Linda Birner & Dennis Mangers
Mom Guess What (MGW) founder Linda Birner and former California State Assembly member and LGBT activist Dennis Mangers discuss MGW, one of Sacramento's first gay newspapers.
Sacramento LGBT community
CSH houses several LGBT periodical collections as well as conducts oral histories that document this community in Sacramento from the 1970s until the early 2000s. The LGBT Periodicals primarily document the LGBT community in the Greater Sacramento Area. Through these publications, the growing LGBT community was able to share resources and events that welcomed their presence. From news about laws being passed regarding sexuality to local picnics, members of the LGBT community knew that they could rely on these periodicals to keep them updated on the local scene. Timeline courtesy of Dr. Rebekkah Mulholland, Ph. D.
Timeline
1970-1979
The 70s
1980-1989
The 80s
1990-1999
The 90s
2000-2005
The early 2000s
1970-1979
The 70s
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1976 -The book, Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A., is written by Jonathan Ned Katz based on his play of 1972. This was the first book that documented gay history in the U.S.
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1977 -Harvey Milk elected county supervisor in San Francisco becomes the third "out" elected public official in the U.S.
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1954 -In Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, KS – the U.S. Supreme Court rules “separate but equal” is unconstitutional in American public schools.
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1978 -The Briggs Initiative, a statewide proposition in California, was defeated by 58% of the voters. The initiative would have banned gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools.
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1978 -Mom Guess What! newspaper prints first issue in November
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1978 -November 27, Milk is assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone. Supervisor Dan White is convicted of voluntary manslaughter and is sentenced to seven years in prison.
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1979 -National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Over 100,000 people gathered in support of gay and lesbian rights. Chapters of the national organization Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) are founded across the U.S.
1980-1989
The 80s
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1981 -June 5, AIDS Epidemic begins. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reported the first cases of a rare lung disease , named Acquired Immunodeficiency Deficiency Syndrome the following year. A total of 583,298 U.S. men, women, and children died from AIDS through 2007.
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1983 -Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Watkins v. U.S. Army. The New York Times published an article in 1991 detailing Perry Watkins' settlement with the Army following his win in the courts.
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1983 -San Francisco AIDS Foundation co-founded by Cleve Jones, Marcus Conant, Frank Jacobson, and Richard Keller.
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1985 -1950s and 1960s actor Rock Hudson dies due to AIDS related complications. After his death, it was revealed that he was gay.
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1985 -The AIDS Quilt concept was conceived and implemented by Cleve Jones, an LGBT activist in San Francisco.
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1986 -Bowers v. Hardwick (Supreme Court Decision) By a vote of 5-4 that a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults was legal and that there were no constitutional protections for acts of sodomy. This was overruled in 2003: See Lawrence v. Texas.
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1986 -The Lambda Community Center, later the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, was opened in Sacramento
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1987 -The organization, ACT UP formed in New York. The purpose of ACT UP was to impact the lives of people living with AIDS, to advocate for legislation, medical research and treatment, and to bring an end to the disease. The organization is still active today.
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1988 -December 1, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared December 1 as the first World AIDS Day.
1990-1999
The 90s
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1991 -Created by the New York-based Visual AIDS, the red ribbon is adopted as a symbol of awareness and compassion for those living with HIV/AIDS.
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1993 -The U.S. Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" that allowed gay and lesbian people to serve in the military. They would not be asked their sexual orientation during enlistment screening.
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1994 -Greg Louganis, four-time Olympic gold medalist and considered one of the greatest divers in history, publicly came out as gay as part of the Gay Games in New York City. He subsequently wrote a book entitled Breaking the Surface that was published in 1996. In it, he revealed his Olympic experiences, coming out journey, and that he was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988.
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1996 -September 21, President Clinton signs the Defence of Marriage Act into law, defining marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman and that no state is required to recognize a same-sex marriage from out of state.
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1996 -Romer v. Evans. U. S. Supreme Court decides that Colorado's 2nd amendment, denying gays and lesbians protections against discrimination, is unconstitutional, calling them "special rights."
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1997 -Ellen DeGeneres, a comedian, TV actor, and TV host was one of the first popular entertainers who publicly came out as lesbian during an interview on the Oprah Winfrey show and then became the first openly gay character on the TV show, "Ellen." She was then highlighted on the cover of Time Magazine and other news organizations.
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1998 -April 1, Coretta Scott King, widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., calls on the civil rights community to join the struggle against homophobia. She receives criticism from members of the Black civil rights movement for comparing civil rights to gay rights.
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1998 -Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student was brutally attacked and tied to a fence in a field outside of Laramie, WY and left to die because he was gay. He died from his wounds several days later. This was one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in America and resulted in a federal law passed 10 years later in 2009 called the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act," a federal law against bias crimes directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people.
2000-2005
The early 2000s
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2000 -April 26, Vermont becomes the first state in the U.S. to legalize civil unions and registered partnerships between same-sex couples.
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2003 -Lawrence v. Texas. This Supreme Court decision ruled by a 6-3 vote that a Kansas law criminalizing gay or lesbian sex was unconstitutional declaring the importance of constitutional liberty and privacy consistent with the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendement. Also overturned the court decision in Bowers V. Hardwick (1986) stating that the court had made the wrong decision.
collections
Linda Birner Mom Guess What collection
Under the mentorship of Sacramento Bee editor, C.K. McClatchy, Birner founded the first LGBT newspaper in Sacramento County in November of 1978. Named after a popular coming-out phrase, Mom…Guess What! (MGW) newspaper was created in response to Proposition Six sponsored by State Senator John Briggs. A distressing time for the gay and lesbian community, Proposition Six was a California ballot measure that proposed to ban gay and lesbian people as well as their supporters from teaching in public schools. On November 7, 1978, Californians voted down the measure. MGW newspaper went to press to advocate against this measure and continued to be a place for LGBT folks to learn their community news and help educate heterosexual people for many years.
Allen Chamberlin LGBTQ Newspaper Collection
This collection is divided into two series: LGBT Periodicals and Sacramento Periodicals. However, the majority of the collection primarily documents the development and maintenance of the LGBT Community in Sacramento, California. Donated by Sacramento resident, Allen Chamberlin, the collection consists of periodicals that trace the birth and rise of the LGBT Community in Sacramento as well as the rise of other Sacramento neighborhoods. The collection covers forty years of Sacramento LGBT history, California lawmaking, and the local Sacramento scene. Topics and subjects included in the collection are LGBT community building, gay entrepreneurship, HIV/AIDS education, and California laws regarding Homosexuality.
Mom Guess What! LGBT newspaper panel + Q&A event
On June 6, 2023, the Center for Sacramento History hosted a "Mom Guess What" newspaper panel discussion and Q+A at Clunie Community Center with MGW founder Linda Birner, Dennis Mangers, Frank Lawler, and Rosemary Metrailer. The group discussed the creation of MGW and its importance to Sacramento's gay community, along with the LGBTQ experience in Sacramento during the AIDS crisis and fight for gay rights. The event opened with a performance by the Sacramento Gay Men's Chorus followed by introductory remarks by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. The discussion was moderated by City Historian Marcia Eymann.
Oral Histories
Linda Birner & Elizabeth Harrison
Mom Guess What (MGW) founder Linda Birner and Elizabeth Harrison discuss the history of MGW and how the AIDS epidemic changed everything in the early 1980s.
Del Richards
Sacramento author Del Richards reflects on her work with Mom Guess What and her experiences as a writer.
Linda Birner & Frank Lawler
Mom Guess What (MGW) founder Linda Birner and longtime friend and MGW staffer Frank Lawler discuss working on the newspaper, Sacramento's gay community, and what the AIDS epidemic and fight for gay rights were like in Sacramento.
Linda Birner & Cheryl Strickland
Mom Guess What (MGW) founder Linda Birner and former MGW secretary Cheryl Stickland discuss MGW.