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Reaching Ninety
Martin Duberman, one of the LGBTQ+ community’s maverick thinkers and historians, looks back on ninety years of life, his history in the movement, and what he’s learned.
In the early Sixties, Martin Duberman published a path-breaking article defending the Abolitionists against the then-standard view of them as “misguided fanatics.” In 1964, his documentary play, In White America , which reread the history of racist oppression in this country, toured the country—most notably during Freedom Summer—and became an international hit.
Duberman then took on the profession of history for failing to admit the inherent subjectivity of all re-creations of the past. He radically democratized his own seminars at Princeton, for which he was excoriated by powerful professors in his own department, leading him to renounce his tenured full professorship and to join the faculty of the CUNY Graduate School.
At CUNY, too, he was initially blocked from offering a pioneering set of seminars on the history of gender and sexuality, but after a fifteen-year struggle succeeded in establishing the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies—which became a beacon for emerging scholars in that new field.
By the early Seventies, Duberman had broadened his struggle against injustice by becoming active in protesting the war in Vietnam and in playing a central role in forming the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and Queers for Economic Justice.
Down to the present-day, he continues through his writing to champion those working for a more equitable society.
In the early Sixties, Martin Duberman published a path-breaking article defending the Abolitionists against the then-standard view of them as “misguided fanatics.” In 1964, his documentary play, In White America , which reread the history of racist oppression in this country, toured the country—most notably during Freedom Summer—and became an international hit.
Duberman then took on the profession of history for failing to admit the inherent subjectivity of all re-creations of the past. He radically democratized his own seminars at Princeton, for which he was excoriated by powerful professors in his own department, leading him to renounce his tenured full professorship and to join the faculty of the CUNY Graduate School.
At CUNY, too, he was initially blocked from offering a pioneering set of seminars on the history of gender and sexuality, but after a fifteen-year struggle succeeded in establishing the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies—which became a beacon for emerging scholars in that new field.
By the early Seventies, Duberman had broadened his struggle against injustice by becoming active in protesting the war in Vietnam and in playing a central role in forming the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and Queers for Economic Justice.
Down to the present-day, he continues through his writing to champion those working for a more equitable society.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published March 7, 2023
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1184 people want to read
About the author
Martin Duberman
65 books88 followersMartin Bauml Duberman is a scholar and playwright. He graduated from Yale in 1952 and earned a Ph.D. in American history from Harvard in 1957. Duberman left his tenured position at Princeton University in 1971 to become Distinguished Professor of History at Lehman College in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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November 10, 2022An energetic, fun and kvetchy take-no-prisoners memoir of the American Theater, Academic ironies, and gay activist warfare. Duberman is a conflicted and talented man reaching high and low for an elusive resolution to great expectations that his prodigious accomplishments never satisfy. Hustlers, cocaine, Paul Robeson and finally the embrace of love make this a fascinating and rollicking Read
April 7, 2023
Duberman's latest memoir as he turns 90 looks back at his life as an historian & queer activist. A leader in the queer academic community, Duberman's life parallels that of gay history in post war America. While a lot of the book is taken up with the dynamics & squabbles of establishing a queer studies program it is an interesting look at Duberman's life.
"The pertinent questions are simple: what turned us on when we were younger? Is a distinctive pattern discernible early on, and if so does it change though time? Are we, at any age, retrospectively imposing a consistency that never existed, though we insist on it as a way of blaming our younger selves for having been "weirder" than in fact we were, and of comparing our callow youth to what we'd like to think, as we enter the twilight years, is a developmental narrative that need in sound maturity?" 101
"Most historians are basically sociologists, preferring to scale the landscape and to avoid the individuals who dot it and whose idiosyncratic lives interfere annoyingly with the search for grand patterns, with our ability to generalize." 120
"IN 1986 the Supreme Court by a 5-4 decision in the now-notorious Bowers v. Hardwick case sanctioned the right of the states to police private relations between consenting gay adults. (It wouldn't be until 2003 that the court in, Lawrence v. Texas, would overrule Hardwick.)....The Hardwick decision was a shocking event for the gay community: Tom Stoddard memorably called it "our Dred Scott decision." 151
"In the late '80s, after all, the community's energy and resources were necessarily concentrated on trying to ameliorate the horrors of AIDS. In the face of governmental indifference and public hostility, gay people themselves had to pick up the pieces." 160
"The pertinent questions are simple: what turned us on when we were younger? Is a distinctive pattern discernible early on, and if so does it change though time? Are we, at any age, retrospectively imposing a consistency that never existed, though we insist on it as a way of blaming our younger selves for having been "weirder" than in fact we were, and of comparing our callow youth to what we'd like to think, as we enter the twilight years, is a developmental narrative that need in sound maturity?" 101
"Most historians are basically sociologists, preferring to scale the landscape and to avoid the individuals who dot it and whose idiosyncratic lives interfere annoyingly with the search for grand patterns, with our ability to generalize." 120
"IN 1986 the Supreme Court by a 5-4 decision in the now-notorious Bowers v. Hardwick case sanctioned the right of the states to police private relations between consenting gay adults. (It wouldn't be until 2003 that the court in, Lawrence v. Texas, would overrule Hardwick.)....The Hardwick decision was a shocking event for the gay community: Tom Stoddard memorably called it "our Dred Scott decision." 151
"In the late '80s, after all, the community's energy and resources were necessarily concentrated on trying to ameliorate the horrors of AIDS. In the face of governmental indifference and public hostility, gay people themselves had to pick up the pieces." 160
March 11, 2023
Apparently reaching old age is not always a bad thing, I’m part of the latest crop of people to come out of an internship at CLAGS. I loved to hear about the internal struggle at the beginning of the inception of CLAGS. It’s so juicy and kinda wild that it has such a rich history. I really appreciated the book for its message. Thay getting old is not all bad, introspection is an important part of growing as a person and also make sure that you continue to live your life. As long as you can!
June 8, 2023
Listened to audiobook. Engaging account of Duberman's life and career as a historian, academic, prose writer, playwright, and supporter of Gay (and other) rights and culture. Shares his sharp intelligence, playful wit, consistent passions and values, and occasional good-humored self-ridicule.
October 15, 2025
Martin Duberman is a hero of LGBTQ+ community. His never flagging drive for social justice and equality is unparalleled. Highly recommend for all those wanting a first hand narrative of almost the entire modern gay rights movement.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews