The Secrets of Communists in the Closets with Famed Activist Bettina Aptheker!

Today we talk to famed author, activist and Distinguished Professor Emerita, Bettina Aptheker! Bettina's new book is Communists In Closets, Queering the History 1930s-1990s.  The book explores the history of gay, lesbian, and non-heterosexual people in the Communist Party in the United States. The Communist Party banned lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from membership beginning in 1938 when it cast them off as "degenerates." It persisted in this policy until 1991. Bettina's book tells the stories of those who were forced to live in this very segmented "closet". Bettina was a high profile activist in the 1960s and 70s, and an acclaimed author and educator. After completing her master's degree, Bettina taught African-American and Women's Studies at San José State University. In the early 1980s, she completed a doctorate in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California Santa Cruz .Since 1980, she has taught in the Feminist Studies department there. With co-host Brody Levesque