The first third of Cleve Jones’s memoir, which covers the years from 1972-1977, is strictly personal, with Jones pairing historical events with his sexual awakening. He’s not part of the events he references, but they give context to his story. In fact, his main contribution to this part of the story is sexual. He expands the notion of gay liberation by equating it with his sexual freedom, a powerful and subversive act since sexual contact between consenting adults of the same sex was criminally sanctioned (the last sodomy laws weren’t repealed until 2003).
It’s not until 1977, when he meets progressive activist Harvey Milk, “The Mayor of Castro Street” that Jones’s political awakening begins. Although his sexual adventures remain the main driver behind his liberation theology, Jones begins community organizing work with the San Francisco gay movement. After Milk’s assassination, he moves on to working as a political aide to a California Assemblyman. Jones begins to appreciate and leverage the power of the ballot box to advance agendas.
The societal and institutional indifference to the AIDS epidemic leads Jones to a moral awakening. Jones conceives of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, arguably his greatest contribution to the history of the movement. This outstanding piece of community organizing through memorial art, is the last one-third of the book’s story. Jones closes his odyessy with that chapter, and suddenly our journey with him ends, too.
Jones is a lively writer who lived through an electrifying time. This is a great book for a breathless flyover of the early gay rights movement.
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