Today's Out Spotlight is a historian, a playwright, an LGBT activist and the founder of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School. He is an acclaimed author of more than 20 books. Today's Out Spotlight is Martin Duberman. Martin Duberman was born in New York City, August 6, 1930. He graduated with honors from Yale and received his Ph.D. in American history from Harvard. In 1961, he won the prestigious Bancroft Prize in American history, and was subsequently named a full professor at Princeton. In 1971, he left Princeton and joined the faculty at CUNY as a Distinguished Professor of History.
Duberman recounts questioning his sexuality in his 30s. He sought therapy to be “cured.” When he accepted his sexual orientation, he began exploring gay activism. He challenged homophobia in academia and society. When he came out in the early ’70s, he was one of the few openly gay academics.
A renowned essayist and playwright, Duberman is known for literature on African-American history and abolitionism, and for his biography of Paul Robeson. Critics have described his work as “refreshing and inspiring” (The New York Times) and “magnificent” (USA Today). He co-edited and contributed to the anthology “Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past,” a standard reference in the field of LGBT studies. He has written more than twenty books, Charles Francis Adams, Sr. (Bancroft Prize winner), Stonewall, a biography of Howard Zinn and the memoir Cures: A Gay Man's Odyssey. 
His biography “James Russell Lowell” was a finalist for the 1966 National Book Award.
Duberman wrote plays that deal with gender issues and the construction of male identity. In 1963, his play “In White America” won the Vernon Rice/Drama Desk Award for Best Off-Broadway Production.He also won two Lambda awards for Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past, an anthology he co-edited; and a special award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his "contributions to literature."
In 1991, Duberman founded CUNY’s Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) to further LGBT scholarship and curriculum. CLAGS, one of the first organizations of its kind, hosts conferences and awards research grants.
His most recent publication, “The Martin Duberman Reader,” was published in May 2013. “I’m overwhelmed at the great distance that we have all traveled.”
4 comments:
Lovely what everyone wrote about the Jake fan who passed away suddenly. I don't really follow what happens outside of this site, but I agree with what you said about fandom.
Interesting Spotlight, I've never of him before.
"30 Rock" star Maulik Pancholy has come out in the media for the first time, speaking about his long-term partner in a new interview with Out magazine.
The 39-year-old actor made the magazine's annual "Out 100" list, and told the publication, "I just celebrated my nine-year anniversary with my partner."
He went on to note that his mood was particularly celebratory "on the heels of the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions."
Pancholy, who is currently voicing one of the title characters on the animated Nickelodeon series "Sanjay and Craig," has been the subject of media speculation for some time. In 2012, Out magazine's Jerry Portwood identified Pancholy, who has played gay characters on "Weeds" and "Whitney," as an "out actor," but the 2013 interview marks the first time he's spoken about it publicly.
Pancholy's declaration follows that of fellow "30 Rock" veterans Cheyenne Jackson and Tituss Burgess, who played sassy hairdresser D'Fwan, both of whom are openly gay.
Nice to see someone else come out. It seemed like we kind of got a flurry of people coming out, and then it kind of stopped.
A lot of really wonderful things happening over the last few years sadly none from Jake and Austin when it comes to the lgbt community.
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