Oral history interview with Allen Young, 1941 -

LISTEN ONLINE
1 of 1

1964-1968, 1979

Allen Young was born on June 30, 1941. During this interview he discussed his life as a gay man in Washington D.C. in the 1960s; both as a writer and left-wing activist. Allen Young had a varied career in Washington; he worked with the Washington Post for a brief period and then began working with the underground press, specifically The Liberation News Service. Young also discussed different areas concerned with the LGBT community, including: cruising spots like the YMCA, The Block, Leon’s Chicken Hut, The Hideaway, The Block, and the P Street Beach. He also described his perspective on the riots in Washington D.C. following the assassination of Martin Luther King. Young moved out of Washington D.C. in 1968 after the Liberation News Service moved to New York City. Allen Young also worked with the leaders of the first march on Washington in 1979, and attended many of the other marches on Washington as a part of the LGBT community. He concluded the interview by offering a glimpse into what life for a gay man could be like in Washington D.C. and how segregated and divided Washington was.

Royalston, Massachusetts

Yes, courtesy Thomas Knapp.

Yes, recording available