Temple University Press, 2024 Paper: 978-1-4399-2380-1 | eISBN: 978-1-4399-2381-8 Library of Congress Classification F174.R44 Dewey Decimal Classification 975.1700866
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
“Create a More Positive Rehoboth” was a decades-long goal for progress and inclusiveness in a charming beach town in southern Delaware. Rehoboth, which was established in the 19th century as a Methodist Church meeting camp, has, over time, become a thriving mecca for the LGBTQ+ community. In Queering Rehoboth Beach, historian and educator James Sears charts this significant evolution.
Sears draws upon extensive oral history accounts, archival material, and personal narratives to chronicle “the Battle for Rehoboth,” which unfolded in the late 20th century, as conservative town leaders and homeowners opposed progressive entrepreneurs and gay activists. He recounts not just the emergence of the gay and lesbian bars, dance clubs, and organizations that drew the queer community to the region, but also the efforts of local politicians and homeowners, among other groups who fought to develop and protect the traditional identity of this beach town. Moreover, issues of race, class, and gender and sexuality informed opinions as residents and visitors struggled with the AIDS crisis and the legacy of Jim Crow.
Queering Rehoboth Beach is more than just an inspiring story about a community’s resilience and determination to establish a safe space for itself in the wake of the era of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It is also a terrific beach read.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
James T. Sears is an independent scholar focusing on Queer History. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Growing up Gay in the South, Lonely Hunters: An Oral History Of Lesbian And Gay Southern Life, 1948-1968, Behind the Mask of the Mattachine: The Hal Call Chronicles and the Early Movement for Homosexual Emancipation, and Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones: Queering Space in the Stonewall South. A former Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at Trinity University, Indiana University, Harvard University, Penn State University, the University of South Carolina, and was a research fellow and the University of Queensland and the University of Southern California. He continues to lecture throughout the world.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
Acknowledgments
Notes on Language Use
Cast of Narrators
Abbreviations
Preface
Prologue: A “Family” Restaurant: Room for Us All?
Part I
Introduction: Beyond the Boardwalk
1. Founding Principles
2. Queer Generational Aperçus
Part II
3. Steve Elkins Way
4. Beach Plums and Fairies
5. Renegade Entrepreneur
6. Diamond State Refractions
7. Blood Moon
Part III
8. The Strand
9. We Just Want to Dance
10. Shadow and Light
11. CAMPtime
12. Resistance Is Not Futile
13. CAMPfired
Part IV.
14. We Are Family
15. The Outsiders
16. A Queer Convergence
Epilogue: Rehoboth Reflections
Interviews
Notes
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.