An in-depth look at the career of President Barack Obama and his views about gay-related issues, starting when he ran for Illinois senate in 1996 and ending mid-way through his term as president. Written by Tracy Baim, publisher of Windy City Times, the book also includes articles and essays by some of the most respected journalists, bloggers and activists in gay media. This book, with 570 pages and 140 images/photos, has extensive coverage, in words and images, of Obama's record on gay and AIDS issues, including detailed quotes from his speeches, photos at gay events, and answers to surveys early in his career. Essayists and writers in the book include Lisa Keen, Kerry Eleveld, Michelangelo Signorile, Phill Wilson, Chuck Colbert, Pam Spaulding, Wayne Besen, and many more.

Obama and the Gays: A Political Marriage

Politics & Social Sciences

Baim, Tracy

Social Sciences

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Both B&W ($24.99) and full-color ($79.99) editions available. A prominent Chicago gay activist and entrepreneur is the subject of an in-depth biography, Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow, by journalists and authors Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen. The book contains more than 300 images, including murals and drawings by Dom “Etienne” Orejudos, posters for International Mr. Leather (IML), and photos from the Gold Coast, Pride Parades, IML contests, physique magazines and more. The book is published by Prairie Avenue Productions, 414 pages, $24.99 black and white (ISBN 1-46109602-2), $79.99 color (1-46111908-1). It is available on Amazon.com. Living as an openly gay man in 1950s Chicago was no easy task. For Chuck Renslow, that was only his first of many bold moves. Just out of high school he began what was to become a six-decade empire, starting more than two dozen businesses in Chicago, as well as a few in other cities. He has owned bars, discos, photo studios, health clubs, bathhouses, gay magazines and newspapers, hotels, restaurants, and bookstores. Throughout it all he dealt with Mafia and police payoffs, anti-gay political policies, harassment from censors, and even controversy within the gay community. In the mid-1950s, after having a portrait and then cheesecake studio, Renslow began experimenting with beefcake photography and began Kris Studio. With his longtime lover, the artist Dom Orejudos aka Etienne and Stephen, at his side, Renslow created Kris Studio a leader in male physique photography, resulting in such magazines as Triumph, Mars and The Rawhide Male, producing thousands of erotic images as well as several films. In 1959 Renslow took over the Gold Coast Show Lounge and transformed it into one of the most lowdown libidinous gay leather bars in the world. With Etienne’s murals adorning the walls, a leather/Western/uniform dress code for patrons, and a dark Pit that featured all sorts of goings-on, the Gold Coast set the standard for raunchy kink and gay sexual liberation. It was the birthplace of motorcycle clubs and sex groups, but above all a place for people to meet, connect, and explore themselves and their sexuality. The Gold Coast was also the birthplace of the first leather contest, which in the span of a few short years evolved beyond the bar’s capacity and became International Mr. Leather in 1979. More than three decades later, it continues to be one of the world’s most popular gay events. Renslow was also one of the pioneers in taking a bathhouse beyond merely the borders of a mere sex club. Man’s Country became something truly unforgettable in the 1970s - a sex-and-entertainment complex with a variety of rooms, shops, and a Music Hall that attracted top names touring in the “K-Y circuit,” from Sally Rand to Wayland Flowers to Rusty Warren and Charles Pierce. Renslow was a dynamic force in Chicago politics under mayors starting with Richard J. Daley, and he ran to be a delegate for Sen. Ted Kennedy’s 1980 presidential run. He danced with another man at a 1977 inaugural ball for Jimmy Carter. Renslow helped protest against unfair policies, fought censorship and entrapment, and battled Anita Bryant. He even served as a field contact for the pioneering work at the Kinsey Institute, as well as performing sexual acts for Kinsey researchers. He knew entertainment celebrities from Marlene Dietrich to Rudolf Nureyev, from Divine to Grace Jones, and from Sylvester to Quentin Crisp. In their heyday Chuck Renslow’s annual White Parties were celebrations beyond compare. When Chicago’s gay community faced the loss of its newspaper, Renslow bailed out and ran GayLife. He also co-founded the Leather Archives & Museum (with Tony DeBlase). Through it all Renslow has also been Daddy of the Family, a unique created group of lovers, tricks, and friends who were bound by sex and oftentimes love and by a goal of providing comfort and support to one another.

Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow

Biographies & Memoirs

Keehnen, Owen

Historical

Leatherman: The Legend of Chuck Renslow (Color): (Deluxe Color Edition)

Available in both black-and-white and color editions. Meet Jim Flint, known to many as Felicia—a truly remarkable man who has done some truly remarkable things. Raised in Peoria, Illinois, Flint was a precocious kid who “shined shoes” for older gentlemen at age 8 and joined the Navy at 17. He was a serviceman with a distinguished record who dreamed of becoming a missionary brother, yet only months later became one of the most popular gay bartenders in Chicago. Before long, he was stopping traffic on Clark Street as a roller-skating, baton-twirling drag queen, eager to garner attention for his now-legendary female impersonation bar, the Baton Show Lounge. Running a gay bar in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s meant placating corrupt police and city inspectors eager for bribes, as well as shadowy, silk-suited Mafiosi. In addition to the Baton, in a few scant years Flint was also running a down-and-dirty leather bar and heading a gay motorcycle club. In the process he became a community leader, eventually even running for the Cook County Board as one of Chicago’s first openly gay candidates for public office. Flint also found the time to lay the foundations for a gay sports league. Flint’s story includes dozens of unforgettable characters such as Baton stars Chilli Pepper, Ginger Grant and Mimi Marks, transgender entertainment legends Alexandra Billings and Candis Cayne, and many others who inhabit the spotlights, the dressing rooms, and the evolving world of female impersonation. Flint is also the founder of the celebrated Continental Pageant System. As a witness to and a pioneer in the formation of the modern LGBT community, Flint has attracted memorable people from all walks of life. Meet Richie, the Baton doorman who hurled insults at the customers, Tillie the Dirty Old Lady, a parade of madcap patrons, battling bartender boyfriends, handsome S&amp;M bikers and club kids, sports stars, celebrities, political bigwigs, and gay-rights activists of all descriptions. Unfortunately, domestic violence, serial killers, and drug addictions were some of the dangers in Flint’s circle, and of course the AIDS epidemic ushered in its own storm of drama and deep tragedy. In the midst of all this is Flint himself: energetic, warmhearted and generous, yet quick-tempered and opinionated, always respectful of his flamboyant, ultraglamorous, often emotionally fragile bevy of supertalented performers. Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria is the colorful story of an amazing man and the LGBT community he helped to shape, as he championed an out-of-the-closet, be-who-you-are lifestyle. Authors Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen unravel the many mysteries of Chicago gay community icon Jim Flint in this provocative new biography.

Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria

Regional U.S.

Available in both black-and-white and color editions. Meet Jim Flint, known to many as Felicia—a truly remarkable man who has done some truly remarkable things. Raised in Peoria, Illinois, Flint was a precocious kid who “shined shoes” for older gentlemen at age 8 and joined the Navy at 17. He was a serviceman with a distinguished record who dreamed of becoming a missionary brother, yet only months later became one of the most popular gay bartenders in Chicago. Before long, he was stopping traffic on Clark Street as a roller-skating, baton-twirling drag queen, eager to garner attention for his now-legendary female impersonation bar, the Baton Show Lounge. Running a gay bar in Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s meant placating corrupt police and city inspectors eager for bribes, as well as shadowy, silk-suited Mafiosi. In addition to the Baton, in a few scant years Flint was also running a down-and-dirty leather bar and heading a gay motorcycle club. In the process he became a community leader, eventually even running for the Cook County Board as one of Chicago’s first openly gay candidates for public office. Flint also found the time to lay the foundations for a gay sports league. Flint’s story includes dozens of unforgettable characters such as Baton stars Chilli Pepper, Ginger Grant and Mimi Marks, transgender entertainment legends Alexandra Billings and Candis Cayne, and many others who inhabit the spotlights, the dressing rooms, and the evolving world of female impersonation. Flint is also the founder of the celebrated Continental Pageant System. As a witness to and a pioneer in the formation of the modern LGBT community, Flint has attracted memorable people from all walks of life. Meet Richie, the Baton doorman who hurled insults at the customers, Tillie the Dirty Old Lady, a parade of madcap patrons, battling bartender boyfriends, handsome S&M bikers and club kids, sports stars, celebrities, political bigwigs, and gay-rights activists of all descriptions. Unfortunately, domestic violence, serial killers, and drug addictions were some of the dangers in Flint’s circle, and of course the AIDS epidemic ushered in its own storm of drama and deep tragedy. In the midst of all this is Flint himself: energetic, warmhearted and generous, yet quick-tempered and opinionated, always respectful of his flamboyant, ultraglamorous, often emotionally fragile bevy of supertalented performers. Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria is the colorful story of an amazing man and the LGBT community he helped to shape, as he championed an out-of-the-closet, be-who-you-are lifestyle. Authors Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen unravel the many mysteries of Chicago gay community icon Jim Flint in this provocative new biography.

Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria (color)

This book provides an overview of the history of LGBT community newspapers and magazines in America. It provides a specific focus on weekly and biweekly newspapers, but also assesses the LGBT state of print media overall. Finalist for the 2013 Lambda Literary Awards; Top 10 selection for the American Library Association Over the Rainbow Project Book List, a committee of the GLBT Round Table of the ALA. The book starts with an in-depth look into the reasons a gay press started in the 1900s--as a response to either absent or anti-gay coverage by the mainstream media. It then explores the early gay media and journalists working in the gay press from the 1950s to the 1980s. The book includes chapters on some of the longer-lasting LGBT newspapers, such as the Washington Blade, Bay Area Reporter and Philadelphia Gay News. There is also an in-depth exploration of advertising and marketing in LGBT media, and a look at the future of queer media in America. Quotes about Gay Press, Press Power: "Tracy Baim’s Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Newspapers in America is a complete treasure for anyone interested in queer history, the intricacies of social movements, or media in the United States. Comprehensive, well written, and well researched, this media journey from homosexual to gay to queer is eye-opening and inspiring. If you thought you knew about this aspect of the gay movement –guess again: You will be endlessly surprised. The bravery of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations here is breathtaking and vital. You can’t understand queer life today without understanding the history of the LGBT media. This book is endlessly entertaining and extremely important." — Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States, Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media, Harvard University. "Gay Press, Gay Power is a meticulous and prodigious work, long overdue. It will be a reference source—but, more importantly, a source of inspiration." — Barbara Ettorre, former reporter for The New York Times, New York Daily News and Chicago Today. Founder and editor, LetterBalm.com. "This meticulously researched book captures the flavor and nuance of a myriad of specific events and times, such as the coverage of LGBT issues in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, through compelling interviews with the people involved, gay and straight, backed up with insightful analysis. Hundreds of images of magazine covers, news clips, photos and ads from the 1800s to today present a comprehensive, stunning visual history of the evolving relationship between the media and the LGBT community. Belongs on everyone’s bookshelf." — Jean Latz Griffin, former Chicago Tribune reporter, author of In the Same Breath and One Spirit: A Creation Story for the 21st Century. "For the past two hundred years no oppositional movement has succeeded without the involvement of an engaged community press. The political successes of the gay liberation movement, and the defeats, were reported in the pages of the lesbian and gay press while the mainstream press ignored or denigrated our efforts. Today, in the age of presidential evolution towards recognition of our humanity, and in the era of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, it is possible to presume that the need for an independent GLBT press is past. But this would be a mistake. As we learned during the AIDS epidemic, when push comes to shove – as it reliably does – there is no substitute for a focused, relentless and smart GLBT press. Tracy Baim has long represented the best of the GLBT press, and this book will be a valuable resource in the struggle not to forget our history as we continue to fight for our future." -- Larry Gross, USC Annenberg School for Communication &amp; Journalism, Author, Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America.

Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America

History

Colbert, Chuck

Harper, Jorjet

Nair, Yasmin

Croix, St. Sukie de la

Chibbaro Jr., Lou

Toce, Sarah

Americas

This book provides an overview of the history of LGBT community newspapers and magazines in America. It provides a specific focus on weekly and biweekly newspapers, but also assesses the LGBT state of print media overall.  The book starts with an in-depth look into the reasons a gay press started in the 1900s--as a response to either absent or anti-gay coverage by the mainstream media. It then explores the early gay media and journalists working in the gay press from the 1950s to the 1980s. The book includes chapters on some of the longer-lasting LGBT newspapers, such as the Washington Blade, Bay Area Reporter and Philadelphia Gay News.  There is also an in-depth exploration of advertising and marketing in LGBT media, and a look at the future of queer media in America.   Quotes about Gay Press, Press Power:   "Tracy Baim’s Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Newspapers in America is a complete treasure for anyone interested in queer history, the intricacies of social movements, or media in the United States. Comprehensive, well written, and well researched, this media journey from homosexual to gay to queer is eye-opening and inspiring. If you thought you knew about this aspect of the gay movement –guess again: You will be endlessly surprised.  The bravery of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations here is breathtaking and vital.  You can’t understand queer life today without understanding the history of the LGBT media. This book is endlessly entertaining and extremely important." — Michael Bronski, author of A Queer History of the United States, Professor of the Practice in Activism and Media, Harvard University.   "Gay Press, Gay Power is a meticulous and prodigious work, long overdue. It will be a reference source—but, more importantly, a source of inspiration." — Barbara Ettorre, former reporter for The New York Times, New York Daily News and Chicago Today. Founder and editor, LetterBalm.com.  "This meticulously researched book captures the flavor and nuance of a myriad of specific events and times, such as the coverage of LGBT issues in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, through compelling interviews with the people involved, gay and straight, backed up with insightful analysis. Hundreds of images of magazine covers, news clips, photos and ads from the 1800s to today present a comprehensive, stunning visual history of the evolving relationship between the media and the LGBT community.  Belongs on everyone’s bookshelf." — Jean Latz Griffin, former Chicago Tribune reporter, author of In the Same Breath and One Spirit: A Creation Story for the 21st Century.  "For the past two hundred years no oppositional movement has succeeded without the involvement of an engaged community press. The political successes of the gay liberation movement, and the defeats, were reported in the pages of the lesbian and gay press while the mainstream press ignored or denigrated our efforts. Today, in the age of presidential evolution towards recognition of our humanity, and in the era of the Internet, Facebook and Twitter, it is possible to presume that the need for an independent GLBT press is past. But this would be a mistake. As we learned during the AIDS epidemic, when push comes to shove – as it reliably does – there is no substitute for a focused, relentless and smart GLBT press. Tracy Baim has long represented the best of the GLBT press, and this book will be a valuable resource in the struggle not to forget our history as we continue to fight for our future." -- Larry Gross, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, Author, Up From Invisibility: Lesbians, Gay Men and the Media in America.  "Gay Press, Gay Power tells the story of the women and men who focused a revolutionary lens on our activism and still grind it every day, brightening the light on the paths of the LGBT generations that succeed us." — John Teets, former editor for the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune.

Gay Press, Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT Community Newspapers in America (COLOR)

White, C. Todd

Rubick, Margaret

Kuda, Marie J.

Vernita Gray lived through some of the country’s most riveting civil-rights dramas, as an African American girl from the South Side of Chicago. She came out as a lesbian soon after attending the 1969 Woodstock concert, where she heard about the uprising at the Stonewall gay bar in New York City. Her fight for lesbian equality, and the rights of the entire LGBTQ community, would be her passion for the remaining decades of her life.    She was also a poet and a writer, a key player in Chicago’s gay liberation movement, and a lesbian separatist during the 1970s. In the 1980s, she opened her own restaurant, Sol Sands, and in the early 1990s, she began an 18-year career with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Along the way, she also managed to have a lot of fun.   Her visits to the White House brought tears to her eyes. She never thought she would see an African-American president, especially from her hometown of Chicago. A few months after attending the Obama selection at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, she attended his inauguration and related parties in D.C. She first went to the White House for a June 2009 Pride reception.   Vernita’s struggle with cancer would soon take a turn for the worse, and in her final years, her passion was used to fight for both at-risk LGBTQ youth as well as marriage equality in Illinois. In this new book by Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen, friends, partners and family share their memories of Vernita. Primarily written before Vernita’s death in March 2014, the book also includes extensive interviews with Vernita, and her own poetry. Vernita loved long and deeply, she worked against racism, sexism and homophobia, and she did it all with a smile, dancing her way to victory on her last lap. Available in color on Kindle and CreateSpace.

Vernita Gray: From Woodstock to the White House

Vernita Gray lived through some of the country’s most riveting civil-rights dramas, as an African American girl from the South Side of Chicago. She came out as a lesbian soon after attending the 1969 Woodstock concert, where she heard about the uprising at the Stonewall gay bar in New York City. Her fight for lesbian equality, and the rights of the entire LGBTQ community, would be her passion for the remaining decades of her life. She was also a poet and a writer, a key player in Chicago’s gay liberation movement, and a lesbian separatist during the 1970s. In the 1980s, she opened her own restaurant, Sol Sands, and in the early 1990s, she began an 18-year career with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. Along the way, she also managed to have a lot of fun. Her visits to the White House brought tears to her eyes. She never thought she would see an African-American president, especially from her hometown of Chicago. A few months after attending the Obama selection at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, she attended his inauguration and related parties in D.C. She first went to the White House for a June 2009 Pride reception. Vernita’s struggle with cancer would soon take a turn for the worse, and in her final years, her passion was used to fight for both at-risk LGBTQ youth as well as marriage equality in Illinois. In this new book by Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen, friends, partners and family share their memories of Vernita. Primarily written before Vernita’s death in March 2014, the book also includes extensive interviews with Vernita, and her own poetry. Vernita loved long and deeply, she worked against racism, sexism and homophobia, and she did it all with a smile, dancing her way to victory on her last lap. Available in B&W on Amazon, color on Kindle.

Vernita Gray: From Woodstock to the White House (Color)

The Fight for Marriage Equality in the Land of Lincoln is the focus of a new book from Windy City Times writers Kate Sosin and Tracy Baim. The book looks at the financial and political pressure from the LGBT community and its allies to pass the marriage-equality law in 2013, including heated internal battles and intense heat put on elected officials in the final days of the legislative session. The book also includes more than 100 photos from the historic push for marriage, including photos and documents from the 1950s through the 2013 demonstrations. Money. Votes, Activism. These three ingredients were key to the passage of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act on November 5, 2013 in the Illinois House. Otherwise known as the marriage-equality law, supporters originally felt it would be a slam-dunk effort, since the Democrats captured a super majority in the state Senate and House in the November 2012 elections. But this is Illinois, and nothing comes without a cost—in money and labor. S.B. 10 did pass quickly in the state Senate, on Valentine’s Day 2013. But months of lobbying by pro– and anti–marriage-equality forces left the state’s representatives in the House without the courage to vote by the end of the spring legislative session, May 31, 2013. What happened next was a show of force by donors, lobbyists, politicians and most importantly the general citizens of Illinois. There were protests, benefits, phone banks, door-to-door canvassing, lobbying in the Capitol building, and a 5,000-strong March on Springfield for Marriage Equality on October 22, 2013. This book takes an in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes efforts that were enhanced by the grassroots activists taking it to the streets. There were surprising opponents—and surprising allies—in the battle to get marriage for LGBTs in Illinois. This book provides a deep look into the inner-workings of passing legislation in Illinois. It is not always about the “will of the people” or “what is right.” It often comes down to horse-trading, political manipulation, threats and check books. It’s not quite the simplicity of the song “I’m Just a Bill” from the TV show Schoolhouse Rock! But it can be just as fun.

The Fight for Marriage Equality in the Land of Lincoln

Sosin, Kate

Politics & Government

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