Josh Howard talks about his documentary The Lavender Scare. (6/7/19)
With the United States gripped in the panic of the 1950s Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deemed homosexuals to be “security risks” and vowed to rid the federal government of all employees discovered to be gay or lesbian. Over the next four decades, tens of thousands of government workers would lose their jobs for no reason other than their sexual orientation. But the mass firings had an unintended effect—they stirred outrage in the gay community, helped ignite the gay rights movement and thrust an unlikely hero into the forefront of the LGBTQ fight for equality. Partly based on the award-winning book by historian David K. Johnson, Emmy Award-winning director Josh Howard’s documentary “The Lavender Scare” covers a little-known chapter of American history and is a timely reminder of the need for vigilance and social action when civil liberties are under attack. Join us for a discussion of “The Lavender Scare” and the events that inspired it, in this edition of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.