Obama and the Gays is a one-stop source for any and all information relating to GLBT issues and President Obama, beginning with his days as an Illinois State Legislator all the way to the White House and early Presidency. Tracy Baim, a Chicagoan who has been involved with Chicago GLBT media since 1984, has a unique insight to Obama and his evolution on GLBT issues. She has gathered journalistic information from a wide variety of sources on every topic you can imagine related to Obama and the GLBT community.
Some of the many issues that this book covers are gay marriage, civil unions, hate crimes statutes, issues related to HIV/AIDS, adoption rights, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and workplace discrimination. Also included are over 50 pages of photographs and other images such as political signs, letters, newspaper clippings, surveys, and questionnaires that Obama filled out (two of which are in his own handwriting from 1996 and 1998).
This book is the ultimate source for tracing the path of Obama’s stance on GLBT issues. Not only does it cover his views and actions, but it tells the story of the climate with which he was dealing at the time, such as the Jeremiah Wright controversy and Prop 8 in California, among other issues affecting his decisions. The book also covers the decisions that his political opponents were making on these same issues, which serves to provide a sense of how Obama measures up when put side-by-side on the topics at hand.
Also included are articles from notable GLBT activists, such as Michelangelo Signorile, a gay writer and national talk show host, and Wayne Besen, former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign and founder of Truth Wins Out; as well as interviews with such people as Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Brian Bond, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, and many many more.
Tracy Baim has done an outstanding job of culminating details from a vast array of sources, which makes this book the definitive guide on Obama and gay issues. I have not seen anything else that comes close. This book is highly recommended for both academic and public libraries.
Reviewed by, Rachael Elrod
Reference and Instruction Librarian
The Citadel
