Pioneers of the Modern LGBTQ+ Movement

About Fearless

Fearless is an MSNBC original video series created in collaboration with the It Gets Better Project and ONE Archives. The series discusses the context in which early LGBTQ+ activists struggled and thrived, and how they fought (and won) against overwhelming challenges like transphobia in the legal system, police raids on queer nightlife establishments, religious discrimination, and so much more.

• Type: Video Series
• Genre: Documentary
• Length: 9 episodes, between 4-7 minutes each
• Available On: YouTube

About the EduGuide

The official EduGuide for Fearless is available to download for free by clicking the large white button above. It will walk you through each video in the series and provide you with discussion questions that ask you to think critically about the stories you watch. It’s intended for young adults (YA) ages 14+, or those already in late middle or high school. You can follow this guide on your own, with your fellow GSA members, during family night, or in a classroom. You can watch and discuss one video at a time, or even watch the entire series in one sitting. The options are limitless. 

The Video Episodes

There are nine episodes in the Fearless series. Each episode features a single pioneer/trailblazer form the 20th century LGBTQ+ activist movement, including:

Episode #1 – Reverend Troy Perry

Reverend Troy Perry
Founder of the Metropolitan Community Church

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. At the beginning of the video, Reverend Perry said: “I knew I was a Christian again, and I knew that I was gay… and that I could be both.” How did he embrace these two identities? How do you bring together your own differing identities?
2. Reverend Perry realized his mission to create a church with special outreach to the LGBTQ+ community that is open to everybody. How can you make a community you belong to more open to the LGBTQ+ community or other groups?
3. Reverend Perry thinks it’s important for young people to learn about LGBTQ+ history. At one point in the video, he advised that we should all use books and the Internet to search for “the other side of the story.” What do you think he means by that? Have you enjoyed any educational media about the LGBTQ+ community that you can recommend?
4. Reverend Perry is one of the co-founders of the “Oldest Gay Pride Parade in the World,” which started on June 28, 1970 at Christopher Street West in Los Angeles. Either from personal experience or from what you’ve seen in the media, how have Pride protests, marches, and celebrations changed through the years?

Episode #2 – Malcolm Boyd

Malcolm Boyd
Gay rights pioneer, best-selling author, and priest

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. When talking about Los Angeles, Boyd says, “We were all treading this dangerous territory all the time. You couldn’t forget it and you couldn’t forget to play a role. You were on stage.” What do you think he meant by that? Do you feel like there are roles that society, your family, your friends, etc. expect you to play?
2. What do you think: is “taking a stand” for something, similar to how Boyd did, a necessary part of a “fulfilled” life? Why or why not?
3. Boyd says, “I wanted more meaning in my life. I wanted more depth. I didn’t want to be just another success story.” What did that lead Boyd to do?  What does success mean to you?
4. What do you think of Boyd’s advice in the second half of the video on getting a sense of humor? How do you use humor to deal with struggles in your own life? If not humor, what do you turn to to help you with your struggles?

Episode #3 – Jewel Thais-Williams

Jewel Thais-Williams
Owner of the former Catch One nightclub, the longest running bar for Black LGBTQ+ patrons in Los Angeles

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Thais-Williams said that The Catch One disco club was a haven for her as she faced the “same thing” as many of the club’s queer patrons. What “same thing” is she talking about?
2. Thais-Williams said there was one “blessing” that came out of the AIDS crisis. What was this blessing? What makes this blessing bittersweet?
3. The Catch One disco club was a safe space for a lot of queer people, particularly queer people of color. What specifically makes somewhere a safe space for you? Where are the safe spaces in your school or your community?
4. What did Thais-Williams mean when she said, “practice, practice, practice”?

Episode #4 – Alan Bell

Alan Bell
Editor of BLK, a monthly publication for the African-American LGBTQ+ community that ran from 1988 to 1994

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Since the onset of the AIDS crisis, the LGBTQ+ community has sought out innovative ways to stall its progress.  How was combining a sex club with safe sex workshops a “practical version of addressing the AIDS crisis,” as Bell suggested?
2. BLK was the first magazine to run a cover story that featured the best companies for Black gays and lesbians to work for. Why was Bell so proud of this decision? What do you think this action meant for BLK’s readers?
3. Bell said, “I suspect that young Black gay and lesbians who feel oppressed [today] probably feel oppressed in similar ways to how they did when I was growing up.” What examples of oppression do many young Black people face today? What examples of oppression do many young LGBTQ+ people face today? How might those examples be compounded when someone is both Black and LGBTQ+?
4. Why is it important to collect and share intersectional stories like Alan Bell’s  (i.e. stories that demonstrate the experiences of people with multiple marginalized identities)?  What power do those stories hold?

Episode #5 – Virginia Uribe

Virginia Uribe
Retired Los Angeles teacher and founder of the city’s first dropout prevention program for LGBTQ+ high school students

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In your own words, describe Project 10. Why do you think many LGBTQ+ teachers didn’t want to get involved with the program? What was the importance of non-LGBTQ+ allies for the project?
2. Uribe says that her LGBTQ+ students’ experiences of “finding themselves” were similar to her own. What are some challenges that young people experience in that process? What challenges do you think exist for selfdiscovery as an older adult? 
3. Uribe equates being able to openly self-identify as LGBTQ+ as being “free.” What do you think she means by that? Why do you think coming out can feel so freeing for so many LGBTQ+ people? 
4. Implementing programs that support LGBTQ+ students is one way schools can show create safer and more inclusive spaces for all. Do any such programs or resources exist in your local schools? If so, how could you best support them? If not, how could you help advocate for their implementation?

Episode #6 – Mia Yamamoto

Mia Yamamoto
Criminal defense attorney and transgender rights champion

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. In what way does Yamamoto feel that her experiences earlier in life prepared her for her being a lawyer and out as transgender? Have you had any experiences that have helped you be your most authentic self?
2. Why do you think the judge had such a deeply emotional reaction to Yamamoto’s story? In what ways might have an ally of such stature shaped Yamamoto’s career? 
3. What makes coming out a “constant, ongoing process” for queer people, as Yamamoto says? How might gender, race, socioeconomic status, or other factors influence this process? 
4. Yamamoto feels that the experience of being transgender is different today than it was in the past. In what ways might it be different, easier/ harder, etc.?

Episode #7 – Ivy Bottini

Ivy Bottini
Comedian and early National Organization for Women (NOW) activist

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Bottini started a panel called Is Lesbianism a Feminist Issue?. What kinds of conversations do you think arose on this panel? How do you think LGBTQ+ issues and feminism are connected? How do you think they are different?
2. Why do you think Bottini used comedy to address women’s issues and LGBTQ+ topics? What are some ways you’ve seen comedy used for good? Provide at least one specific example. 
3. Bottini says her comedy was “consciousness-raising.” What do you think that means? What does raised consciousness have to do with LGBTQ+ inclusion?
4. Keeping the video in mind, what does “equality” mean to you? What would a more equitable world look like from your perspective?

Episode #8 – Joey Terrill

Joey Terrill
Los Angeles-based artist and HIV activist

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Terrill and his friends chose to make and wear t-shirts displaying the very slurs that were commonly used against queer people at the time. Those tshirts ended up being a hit among their community. Why do you think that is? What value might people glean from reclaiming words originally intended to hurt them?
2. Terrill mentions that he and the other queer teens around him in the 80s often discussed whether or not they thought of themselves as mentally ill. Why do you think that was such a prevalent topic of conversation for them at the time? 
3. Why do you think Terrill chose to create still-life paintings that included HIV medication? What sort of statement do you think he is trying to make?
4. How important is it for you to see yourself (i.e. the identities and communities you represent) reflected in popular art and media? Do you feel well represented, underrepresented, or over represented in popular art and media today? What might be some of the downfalls of seeing yourself represented in those mediums?

Episode #9 – Carolyn Weathers

Carolyn Weathers
Author, activist, and co-founder of the lesbian-oriented Clothespin Fever Press

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. At the beginning of the video, Weathers says that she always felt compelled by a “deep sense of fairness.” What sort of beliefs compel you to act, to try and make a difference for your community?
2. What kind of impact did Weathers’ sister make on her growing up? What about her sister’s actions made them seem “heroic” in Weathers’ eyes? Who do you see as a hero in your own life?
3. Why was it so important to Weathers and the other protesters that they stop the film screening taking place at the Biltmore Hotel? What was the outcome of that protest? If you were to join a protest (or you have already), which cause would you champion and why?
4. How does Weathers answer the question, “What do you think of the state of affairs for young people today?” In what ways do you agree/disagree with her? How would you describe the state of affairs for LGBTQ+ young people today?