On Thursday, September 15, 2022, LPB Bookstore hosted a discussion on “Crisis and Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic,” with Adrian Shanker, editor of the book and a contributing writer, and Vicky Kistler, recently appointed Director of Community and Economic Development for the city of Allentown, PA, where she has directed health programs and policy for 30 years.
Crisis and Care is not a what-happened-and-why approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather a compilation of stories from across the United States showing how queer activists responded in real time. Adrian and Vicky bring expertise and decades of experience in community healthcare to a discussion of not just the failure, pain and loss wrought by the pandemic, but also—and perhaps more importantly—the hope to be found in the resiliency and successful strategies of queer activists as they responded to the crisis.