spotlight


DUSTIN LANCE BLACK FOUNDATIONS IN LGBT HISTORY


by joel martens Question: How many of you have seen an accurate representation of what


the early days of the LGBT movement looked like? If your answer is something like “Very few,” you wouldn’t be alone in that assessment. Precious


little is available to illustrating the full scale of what we have accomplished and for that matter have endured, to get us to where we are today. Moments exist in film, television and other mediums offering snapshots, but few illustrate the full experience or show the arduous timeline signifying the full power and strength of the LGBT movement. Proud portrayals of the men and women who stood on the front lines, waging what could only be called at times...Social warfare.


As a child of the ‘60s, like many, I became familiar with protest and what social change looked like as it occurred. Though the Civil Rights Movement was distant to me personally, it became newly familiar through television and other mediums such as Life magazine, which brought the terrifying experiences of those fighting for equality so vividly into our homes. Anti-war marches and the battlefield horrors that fueled them became all too clear—because we watched what was happen- ing in black and white—the course of those events changed because of it. Feminism and the women’s movement touched many of us too, bringing changes for our mothers, aunts and cousins, as they learned to live without fear...And in turn, demanded their share of equality’s pie. Moments like these offered hope to those of us on


the fringe and indeed in many ways, our first forays out of the closet were fueled by their fearlessness. Their courage helped to spurn the beginnings of and eventual rise of the LGBT movement. History repeating itself, though this time the doors being forced open, were ours. Perspective is another luxury that time offers and


we now have the capability of turning our gaze back to assess, offering a chance for us to impart what we have learned. Accurate representations of those experiences, in all arenas, including film, televi- sion, literature and the arts, are vital parts of being able to do this effectively. Thankfully, that task has begun. And, we are about to add another powerful piece to that proud lexicon. When We Rise is an homage to those early LGBT stirrings and carries with it the hopes, joys, pain and


30 RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2017


suffering involved with the wins and setbacks great social change brings. It’s a beautiful beginning on a majestic journey and oddly timely for what we face today. We have Dustin Lance Black and those who worked with him to support this epic, multi-part series to ABC.When We Rise in part, tells the story of who we were, who we have become and how we got to where we are today. Black took some time to explain:


What made you decide to take onWhen We Rise? It started about four years ago, when I heard


that ABC was starting to option LGBT history properties. I was surprised by the rumor and asked my agent to connect me with the network to see if it was true…And indeed it was. They were interested in an LGBT-themed project, so I stepped in and asked if they would give me a little time to do research. It felt like a massive opportunity to tell some of our stories, directly to the folks who need to hear it the most. I’m talking about folks like my own family; folks from the South and from conservative backgrounds who all too often don’t know us. This felt like an opportunity to not only “Preach to the choir,” which I hope it still does, but to also offer it to those who might not know anything about our history. That’s what is so significant aboutWhen We Rise as a network mini-series. The material is powerful of course, but it has also ended up being incred- ibly timely. For sure. I started meeting people in New York


first and then I found that so many of the activists I met there had spent their youth in San Francisco.


Then I went to S.F. because I knew that I wanted to start right around Stonewall. I ended up starting just after, for many reasons and when I went to start my research, I of course called Cleve [Jones] and said “Here are the people I know I want to meet and I’m sure you have another list of people that I should meet” and he started making those introductions. Jones was involved from the beginning and integral to the LGBT movement. Did you intend to include him as a character from the start? I did not initially know if I would, since I had depicted him in a supporting role for Milk. But, I came to realize how important an activist he has been and still is. Most activists have a life-span of three to five years before they move on, because it is such tough work. The fact that Cleve survived the plague and has continued to fight on the other side of it, is unique. It became clear that he would become one of a handful of stories that I wanted to tell. But, I also wanted it to be far more diverse than Milk was and certainly more representative of the entire movement. It needed to include all the LGB and T: Black, brown and white, with men, women and trans people being depicted.


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