Mason Funk

Since time immemorial, humanity has honored its elders as sources of wisdom, perspective, and grace. Today in America, we’re living in the presence of a unique throng of elders: the people who, over the past 50+ years ago, built the movement to lead lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people out of the shadows and intro mainstream society.

The path was steep – and this ragtag assembly of dreamers, visionaries and strategists had no roadmap. They only knew (or dared to believe) they didn’t have to live in the shadows any longer. And they succeeded. Today, LGBTQ people are welcomed in our families, workplaces, schools and churches.

The question is: how did they do it?

The answers are found inside a groundbreaking oral history project called OUTWORDS, which over the past decade has interviewed nearly 400 LGBTQ elders all across America. Join founder Mason Funk as he shares spellbinding written and video excerpts from OUTWORDS, teasing out the essential human qualities that built a remarkably successful social change movement – and which are relevant to each one of us today on our daily personal and professional journeys.