"[A] swiftly written debut memoir...[Segal] vividly describes his
firsthand experience as a teenager inside the Stonewall bar
during the historic riots, his participation with the Gay
Liberation Front, and amusing encounters with Elton John and
Patti LaBelle....A jovial yet passionately delivered
self-portrait inspiring awareness about LGBT history from one of
the movement's true pioneers."
--Kirkus Reviews
"With great verve and spirit, Segal has rendered a lively and
dramatic memoir of the early days of the gay rights struggle; the
infighting over strategies and objectives; the long, hard road of
progress; and a look at the challenges still ahead."
--Booklist
"The reader can clearly see how Segal's fearless determination,
cheerful tenacity, and refusal to attack his nents made him a
power broker in Philadelphia and a leading advocate on the
national level. Segal fills his book with worthy stories...funny
anecdotes and heart."
--Publishers Weekly
"The stories are interesting, unexpected, and witty."
--Library Journal
"Activist Mark Segal who was present at Stonewall and later went
on to found the Philadelphia Gay News was a featured judge at
Miss'd America and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award
the night of the pageant. In his new Memoir And Then I Danced:
Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality, he writes about how he was
kicked off a television show in the 1970s called Summertime on
the Pier because he was dancing with another man, but four
decades later, he cut a rug with his husband Jason Villemez while
the Marine Corps Band played Barbra Streisand at the White
House's first ever Gay Pride reception hosted by President
Obama."
--Huffington Post
"Much this book focuses on his work, but the more telling pages
are filled with love gained and lost, raising other people's
children, finding himself, and aging in the gay community. A
must-read."
--The Advocate, 30 Best Books You Missed in 2015
"A conversational, nicely constructed combination autobiography
and history lesson that recounts Segal's contribution to LGBT
activism, from his early days as a member of the Gay Liberation
Front in New York to his stewardship of a successful weekly
newspaper."
--Philadelphia Inquirer
"Segal’s writing style is engrossing and never ponderous....And
Then I Danced is highly recommended for all LGBT history
collections and especially for readers with interest in
Pennsylvania/Philadelphia politics."
--ALA’s GLBT Round Table
"With gentle humor and the slightest touch of sardonicism, Segal
writes further about people he's known, his newspaper and a
different kind of activism. That in-the-trenches stuff is great
to read, partly because his narrative is indicative of the times
in which it all happened....Segal lets readers into his personal
life: his loves, losses, and (spoiler alert!) a very happy
ending. Drama seems to follow me, he writes, and readers will be
glad for it."
--Washington Blade
On December 11, 1973, Mark Segal disrupted a live broadcast of
the CBS Evening News when he sat on the desk directly between the
camera and news anchor Walter Cronkite, yelling, "Gays protest
CBS prejudice!" He was wrestled to the studio floor by the
stagehands on live national television, thus ending LGBT
invisibility. But this one victory left many more battles to
fight, and creativity was required to find a way to challenge
stereotypes surrounding the LGBT community. Mark Segal's job, as
he saw it, was to show the nation who gay people are: our sons,
daughters, hers, and mothers.
Because of activists like Mark Segal, whose life work is
dramatically detailed in this poignant and important memoir,
today there are openly LGBT people working in the White House and
throughout corporate America. An entire community of gay world
citizens is now finding the voice that they need to become
visible.