Robert W. Fieseler

Robert W. Fieseler is the author of Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation, winner of the 2019 Edgar Award in Best Fact Crime and finalist for the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction. He lives in New Orleans.

LEADING THE WAY

A Gay Bar Fire Killed 32. Roy Reed Reported the Truth First.

When the New York Times’ Roy Reed reported on New Orleans’ Up Stairs Lounge inferno of 1973, which killed 32 people, he was the first journalist to identify it as a gay bar.

Robert W. Fieseler

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Pray Tell

50 Years of Faith In The World's Most LGBTQ-Friendly Church

The Metropolitan Community Church has faced prejudice from other Christians and derision from some LGBTQ people. But its message of belonging has stayed constant for 50 years.

Robert W. Fieseler

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TRAGEDY

The Deadly 1973 Blaze That Haunts Black Gay New Orleans

32 people were killed when fire engulfed the UpStairs Lounge gay bar in New Orleans in 1973. Black LGBT people say the struggle for respect and visibility in the city is ongoing.

Robert W. Fieseler