We all have been taught that Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer & statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the nation through the American Civil War & succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government & modernizing the U.S. economy. Let’s celebrate Lincoln’s birthday as we re-revisit the interesting theory that Abraham Lincoln might have been our first LGBTQ president referencing Carl Sandburg who alluded to the early relationship of Lincoln & his friend Joshua Fry Speed as having "a streak of lavender & spots soft as May violets" in his 1926 biography. "Streak of lavender" was a term of an effeminate man in those days & later it implied homosexuality. Then in 1999 playwright & activist Larry Kramer claim that he had uncovered previously unknown documents while conducting research for his work-in-progress, The American People: A History claiming to be found hidden in the floorboards of the old store once shared by Lincoln & Joshua Speed. Just think how amazingly supportive that would be for our LGBTQ kids to know that they had a role model in Abraham Lincoln. I talked with author Lee Wind in this exclusive audio interview about his novel “Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill” that actually centers around Wyatt a 15 year old dealing with his sexuality in a homophobic small town who discovers this theory about Abraham Lincoln's relationship with Joshua Fry Speed a Springfield, Illinois merchant who met Lincoln in 1837. Wyatt can't help feel that if the world knew about this relationship perhaps they would treat our LGBTQ community differently.
Perfect for President's Day - thanks for sharing! I know what a difference it would have made to my teenage self to discover Abraham Lincoln was in love with another guy!
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