The Real Rainbow Row: Explorations in Charleston's LGBTQ History

by Harlan Greene

Though Charleston has a reputation for holding onto the past longer than most other places, it could not avoid the shock of change. Much has been written of the city's history of civil rights, and its rich African American, women's, ethnic, and religious past. One of the minority groups long left out of the club has been Charleston's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and other sexual minorities community. It's not that they haven't been here all along, making history, contributing greatly to the creation of one of America's most distinctive cities. But, even now, with so many people out and acknowledged, marching in the streets, being elected to public office, and marrying, there are still discrepancies. There are no statues to LGBTQ people (while some discriminatory statutes linger), and very few official mentions anywhere. While other pasts blaze brightly, there is just a flickering of knowledge about local LGBTQ history.
Historian Harlan Greene digs deep and uncovers a wealth of knowledge about Charleston's LGBTQ past and present in this fascinating and informative book.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

352 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2022

Reviews

[Jennifer Holstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful reminder that love always finds a way, even a tight @ss city like Charleston. I loved learning a whole new side of my home ❤️❤️

[cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

to read this book is to bear witness to charleston's lgbtq history. greene and his team did the hard work of hunting down primary sources and crafting a cogent narrative. now we all have the easy, sometimes heartbreaking and often delightful task of reading it.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, albeit often sad, history.

[Kaley C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book on Charleston LGBTQ+ history. Or really was inspiring and gave me hope for a more progressive city; the community has always been here, the bigots have just always been louder.

Two critiques:

1) it may have just been the copy I got from the library, but the images throughout the book are so blurry you can not understand what they are at all. Poor print quality.

2) the beginning was much slower. This may be due to the fact that there just simply is not as much LGBTQ history documented from the 19th century and older. Once we got to about the 1940’s, the pace picked up and it was a much more enjoyable read.

Overall an enjoyable read and overview, easy for any reader.

[Rachel Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved learning more about my home. Love is lov and this book showed how love will always win over hate.

[Kellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As pride month comes a close, I wanted to share one of the more inspiring, enlightening, entertaining nonfiction books l've had the pleasure of reading lately. It's no secret that the American south has a complicated, painful history. Living in Charleston, SC is a gift for many reasons, not the least of which (aside from the food and arts scene) is the history at every turn. This book was a stunning history of an oft overlooked population in the history of Charleston: the LGBTQ community. It's an extensive storyline, extending from the intersex natives of the 1500s to the sailors of the 1800s; the gay speakeasies of the 1930s, to the cruising of the 1960s, to the first pride parade in the 2010s. I found myself so caught up in the history, and so impressed with the level of detail and commitment to LGBTQ history that Greene was able to weave into this story.
Most notably for me, I was reminded that there have always been bigoted, hateful people in this world. While this is, without a doubt, incredibly sad, it's also somehow a beacon of hope for me. In the moments lately where this country feels shockingly callous and far too comfortable in its proclamations of prejudice, I am reassured that we have seen this before. And in the end, things like love, joy, and acceptance break through the ugliness and create beauty again. So stay hopeful and warmhearted, my friends. Good will prevail again.

[Aly Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

So thorough and intersectional in its approach! With hindsight we can make assumptions and assign today's labels to yesterday's people, but the author did the tasteful thing and didn't give them today's labels as much as speculate and point out what labels they may have used for themselves and which of today's may have been close to what they would have claimed.

I enjoyed this way more than I expected as a dense history book but it was lighter to read than I expected.