In 1978, state senator John Briggs put a bold proposition on the California ballot. If it passed, the Briggs Initiative would ban gays and lesbians from working in public schools—and fuel a growing backlash against LGBTQ+ people in all corners of American life.
In the ninth season of Slate’s Slow Burn, host Christina Cauterucci explores one of the most consequential civil rights battles in American history: the first-ever statewide vote on gay rights. With that fight looming, young gay activists formed a sprawling, infighting, joyous opposition; confronted the smear that they were indoctrinating kids; and came out en masse to show Briggs—and their own communities—who they really were. And when an unthinkable act of violence shocked them all, they showed the world what gay power looked like.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One Year: 1942 | 2. The Year Everyone Got Married
One Year: 1942 | 1. The Most Hated Man in America
Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 2
Decoder Ring: McGruff Takes a Bite Out of Crime Pt. 1
One Year: 1986 | 7. The Man From Fifth Avenue
One Year: 1986 | 6. The Miracle of Cokeville
One Year: 1986 | 5. Herschel vs. the Blubber Busters
One Year: 1986 | 4. A Boycott in Mississippi
One Year: 1986 | 3. The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vaults
One Year: 1986 | 2. The Ultimate Field Trip
Slow Burn presents... One Year: 1986 | 1. No Crime Day
Decoder Ring: The “Sex” Scandal That Made Mae West
Decoder Ring: The First Alien Abductees
Decoder Ring: The Most Famous Poet No One Remembers
Slow Burn presents: Decoder Ring - The Mall is Dead (Long Live the Mall)
Roe v. Wade | 4. Roe Against Wade
Roe v. Wade | 3. Women vs. Connecticut
Roe v. Wade | 2. Life or Death
Roe v. Wade | 1. Get Married or Go Home
The L.A. Riots | 8. Damages
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
In The Dark
Over My Dead Body
The Dropout
Broken Harts
Tiny Desk Concerts - Video