Timothy Stewart-Winter
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timothysw.bsky.social
Timothy Stewart-Winter
@timothysw.bsky.social
340 followers 250 following 1 posts
Queer historian and professor
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timothysw.bsky.social
I got to the opera late and missed this. Is there video anywhere?
September 22, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Timothy Stewart-Winter
maggiewittlin.bsky.social
Allow me to tout my friend @timothysw.bsky.social’s book, “Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics”! www.pennpress.org/978081222406...
Queer Clout – Penn Press
In postwar America, the path to political power for gays and lesbians led through city hall. By the late 1980s, politicians and elected officials, who had or...
www.pennpress.org
August 25, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Timothy Stewart-Winter
tonycoppoletta.com
I know the talk here is about other stuff today, but I've been meaning to write more about my passions. HUGE credit to my dear friend, @timothysw.bsky.social, an Assoc. Prof. of History at Rutgers, who wrote "Queer Clout: Chicago and the Rise of Gay Politics", for his help on the historical notes.
July 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Reposted by Timothy Stewart-Winter
tonycoppoletta.com
This year I wanted to do more. I consulted with a historian and educator friend to come up with some history notes—just 3 cards to be added to the set, including one covering an aspect of Black, queer, Chicago history. It is on the Red Line, after all and I want to make sure more are represented.
A history card from the CTA pride train reads: Historical notes Finding community across the city Some of Chicago’s earliest queer community formed around the bohemian Towertown area (near Water Tower), the downtown Levee district and at South Side drag balls and cabarets. Notably, Finnie’s Halloween Ball, a legendary multiracial drag competition, began in the 1930s on the South Side and thrived for decades, gaining wide attention through publications who wrote about the event, such as Ebony. While North Side neighborhoods like Lakeview and Andersonville are now prominent LGBTQ+ hubs, people have connected and shared culture, art and ideas across the city. (Then, a pull-quote from Ebony Magazine reads:) “More than 1,500 spectators milled around outside Chicago’s Pershing Ballroom to get a glimpse of the bejeweled impersonators who arrived in limousines, taxis, Fords and even by streetcar.” –Ebony, 1953, regarding a Finnie’s Halloween Ball in transit-friendly Woodlawn A history card from the CTA pride train reads: Historical notes Finding community across the city Nationwide, LGBTQ+ individuals faced widespread scrutiny, harassment, discrimination and even raids on social spaces. New York's Stonewall uprising in 1969 became a flashpoint that ignited a national era of activism and was emblematic of the struggles the community faced across the country. Chicago has a strong activist tradition. Notably, it was home to America’s first gay rights organization, The Society for Human Rights, founded by Henry Gerber in 1924, but it was at the turn of the 1970s where a critical mass of activism for liberation gelled. Groups like Chicago Gay Liberation (which included Women's and Black caucuses) formed and worked with other groups like Mattachine Midwest and countless others, and the city's first Pride march occurred in 1970. A history card from the CTA pride train reads: Historical notes Chicago’s First Pride One year after the Stonewall uprising in New York, Chicago's first Pride event began 1970 and with a 150-200 person rally at Bughouse Square, known for public debate, followed by a march to the Civic Center (Daley Plaza). Within a few years, it had grown into to an annual event attended by thousands marching for freedom. Reflecting significant progress, the modern Pride Parade is a large celebration, widely supported by the city, elected officials and, of course, friends, family and allies of the diverse LGBTQ+ community and has become one of Chicago’s most attended annual events. We’re proud to welcome you aboard–no matter who you are, who you love, how you identify or where you’re from. When we say “All aboard,” we mean all!
July 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM