From marching at Stonewall to dancing at White House: Gay rights activist Mark Segal reflects

Mark Segal, the publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News and one of the foremost activists for gay rights, has a new memoir, “And then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality.”

It was a story of being in the right place at the right time. 

Mark Segal started on the path to become one of the foremost activists for gay rights when living in New York City in 1969, aged 18 and with no job prospects.

“I came here to be gay. I’m proud of who I am,” he explains. “Then I think, well, women’s rights are happening now. People are fighting for black rights, and Hispanic rights. What about my community? When do we get on that stage?”

The catalyst came that June, when the Stonewall riots broke out. “I’m lucky enough to be there in the middle of it,” he recalls.  “The words weren’t there at the time, but I became a gay activist.”

The publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News has a new memoir, “And then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality.”  Click on the link above to hear his conversation with NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller.