OUTWORDS is the first national effort to capture the stories of LGBTQ pioneers and elders all over America. We’ve just published our first volume of interviews, THE BOOK OF PRIDE, and we’ve launched this platform to make our stories freely available for research, information, and inspiration. We’ll be adding more stories soon so check back often! You can also share your ideas, or make a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts.

PERSONAL STORIES

Karla Jay: "A Cigarette Under Your Chin"

Jim Toy: "How long have you been gay?"

Doc Duhon: "Tattoos on my Hands"

ABilly Hennin-Jones: "On Being Bisexual"

Valda Prout: "In my territory, I'm Valda."

Matt Russell: "A Dialogue with God"

Diana Rivers: "A Long Growing Season"

STRUGGLING FOR INCLUSION

Phyllis Randolph Frye: "Christmas and Easter"

Lani Ka'ahumanu: "I couldn't even say I was bisexual."

Richard Zaldivar: "A Place at the Table"

Mark Segal: "We created a community!"

Jewel Thais-Williams: "Fireman's Style"

Corky Wick: "Radical in the Suburbs"

Rodney Church: "Staying Alive"

Blackberri “I See the Beauty”

DEFIANCE

Trella Ann Laughlin: "I Wanted to Learn to Love"

Gigi Wilbur: "My True Colors"

Juan Manuel Alonso: "You Raised a Faggot"

Diana Nyad: "Reaching the Other Shore"

CHALLENGES AHEAD

James Credle: "We have so far to go."

Marianne Diaz: "Justice doesn't exist."

Martha Shelley: "Lessons from Stonewall"

HOPE

Donna Red Wing: "On Hate and Civility"

Evan Wolfson: "Tension Equals Progress"

Mia Yamamoto: "Liberation Day"

Crystal Little: "No matter what, you're our shipmate."

IN COLLABORATION WITH I'M FROM DRIFTWOOD

Gay Veteran Jim Darby of Chicago

1950s: A Night in Jail

1952: Surviving the Military's Gay Witch Hunts

1963: A Five-Decade Love Story

1990s: Protesting Don't Ask Don't Tell

1990s: Fighting for Inclusion Among Veterans

Trans Pioneer Elizabeth Williams of Philadelphia

"It was real for me and I was OK with it."

Working with John Waters: "What could be better?"

Dealing with doctors: "You're not a suitable candidate."

"No matter who you are, be yourself."

PODCASTS

Love Stories

Fifth-Generation Mormons and Their Gay Son

Growing Up Queer

Coming Out

OUTWORDS TRAILERS

Introducing OUTWORDS (November 2015)

Progress Trailer (Spring 2017)