ABOUT THIS BOOK

The Dream of a Common Movement collects essays, interviews, and speeches by the late feminist and civil rights activist Urvashi Vaid, whose pioneering writing and organizing over the course of four decades fundamentally shaped the LGBTQ+ movement. Vaid explores the LGBTQ+ movement’s impact on the AIDS epidemic and its challenges as it developed a national presence. She calls out movement leaders and donors for not addressing gender, race, and class issues and passionately argues that the goal of any liberation movement should be transformation, not assimilation. In personal essays, Vaid describes a double consciousness forged by the experience of immigration and a complicated relationship with her Indian-American and lesbian identities. Whether she was focused on the Donors of Color Network, the 22nd Century Initiative, the Lesbian Political Action Committee, or other initiatives she launched, Vaid was steadfast in her vision of a more just society and believed deeply in the power of people coming together to effect change. Offering a window into the breadth of her progressive vision for social change, this volume inspires readers to never stop organizing and marching.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Urvashi Vaid (1958–2022) was an LGBTQ+ rights activist, lawyer, writer, and the author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation.

Jyotsna Vaid is Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Women’s and Gender Studies at Texas A&M University.

Amy Hoffman is a writer, editor, activist, and the author of five books.

Tony Kushner is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, playwright, and screenwriter.

REVIEWS

“Simply put, Urvashi Vaid was America’s most talented and articulate exponent of LGBTQ+ rights and liberation during the most consequential period for that movement in our nation’s history. We all live today in a world Urvashi shaped profoundly—she ought to be a household name. This collection of her writings is much needed, timely, and beautifully done."
-- Rachel Maddow

“In this final, moving book by Urvashi Vaid, we find the history of a movement for radical justice, equality, and freedom embodied in the life of one of the most persistent, influential, and brilliant activists and leaders. Vaid tells her own story by documenting the formation of her politics and her youthful but prescient feminism and defense of lesbian and gay rights. The Dream of a Common Movement demonstrates how Vaid remained open to learning more, to collaborating more effectively across a range of issues. We feel her life and her thought, but also the enormous power to change that she surely was.”
-- Judith Butler

“Thanks to this treasure trove of Urvashi Vaid’s writings and speeches, the transformative power of her voice will continue to resonate within and far beyond the LGBTQ+ movements to which she dedicated her life and will encourage the radical convergences—her dream of a common movement—that hold the promise of a truly democratic future.”
-- Angela Y. Davis

"Vaid’s writings demonstrate a deepening nuance of and passion for social and racial justice in building a common movement over time. She was never reluctant to call out the gay rights movement, or the LGBT community in general, for its racism. . . . For this reader, the visit with Vaid was all too brief, a flirtation that had me longing for more. Perhaps that was the point, because as soon as I finished reading Dream I grabbed the 400+ page Virtual Equality from off my bookshelves."

-- Marcie Bianco The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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