Newspaper article describing Black laborers’ frustration with the mainstream labor movement and the 1972 formation of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Leonard Matlovich, a U.S. Air Force sergeant, was awarded the Purple Heart for service in Vietnam, but discharged soon after telling his captain he was gay and appearing in uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the words, "I Am a Homosexual" emblazoned next to him. While he may have "settled" in his fight against the Air Force, he was a pioneer in the fight for gay and lesbian rights in the military.
My nana is laughing as she tells me one of her favorite childhood stories. As her cheeks lift into a smile, I can see the teenager who boldly told her teacher that threats to visit Nana’s parents about her behavior are ineffective. “You see,” she said, “they don’t speak any English.”