Mark Segal’s memoir, And Then I Danced, has been recently released, and is receiving wonderful critical acclaim.
Mark Segal is probably one of the most well-known LGBT activists of our time. There is no way to truly credit all that he has seen, said, and done.
Mark has been a fighter from the beginning. He’s a Philadelphian from very humble beginnings. His family was rather poor. They are also Jewish, and he grew up in a non-Jewish neighborhood. Being born in 1951, it wasn’t a safe time to be out, either. He accredits his tenacity to his grandmother.
In an interview with Philadelphia’s ABC 6, he said, “I had this incredible grandmother, Fannie Weinstein, who at age 13 took me to my first civil rights march. She was suffragette. She taught me how the family fought to get out of Europe. She talked about our family who struggled through the Holocaust. She was a fighter and she instilled that fight in me.” We are glad that she did!
Though he was the underdog from the very beginning, he refused to let anyone or anything keep him down.
Though his funds were low, his aims were high, and he found himself as a young man who went from Philadelphia to New York in a time that was absolutely revolutionary for that city, and for our country.
He stood outside of Stonewall and watched it unfold. He was kin with Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. He was a part of our revolution. It was at that moment that he knew he wanted to be – and that he actually was – an LGBT activist.
His resume is quite extensive. He has over forty years of protest and progress. Let’s highlight some of his greatest accomplishments.
He made unexpected appearances or “zaps” on local and national shows. He even interrupted Walter Cronkite on the air delivering the news. The Zaps, which began in 1973, were his way of gaining attention.
As he said, at the time, the LGBT community was invisible. By making these appearances, people were forced to look at us, to take note, to recognize our humanity, and to begin to address our issues.
He helped to create the Gay Liberation Front right after the Stonewall Riots.
He made his presence known with politicians. Sometimes in positive ways, sometimes in less favorable manors. Nonetheless, he brought the LGBT community and LGBT issues to the forefront of politics and national issues.
He is the founder and publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News.
He also created the John C. Anderson Apartments in Center City, Philadelphia which provide affordable housing for LGBT seniors.
The list of credits and awards for Mark Segal is unending. What he has done in his lifetime is truly remarkable. There is absolutely no way that the LGBT community would be where we are today without his boldness and leadership.
Mark Segal is living proof that each and every one of us has the power to create tremendous change. He has shown us that even from the most humble of beginnings, the power to be and do and create is within us all. We only limit ourselves. If we want change, and we want things to improve for our community, then we need to go out and fight for it. He has made America a better place for everyone in the LGBT community.