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WATCH: An Untold History Of Gay Persecution, “The Lavender Scare”

In this exclusive clip from the forthcoming documentary The Lavender Scare, one man tells of his interrogation by police, who made a surprise visit to a private home where a Christmas party was underway.

The story seems almost unbelievable today, but the fear experienced by gay men and lesbians during this period was all too real.

The Lavender Scare uncovers a homosexual witch hunt started in 1953 when President Eisenhower ordered the firing of all federal employees discovered to be gay or lesbian. Thousands and thousands of gay men and lesbians lost their jobs after government agents were assigned to pry into their private lives.

These agents made surprise middle-of-the-night visits like the one described in the clip above, coercing innocent people into turning over the names of their friends. For more info on this documentary and to donate to their Kickstarter, which helps with production costs, click here.

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