Oral history interview with Edward B. Segel, 2007 May 22

This oral history interview with Edward B. Segel was conducted by Lisa Brandt Heckman on May 22, 2007, for the Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. The interview was conducted as part of a senior capstone class on LGBTQ history at Portland State University, with instructor Christa Orth.

In this interview, Segel shares his experience of accepting his sexuality as a gay man in the 1970s while on leave in London, England, and talks about his involvement in the St. Catherine's Society, a gay men's organization. He then speaks at length about his involvement in various LGBT organizations in Portland, after he accepted a professorship at Reed College in 1973, particularly the Portland Town Council and the Right to Privacy PAC. He speaks about several of the people also involved in those organizations, about the organizations' activism, and about some of the conflicts within those organizations. He also talks about his involvement with the Portland Gay Men's Chorus. He talks about the acceptance of the gay community in Portland, and how it has increased since the 1970s. He shares his opinion on gay marriage rights. He closes the interview by sharing his thoughts about religion.