In 1960, Smith College's Professor Newton Arvin and two of his colleagues were swept up in a scandal concocted in large part as a way of shaming being queer out of existence.

Efforts to control the flow of what is erotica or smut is an ongoing crusade in the United States and in many places in the world. When those crusades are weaponized against targeted groups of people they can be lethal.

Some of you listening to this episode might think a professor at a private college is a fairly privileged person, and you're not wrong, but his homosexuality stripped away much of that privilege.

The other reason I'm sharing this story is that Newton Arvin and his two colleagues are stand-ins for the hundreds, perhaps thousands of mostly gay men who were arrested, jailed, and had their lives ruined for the offense of being gay.

The potential loss of one's freedom and profession is both unbelievable from today's vantage point and entirely possible to imagine happening again.

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This collection of cases includes the murder of three trans women of color, the most at-risk group in the LGBTQ+ community. Two cases of intimate partner violence, please see this description for help.

The murder of a 19-year-old murder in prison because he was gay and black. A gay man was murdered in his home by a jealous boyfriend and the victim's friend, and two gay men were murdered by a group of friends led by a homophobic leader.

Intimate Partner Help:

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Online live chat: thehotline.org If you or someone you know is in danger, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Thanks to MysticMag for the global resource guide.

One of the first to be compiled. https://www.mysticmag.com/psychic-reading/domestic-violence-resource-guide/

Episode Description

Benjamin Renwick

Dylan Gurley

Micah Laureano

Leo Nunes

Tzatzi Sanchez

Savannah Williams

Starr Brown

Tommy Lee Trimble and John Lloyd Griffin

Vanity Williams

Peter Coshan

Lisa Stone

Curtis Marsh

Gaurav Gopalan

Matthew Mickens-Murrey

Ukea Davis and Stephanie Thomas

Vanity Williams

Several of the cases in this episode involve unsolved cases. In the next episode, I will delve into the reasons why this might be the case.

Two of these cases involve the murder of black trans women, the highest rate of murder in the LGBTQ+ community.

The last two cases happened at the same time in the same city

To watch any of these stories you can find them on the Queer True Crime YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK4r13FF8ExLGbhfSH6i4hw

For Help

National Domestic Violence Hotline

1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Online live chat: thehotline.org

If you or someone you know is in danger call 9-1-1 immediately.

The International Domestic Violence Resource Guide (2024) is the largest resource worldwide.

https://www.cvpsd.org/post/domestic-violence-resources-in-the-north-america

If you suspect elder abuse, call 1-833-401-0832 and enter your 5-digit zip code to be connected to the Adult Protective Services in your county, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

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