About Out in Central Pennsylvania

Outside of major metropolitan areas, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights has had its own unique and rich history – one that is quite different from the national narrative set in New York and California. Out in Central Pennsylvania highlights one facet of this lesser-known but equally important story, immersing readers in the LGBTQ+ community building and social networking that has taken place in the small cities and towns in the heart of Pennsylvania from the 1960s to the present day. Drawing from oral histories and the archives of the LGBT Center of Central PA History Project, this book recounts the innovative ways that LGBTQ+ central Pennsylvanians organized to demand civil rights and to improve their quality of life in a region that often rejected them.

The narrative includes profiles of some of the leaders and heroes of the local movement, with much of the content in their own words based on their oral history interviews. The text is supported by 86 historical photos and other images of historical documents and artifacts. Full of compelling stories of individuals seeking community and grappling with inequity, harassment, and discrimination, and featuring a distinctive trove of historical photographs, Out in Central Pennsylvania is a local story with national implications. It brings rural and small-town queer life out into the open and explores how LGBTQ+ identity and social advocacy networks can form outside of a large urban environment.

The book includes a Foreword by Dr. Brent D. Glass, director emeritus of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Previous to that position, he served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

What reviewers are saying about Out in Central Pennsylvania

“Just received and read your (book) Out in Central Pennsylvania and it had me in tears. Not only do I remember and have worked with many of the brave souls you cover in the book, many of them are heroes. And I am absolutely thrilled how you recall my political hero and mentor (Governor) Milton Shapp. He deserves the time you took to explain how revolutionary and brave he was and it came across better than any other written account of that time or since. What a great read!” – Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News and author of And Then I Danced

“A rich, astonishing account of individuals who braved all to create a place for themselves, for their friends and lovers, and for the generations that have reaped what they sowed.” – Christopher Bollen, author of A Beautiful Crime

"Because there are no national liberation movements without regional activists, Burton and Loveland's book is a necessary contribution to LGBTQ studies; their work provides detailed narratives about community leaders in central Pennsylvania who fought for social and political change in our region and state." – Mary Foltz, Ph.D., Co-Director of the South Side Initiative and Associate Professor, English Department, Lehigh University

“An expertly researched and compelling story of local activism told by the men and women who built community and political consciousness in the decades after Stonewall.” – James Polchin, author of Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall 

"Although the people Burton and Loveland write about don’t live in big cities and are largely unknown to the general public, their lives — and accomplishments — are noteworthy. As the authors put it, 'With no laws to protect them, no distinct LGBTQ neighborhoods in which to live, and no centralized space to congregate, they collaborated to find inventive ways to form social networks and organizations, fight successfully for civil rights protections, and build a dynamic community.'” - Ray Simon, Philadelphia Gay News