“My People Aren’t from the Isle of Lesbos: Poverty and the Rise of Intersectional Social Movements in Atlanta, 1980-1996”
Friday, April 26, 2019
Steinberg Auditorium, Baker Hall A53
4:30pm - Reception
5-6:30pm - Lecture and Discussion
Dr. Andrew Pope, CAUSE Postdoctoral Fellow 2018-2019
Abstract:
Beginning in the 1980s, black queer activists in Atlanta organized a new type of social movement. They founded organizations that brought together movements for sexual, gender, and racial freedom. These new tactics departed from previous strategies, which had emphasized coalition building around single issues. Black queer activists challenged the rightward tilt of the gay rights movement and mainstream political parties in the 1980s and 1990s. My presentation explores the reasons for the change and its effect on the subsequent activism, including work on the HIV and AIDS epidemic and campaigns opposing the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.
Dr. Andrew Pope is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Africanamerican Urban Studies and the Economy in Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University. He has a B.A. in African American Studies & History from the University of Rochester and an A.M. in History from Harvard University. He studies African American and U.S. history, with a focus on how race, gender, and sexuality affected social movement organizing in the 20th century.