Books: Beyond Normal - The Birth of Gay Pride

'BEYOND NORMAL: THE BIRTH of GAY PRIDE' is the title of a new book by pioneer gay liberation activist Gale Chester Whittington (pictured right). His memoir chronicles his teenage suicide attempt while living in Denver and then moves on to his pivotal role in the real beginning of the gay liberation movement in the San Francisco in the late 1960s before returning to Denver where he owned Colorado Seed & Pet for nearly 30 years. 

 

About the book, La Gente Unida board secretary and longtime Chicano gay activist Donaciano Martinez says: “Gale and I first met in the mid 1960s at The Mixer, the Denver gay bar that is the focus of one of the book’s many chapters. When Gale left Denver and moved to San Francisco in 1967, he was conservative politically and remained so by the time of our Summer 1968 visit. His job firing in 1969 changed all that. Shortly before he and CHF started their unrelenting street actions, my four-day visit with Gale in April 1969 later made me feel like I had crossed state lines to provide aid and comfort to a new comrade in the broader peace and justice movement that I had been involved in since the mid 1960s here in Colorado.”