Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties -- A Conversation with John D'Emilio

LGBTQIA Programs & Services and The Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America are proud to invite you to a conversation with John D'Emilio about his most recent book, Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties and a reception before-hand.

Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood is John D’Emilio’s coming-of-age story in which he takes readers from his working-class Bronx neighborhood to an elite Jesuit high school in Manhattan to Columbia University and the political and social upheavals of the late 1960s. He shares the personal experiences of his conservative, tight-knit multigenerational family and describes how he went from considering entering the priesthood to losing his faith and coming to terms with his same-sex desires. Throughout, D’Emilio outlines his complicated relationship with his family while showing how his passion for activism influenced his decision to use the researching and writing of history as a tool for social change.

This is not just John D’Emilio’s personal story; it opens a window into how the conformist baby boom decade of the 1950s transformed into the tumultuous years of radical social movements and widespread protest during the 1960s.

A pioneering figure in the field of LGBTQ history and studies, John D’Emilio is a retired Professor of History and Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the author of many books, including Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, which was a finalist for the National Book Award; Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America; and Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Archives. He was the founding director of the Policy Institute of the National LGBTQ Task Force and served as president of the board of the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives in Chicago.

This program is open to the public with registration, and free for all to attend. Copies of the books will be available at the event.

Reception begins at 5:00pm and the program begins at 6:00pm.

This program will also include ASL interpretation. If you need any accommodations to fully enjoy the presentation, please reach out to LGBTQIA Programs & Services Assistant Director, Zach Parker at zparker@umkc.edu

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