“A stint at GCN left no one unmarked. We were always on deadline, but we were not simply a newspaper. Ours was the only listing under gay in the Boston telephone book; thus, phone duty could involve anything from taking down the copy for a personal ad to giving directions to the gay cruising area in the Fenway Victory Gardens, providing the number of a sympathetic lawyer, or persuading a distraught kid to call the gay youth group ... Innumerable people, many of whom went on to become leaders of gay and social justice organizations, journalists, authors, and teachers, whirled briefly in and out. GCN trained an entire generation of activists." Amy Hoffman, An Army of Ex-Lovers

The History Project invites Gay Community News community members to contribute to our efforts to honor GCN's 50th anniversary.

About the Project

2023 is the 50th anniversary of Gay Community News (GCN). In 1973, a small group of gay men and lesbians founded a local Boston newsletter to report on LGBTQ events. That newsletter grew into a major newspaper with an international readership. Volunteer writers, photographers, artists, and other members of the LGBTQ community published GCN through the 1990s. The publication itself is a rich historical source providing insight into the many issues concerning the gay community, and many of its contributors continue to have an impact on LGBTQ organizing and culture to this day. THP holds GCN's photograph collections and a full run of GCN. GCN is also now available digitally via Northeastern University.

To celebrate GCN’s 50th anniversary, The History Project organized a series of programs exploring the paper’s history and impact. In collaboration with Massachusetts Historical Society, the American LGBTQ+ Museum, and Northeastern University Library's Archives and Special Collections, The History Project organized a series of panel discussions with GCN staff, writers, photographers, and community members. By stewarding and sharing the stories of GCN, The History Project seeks to celebrate the paper's legacy while those who founded and participated in the publication are still with us. The Gay Community News at 50 Planning Committee included Amy Hoffman, Michael Bronski, Sam Valentine, Joan Ilacqua, Gavin Kleespies, and Olivia Sayah.

Exhibit

Visualizing Gay Community News is a digital exhibit sharing archival and visual resources from GCN stewarded by The History Project, Boston’s queer community archives. The exhibit builds on a digitization project completed over the course of 2023 and 2024 with the support of the Visual Resources Association and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Together, the project and the digital exhibit seek to enhance access to Gay Community News photographs and material history and commemorate the 2023 semicentennial of the paper’s founding.

Recordings

• Panel 1: Defining GCN with Richard Burns, Loie Hayes, Gordon Gottlieb, and Russ Lopez
  In 1973, a small group of gay men and lesbians founded "Gay Community News," a local Boston newsletter to report on LGBTQ+ events. That community-driven newsletter grew into a major newspaper with an international readership. Join us to explore the arc of GCN's history and its influence on LGBTQ+ activism.
• Panel 2: Content, Coverage, and Controversy with Amy Hoffman, Gayle Rubin, Chris Guilfoy, Craig Bailey, and Chris Bull
  Throughout its run, Gay Community News' staff, volunteers, and readership all debated how to answer the question, "What is gay news?" This panel will explore the intersections and divergences of opinions about what issues GCN covered, from feminist politics to international affairs.
• Panel 3: GCN’s Impact and Legacy with Michael Bronski, Gilda Bruckman, Gerard Cabrera, and Haden Smiley
  When Gay Community News ceased publishing in the 1990s, it was the oldest, continuously published national gay newspaper. This panel will explore the impact GCN had and continues to have on LGBTQ+ writing, news coverage, and activism. 

In Memoriam

In reflecting on the 50th anniversary of Gay Community News, The History Project has created this necrology to memorialize the GCN staffers, volunteers, and community members who have passed away and to celebrate their vital contributions and collective impact on the paper and the LGBTQ+ community at large.

As a living document that supports collective and community memory, we acknowledge that this list is incomplete. It will continue to be updated as part of The History Project’s collections. If you notice an error or a missing name, please reach out: info@historyproject.org.

Fundraising

We are (still) fundraising to:

• Coordinate, record, and transcribe oral history interviews with GCN community members

You do not have to donate to participate in our GCN 50th anniversary celebration - but any donation helps us to collect, preserve, and share the stories and history of Gay Community News. Donations to The History Project are tax-deductible, and we can accept contributions online. We can also accept checks made out to The History Project (just write GCN in the memo field) and mailed to The History Project, 565 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02116. Once we hit our goal, any additional donations will be used to support The History Project's efforts to document, preserve, and share Boston's LGBTQ+ history.