is most well known for his work with radical gay movements in the 1970s. He was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front Los Angeles chapter in 1970, one of the most first organizations to bring gay rights to the general public’s attention in the United States. He also was a co-founder of the LA Gay Community Services Center in 1971, which later became the Los Angeles LGBT Center. As a response to what he believed was an assimilationist attitude in the mainstream gay rights movement, he co-founded of the spiritual/countercultural Radical Faeries movement. This loose network explored queer consciousness, one that Kilhefner believed was fundamentally different than that of heterosexuals.
This program is organized by The LGBTQ+ History Project as part of the Circa: Queer Histories Festival 2024, presented by One Institute.
One Gallery is an art gallery and cultural programming space operated by One Institute, the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the country. Located in the heart of West Hollywood, One Gallery is dedicated to hosting archival and contemporary art installations that showcase LGBTQ+ history. Through partnerships with established and emerging community partners, the gallery also serves as a low-cost, multi-purpose space for community meetings, creative workshops, classes, and other mission-aligned programming.