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by R. Richard Wagner (Author)
The first of two groundbreaking volumes on gay history in Wisconsin, We've Been Here All Along provides an illuminating and nuanced picture of Wisconsin's gay history from the reporting on the Oscar Wilde trials of 1895 to the landmark Stonewall Riots of 1969. Throughout these decades, gay Wisconsinites developed identities, created support networks, and found ways to thrive in their communities despite various forms of suppression--from the anti-vice crusades of the early twentieth century to the post-war labeling of homosexuality as an illness to the Lavender Scare of the 1950s.
In We've Been Here All Along, R. Richard Wagner draws on historical research and materials from his own extensive archive to uncover previously hidden stories of gay Wisconsinites. This book honors their legacy and confirms that they have been foundational to the development and evolution of the state since its earliest daysBack Jacket
Spanning the decades of the early twentieth century up to Stonewall, We've Been Here All Along is the first of two groundbreaking volumes on gay history in Wisconsin from R. Richard Wagner.
"We've Been Here All Along is an extraordinary achievement, an impressively wide-ranging narrative, a grand act of rescuing hidden histories from archival obscurity. R. Richard Wagner brings to this work a powerful blend of strengths: his own life experience as a gay man richly engaged in civic life, his intelligent and sensitive insight, and his singular savvy regarding political dynamics. Wagner's detailed portraits of selected individuals in the early and middle twentieth century are fascinating. In complementing these portraits with illuminating accounts of societal attitudes and practices concerning 'sexual deviance, ' he tells a compelling story of Wisconsin life through the lens of its gay citizens' complex circumstances."--Will Fellows, Author of Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest Praise for Volume 2, Coming Out, Moving Forward
"Thank goodness for R. Richard Wagner's careful documentation and historic recounting of the push for LGBT rights in Wisconsin. Otherwise, it would be difficult to comprehend, by today's standards, the depth and breadth of the prejudice. Wisconsin was on the forefront, albeit with fits and starts, of the fight for equal rights, thanks to the tenacity and hard work of people like Wagner. I am proud to have been a chapter in this movement."
--Anthony S. Earl, Governor of Wisconsin, 1983-1987
Author Biography
Scholar and activist Richard Wagner was the first openly gay member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors, where he served for fourteen years. In 1983 he was appointed by Governor Tony Earl to co-chair the Governor's Council on Lesbian and Gay Issues, the first in the nation. In 2005 he joined the Board of Fair Wisconsin to fight the constitutional amendment against marriage equality. Wagner has served on the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Wisconsin Humanities Committee, the Board of Downtown Madison Inc., the Madison Plan Commission, the Madison Urban Design Commission, the Madison Landmarks Commission, Historic Madison, the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, the Board of the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and the Board of the Friends of UW Libraries.
Richard Wagner holds a PhD in American History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
