Bending Toward Justice
A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBTQ Leadership and the Founding of the Human Rights Campaign
Vic Basile
Foreword by Representative Barney Frank
“Drawing on his experience as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Vic Basile has written a valuable addition to the story of one of the most consequential movements in post-World War II America.” —Representative Barney Frank
Bending Toward Justice chronicles the early years of a movement pressing for equal rights and lifesaving resources for LGBTQ people, who for eons have been shunned by the ignorant, reviled by the so-called faithful, and shamed even by their own families.
Basile led the Human Rights Campaign through the AIDS epidemic as it suffered too many lives lost, fought for essential funding for research, education, and treatment, confronted ignorance and discrimination, and helped shift the hearts and minds of Americans about equal treatment.
These unsung heroes of the movement worked unobtrusively and bravely within the system to change the system. Every single one of them has a poignant, powerful story that must be told and that never should be forgotten.
About the Author:
Vic Basile has enjoyed the extraordinary privilege of a career of public service and social justice advocacy. A widely recognized national leader in the LGBT community, he lives in Maryland.
Praise for Bending Toward Justice
“This book will become the definitive record of the national movement for civil rights for LGBTQ people that has led to where we are today, not only in our country but in much of the Western world and beyond.”
– Winston Johnston, LGBTQ activist and confidant of Coretta Scott King
“The clout of the gay community on Capitol Hill and in American politics was transformed because of Vic’s leadership. There's no way we would have survived the epidemic without an institution like the Human Rights Campaign Fund. Vic had the political experience, along with the intellect and skill, to know what needed to be done.” – Gregory King, former communications director of the Human Rights Campaign
“Vic Basile was exactly the right person for Human Rights Campaign Fund at the time he was there because he was skilled at building the organization. It's very different to build something versus maintain something. Vic had a vision of what gay political involvement could look like—he had an optimism that was infectious, and he was able to engage people and persuade them to do things that that they probably never thought they would do. Vic was the critical person for that time. He built the organization beyond what I think any of us could have ever guessed or envisioned”.
– Eric Rosenthal, MD, MPH, first political director for the Human Rights Campaign Fund
