MOCA TALKS – Subversities: Interventions in Queer Activism Past & Present

Daniel C. Tsang, a pioneering LGBTQ+ activist, will reflect on fifty years of activism.

About this Event

The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is honored to partner with the American LGBTQ+ Museum to welcome Daniel C. Tsang, a pioneering LGBTQ+ activist, for a special conversation reflecting on his fifty years of activism. In his groundbreaking article Gay Awareness, published in Bridge Magazine (February 1975), one of the earliest pieces to openly discuss LGBTQ+ issues within the Asian American community, he wrote:

Gay people have long been misunderstood by society. They have been ridiculed, discriminated against, and rejected, even by their own families. It is time that we confront these realities, challenge these prejudices, and create spaces where we can live openly and with dignity.

At a time when such discussions were rare, Tsang’s words served as a powerful call to action, igniting dialogue and increasing visibility for LGBTQ+ Asian Americans. His activism continued with Gay Insurgent, a radical queer journal he co-founded in 1980, which provided a platform for intersectional voices challenging mainstream narratives on gender, sexuality, and racial justice. As an archivist, journalist, and scholar, Tsang has remained at the forefront of advocacy, shaping discussions on intersectionality and community empowerment.

In this program, Tsang will reflect on the evolution of LGBTQ+ rights over the past 50 years, his contributions to activism, and the ongoing challenges faced by the community today. The conversation will be moderated by Herb Tam, MOCA’s Chief Curator and Senior Director of Exhibitions and Programs, and will be followed by a Q&A session, offering the audience an opportunity to engage directly with Tsang’s insights and experiences. Through this event, MOCA seeks to honor his legacy while fostering meaningful discussions on the intersections of race, sexuality, and activism in our communities today.

ABOUT Daniel C. Tsang

Daniel C. Tsang is Librarian Emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, where he was a Social Sciences and Asian American Studies bibliographer and data librarian for 30 years, as well as a union activist on campus. With decades of experience in queer activism, academic labor organizing, police watch, and alternative media, he has been a prominent voice in progressive movements. Tsang was twice a Fulbright Research Scholar, in Hanoi and Hong Kong, where he was born and raised. His reportage, op-eds, and interviews have appeared in Hong Kong Free Press, South China Morning Post, Los Angeles Times, Critical Asian Studies, Far Eastern Economic Review, Michigan Free Press, OC Weekly, Fusion, Covert Action Quarterly, Asian Week, AMASS, CUNY Forum, Gay Community News, and Bridge Magazine. For more on his work, visit his emeritus profile.

ABOUT American LGBTQ+ Museum

The American LGBTQ+ Museum (ALM) preserves, investigates, and celebrates the dynamic histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, as well as those of the emergent and adjacent identities among our communities. Using exhibitions and programs, we seek to advance LGBTQ+ equality through the lens of social justice movements, including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, immigration, and disability.

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