PUBLICITY TOOLS
ABOUT THE FILM
LOG LINE
Tens of thousands of gay men and lesbians are fired from their jobs in a decades-long effort by the U.S. government to rid the federal workforce of homosexuals.
SYNOPSIS
With the United States gripped in the panic of the 1950s Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deemed homosexuals to be “security risks” and vowed to rid the federal government of all employees discovered to be gay or lesbian.
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Over the next four decades, tens of thousands of government workers lost their jobs or were denied employment for no reason other than their sexual orientation.
But the mass firings had an unintended effect: they stirred outrage in the gay community and helped to ignite the gay rights movement years before the Stonewall Uprising.
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Partly based on the award-winning book by historian David K. Johnson, The Lavender Scare illuminates a shameful and little-known chapter of American history.
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In the words of the Los Angeles Times: “A wealth of archival footage and stills, candid chats with victims of this harrowing era (and a few unapologetic victimizers) plus effective voiceovers by Glenn Close and others combine for a vivid, disturbing and rousing picture of specious government intrusion at its worst.”
PHOTOS
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First White House Protest: The U.S. government’s anti-gay witch hunts helped ignite the gay rights movement years before the Stonewall riots. This 1965 picket in front of the White House in Washington D.C. was the first demonstration of its kind.
Frank Kameny Picketing: Frank Kameny leads a picket line in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1965. Forty activists joined the protest, making it (at the time) the largest public demonstration for LGBT rights in world history.
Headline: The U.S. government’s witch hunt of gay men and lesbians was front page news in the 1940s and 1950s. But as the firings continued well into the 1980s and ‘90s they would draw less and less attention.
Two women photographed in the 1950s.
Two men photographed in the 1950s.
Senator Joseph McCarthy ignited the Red Scare with his claim that Communists had infiltrated the government, the news and entertainment industries and academia. But the Lavender Scare, the fear of a spreading homosexual menace, would become an even more powerful political weapon.
Joan Cassidy, a retired Navy captain, discusses her experiences during the anti-gay witch hunts with Josh Howard during a filming for The Lavender Scare.
Frank Kameny and Josh Howard: Producer/Director Josh Howard with Dr. Franklin Kameny during a 2010 filming for The Lavender Scare.
Producer/Director Josh Howard
LOGOS
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