Archive Activism

“This is a wonderful book. Although it is a memoir, it is also a handbook for ordinary folks—whether LGBTQ or not—to engage in everyday activism. It can be applicable to any group that has been erased from the mainstream historical archive because of their nonnormative status. This is a recovery project of a particular silenced and erased history of gays and lesbians in the United States.”—Gust A. Yep, coeditor of Queer Theory and Communication and LGBT Studies and Queer Theory
 
“Charles Francis has written a magnificently cinematic memoir of a life of anxiety, commitment, and outright fun, populated by characters from Jayne Mansfield to David Rockefeller to George W. Bush. Charles brought gay-rights pioneer Frank Kameny’s papers to the Library of Congress, uncovered Nancy Reagan’s refusal to help a dying Rock Hudson, and found the roots of Executive Order 10450, which in 1954 declared homosexual ‘perversion’ a national security threat. Charles Francis engages his readers at once and takes them on a ride that is, at turns, horrifying, uplifting, and delightful.”—Ambassador (ret.) James K. Glassman, former U.S. Under Secretary of State and Founding Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas
 
“The National Archives greets visitors with the Shakespearean stone inscription: WHAT IS PAST IS PROLOGUE. In this lively, impassioned memoir, Charles Francis puts it with a very American plain-spokenness: ‘The key to Archive Activism is not only finding the stuff, but using it . . . to make the world a better place.’ I can’t think of another book that better conveys the excitements and real-life results that can be obtained by the citizen-scholar.”—Thomas Mallon, author of Fellow Travelers and Mrs. Paine’s Garage
 
“An intimate memoir and a stirring rallying cry, Archive Activism is required reading for anyone fighting the erasure of a community’s history. From the Eisenhower Administration to the January 6th insurrection, this book shows us how the first drafts of history are written—and crucially, he explains how we as citizens can correct them. His work to recover buried history has been essential for activists and historians alike, gifting us the opportunity to learn firsthand from the queer pioneers who paved the way for our generation. Without Charles Francis, my book and so many others like it would not have been possible. Archive Activism is an urgent, inspiring text that belongs on every bookshelf.”—Eric Cervini, author of The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America

“The Rainbow Community has a courageous and noble history which should never be forgotten. Charles Francis significantly assisted in making that history--his new book is essential reading for those who need to be inspired by our history. Charles is that rare person who is a brilliant story teller, historian, and activist. I am honored to know him.”--David Mixner, author of Stranger Among Friends

"Archive Activism describes the efforts by author Charles Francis and his supporters to uncover long hidden documents, among other things, revealing how LGBTQ federal workers were forced out of their jobs in the 1950s and 1960s. . . . Francis describes in the book his early archive activism efforts that included co-founding the Kameny Papers Project, which arranged for the Library of Congress to acquire the voluminous collection of the documents of Frank Kameny."--Washington Blade

"Francis writes about recovering gay history one document at a time in this debut memoir. . . . [H]is account is a fascinating and illuminating addition to the history of gay liberation. An informative memoir that fills in some gaps in the social justice record."--Kirkus Reviews