Overview

 ""Drawing on his experience as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Vic Basile has written a valuable addition to the story of one of the most consequential movements in post-World War II America..."" -Congressman Barney Frank Bending Toward Justice chronicles the early years of a movement pressing for equal rights and lifesaving resources for LGBTQ people who for eons have been shunned by the ignorant, reviled by the so-called faithful, and shamed even by their own families. Vic Basile leads the Human Rights Campaign through the AIDS epidemic as it suffers too many lives lost, fights for essential funding for research, education and treatment, confronts ignorance and discrimination, and begins to shift the hearts and minds of Americans about equal treatment. These unsung heroes of the movement worked unobtrusively and bravely within the system to change the system. Some of them are still here, too many are gone. Every single one of them has a poignant, powerful story that must be told and that never should be forgotten. About the author: Vic Basile has enjoyed the rare opportunity and extraordinary privilege of a career of public service and social justice advocacy. A widely recognized national leader in the LGBT community, he lives in Maryland.

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Reviews

"Praise for BENDING TOWARD JUSTICE ""Drawing on his experience as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Vic Basile has written a valuable addition to the story of one of the most consequential movements in post-World War II America: the fight against homophobia. His readable narrative corrects a glaring omission in one widely accepted version of this record: the central role played by conventional political activity in our success."" ""Drawing on his experience as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Vic Basile has written a valuable addition to the story of one of the most consequential movements in post-World War II America: the fight against homophobia. His readable narrative corrects a glaring omission in one widely accepted version of this record: the central role played by conventional political activity in our success."" -Congressman Barney Frank ""This book will become the definitive record of the national movement for civil rights for LGBTQ people that has led to where we are today, not only in our country but in much of the Western world and beyond."" -Winston Johnston, LGBTQ activist and confidant of Coretta Scott King ""The clout of the gay community on Capitol Hill and in American politics was transformed because of Vic's leadership. There's no way we would have survived the epidemic without an institution like the Human Rights Campaign Fund. Vic had the political experience, along with the intellect and skill, to know what needed to be done."" -Gregory King, former communications director of the Human Rights Campaign ""Vic Basile was exactly the right person for Human Rights Campaign Fund at the time he was there because he was skilled at building the organization. It's very di#erent to build something versus maintain something. Vic had a vision of what gay political involvement could look like-he had an optimism that was infectious, and he was able to engage people and persuade them to do things that that they probably never thought they would do. Vic was the critical person for that time. He built the organization beyond what I think any of us could have ever guessed or envisioned."" -Eric Rosenthal, MD, MPH, first political director for the Human Rights Campaign Fund"

Author Information

Vic Basile has dedicated his life in whatever way and however small to bending that long moral arc of the universe toward justice. Vic has enjoyed the rare opportunity and extraordinary privilege of a career of public service and social justice advocacy. A widely recognized national leader in the LGBT community, he has committed his efforts to guaranteeing equality for this constituency. His initial work as a VISTA Volunteer community organizer in the rural South set him on a course of public service and advocacy. During the Obama Administration, he served as the Senior Counselor to the director of the United States Office of Personnel Management. In that role, he was the director's principal lead on all LGBTQ issues affecting the civil service. Throughout the 1970s and early '80s, he held positions at ACTION, the former umbrella agency for the Peace Corps and VISTA. While there, he became a labor activist on behalf of federal employees. After coming out, he transferred his energy and experience to the struggle for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality. He served as the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign. He later co-founded the LGBTQ Victory Fund to help openly LGBTQ candidates get the money and support they need to win elective office. In the mid-nineties, he did capacity-building consulting with many local and national nonprofits. During that time, he co-executive produced the award-winning documentary After Stonewall and the PBS series In the Life. In 1998, Vic returned to his volunteer roots by accepting a Clinton Administration appointment as Director of Private Sector Cooperation and International Volunteerism at the Peace Corps. Before returning to the federal government in 2009, he was the executive director of Moveable Feast, Inc., a Baltimore-based nonprofit serving the HIV/AIDS community. Now retired, he lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his partner, Fabrizio Claudio.

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