The Dream of a Common Movement: Selected Writings of Urvashi Vaid

by Urvashi Vaid, Jyotsna Vaid (editor), Amy Hoffman (editor)

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.

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Social Justice

288 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2025

About the author

Urvashi Vaid is an Indian-American LGBT rights activist. She received a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1983, where she founded the Boston Lesbian/Gay Political Alliance, a non-partisan political organization that interviews and endorses candidates for political office and advocates for Boston's gay community. Her books are "Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation" and "Irresistable Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics."

Reviews

[Alok Vaid-Menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My aunt, Urvashi Vaid, was a genius. I'm so happy that this collection of her writings is now available for the world to experience. Her perspective is more important than ever!