Dive into the fiery heart of early gay liberation as Kathy Kozachenko, the first openly gay candidate elected to public office in the U.S., Hiram Ruiz, who organized in the Tallahassee Gay Liberation Front, and Peter Taylor, a leader in the Lexington, Kentucky Gay Liberation Front, trace the movement’s roots beyond the coasts. Early 1970s Gay Liberation. Their stories prove that gay liberation was never confined to New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles—it was taking root in communities across the country.

From underground meetings to brave public declarations, these trailblazers recall the risks, raw emotion, and fierce solidarity that powered the movement and carried queer liberation from the margins to the mainstream.