Among those who were there at the beginning of the Gay Rights movement was Mark Segal. Since Stonewall and his involvement in the founding of the Gay Liberation Front, Segal has been a lifelong activist for equal rights for LGBT people. This book is his memoir.

And Then I Danced takes us from Segal's childhood as a poor Jewish kid in the South Philly projects to his presence at the Stonewall riot and in the rise of New York's Gay Liberation Front, and then to his return home to Philidelphia where he has been a primary mover in advancing the LGBT cause, and is the publisher of the Gay Philadelphia News.

Along the way Segal was part of the "Gay Raiders" known for his "zaps" - targeted disruptive political actions designed to garner publicity and help educate the public about gay issues and concerns. The daring and visibility of their zaps increased quickly and gained national attention. Segal zapped The Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Today Show and finally, The CBS Evening News with Walter Kronkite. The network cut away when Segal ran into the studio while Kronkite was delivering his nightly report. Kronkite was so impressed with Segal's daring that, after the show resumed, he reported on the incident live. He questioned Segal later about why he'd done it, after which Kronkite began regularly including reports on gay issues and concerns on his nightly news broadcast. He and Segal ended up becaming friends.

I got the sense from this audiobook that Mark Segal is an easy guy to like. Though the book covers some serious topics (including AIDS in a segment I thought too short) the tone throughout is conversational, with Segal occasionally displaying a wry sense of humor.

The other impression I came away with is that Segal is an accomplished politician, in the best sense of the word. He had to be in order to have accomplished all that he has in the big city environment of Philadelphia. Much of his later story is one of the struggle for gay rights as a local, political fight with national implications, and his political wins are impressive.

Originally published in 2015, the audiobook version was released yesterday. The audiobook is narrated by Adam Barr whose smooth voice compliments Mark's story well.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in understanding more about the struggle for LGBT equality, particularly from the political perspective. I rate Mark Segal's And Then I Danced Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

NOTE: My Advanced Reviewer's Copy of the audiobook edition of And Then I Danced was provided at no cost through Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. The audiobook was published yesterday, August 16, 2021 by OrangeSky Audio. ( )

The personal is political. Mark Segal's memoir And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality tells his story in an easily accessible and entertaining way. It charts his youth growing up in a working-class Jewish family in Philadelphia, enduring anti-Semitic taunts from classmates and enduring the government-mandated Protestant Christian school prayer. At the start the memoir is overburdened with Segal's humblebragging and name-dropping. “My refusal to sing “Onward, Christian Soldiers” was my first political action, my first defiance of conformity and the status quo.” He establishes early on his credentials as a political crusader. But after the initial off-putting nature, the memoir becomes more engaging.

As a young gay man, he travels to New York City to become a gay rights activist. After a productive period, Segal becomes disillusioned by the internal factions and ideological disagreements among different gay rights groups. The counter-productive factionalism makes him return home to Philadelphia. On a personal level, this is a fascinating story, but it also reveals a relevant lesson to aspiring political revolutionaries and wannabe activists. If things get bogged down at the national level, it can be productive to focus on the local level. As Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill quipped, “All politics is local.” (Or a more contemporary axiom might be: “All politics is money.” or “All politics is Twitter.”)

Through various twists and turns, Segal transitions from an activist involved in direct action to an establishment figure in Philadelphia. At the end of the memoir, Segal is the Establishment figure within Philly's gay community. Another lesson, not fully stated in the text, is the conflict and interplay of direct action and legislative redress. The simple knee-jerk response is to see these two activities as binary opposites. But both should work together to achieve a goal. How does one advocate for change when the mainstream community rather not recognize you even exist? Gays were yet another group mainstream America would feel more comfortable brushing under the carpet or simply not acknowledge. The political center has always been uncomfortable with change and welcoming new groups into the fold. They would much rather stamp their monotonous blandess on to any group that dares differ in appearance, religion, political, cultural, and sexual orientation. Why enter the community of Heaven when Heaven is a boring, oppressive, narcotized herd? Maybe we don't want to go to your version of Heaven.

In the Sixties and Seventies, when Segal was active in direct action, the gay community had yet to coalesce and become a relevant political force. Segal's trouble-making and rabble-rousing – most famously interrupting a CBS broadcast – put a voice to the community that had once hid in the shadows. The Stonewall Riots – and later Stonewall Uprising – made this invisible community visible. It is no accident the oppressors – religion, police, psychology – used the term “love that dare not speak its name” to homosexuality. Stonewall changed all that. Prior to Stonewall, the gay community had the gradualist, accommodationalist strategy of the Mattachine Society. Put another way, the Mattachine Society was Booker T. Washington compared to the Gay Raider's more Black Panther-like agitprop.

Segal ends his memoir as a community organizer and go-to fundraiser for giant projects. He tells about his efforts to raise funds for an LGBT elder care facility in Philadelphia and organizing an appearance by Elton John for a July 4th celebration. His final triumph is personal, when he dances with his husband in the White House. Published in 2015, And Then I Danced reflects the optimism and empathy of the political left in a nation making good on its promise of equality for all. Like any struggle, it wasn't easy or achieved overnight. It began on the streets with riots and shouting and continued with a community advocating legislative redress. To make real change in America involves reforming the laws, but first you have kick up a shitstorm. The most threatening thing to a corrupt, ossified system, hobbled by antiquated laws and procedures (see: The Electoral College), ruled by the unfit and inept is to say, no, to shout: “I EXIST!”

https://driftlessareareview.com/2020/06/07/espresso-shots-and-then-i-danced-by-m... ( )

I loved reading this book. It was a topic I've read a bit about off and on but it was a great read about this man's struggle towards equality with LGBTQ rights and I would highly recommend this book to someone who would like to understand the history behind many of the things we are still struggling with today.

And Then I Danced is the memoir of Mark Segal, an LGBT activist turned lobbyist. The first several chapters focus on the activism work and "zaps" he worked on in the 60s and 70s. It was really interesting to read about the things that LGBT activists had to do in order to give us the (meager) rights that we have today.

The last several chapters were (in my opinion) really boring. They consisted of a lot of name dropping and what politicians he supported and all of the famous people he met and got his picture taken with. Yawn.

Honestly, if I could rip this book in half, and just keep the first part, it'd be a great book. As it is it's mediocre at best. ( )

Well I admire everything that he's done and am glad he prevailed. The book, however, was a bit of a chore to read. It was confusingly organized: for example, he talks about his partner, who it turns out later is not Jason; his nephew, who it turns out later he adopted, etc. And in between, even though as I said I admire what he's done, the book read to me as a somewhat insufferable ego trip. Name dropping, his role seemingly key in everything that was accomplished.

At least he admits it: he "was a pain in the ass to deal with." ( )