What Kind of Queen?
Publication Date: April 28, 2026
Once upon a time, there lived a boy named José who dreamed of becoming royalty—and of a queendom where everyone would be treated fairly and with respect.
A child of immigrants from Colombia, José Sarria was born in San Francisco in 1922. With the support of his family, he grew up to discover what it means to be a queen: he fought against evil by serving in WWII, helping to liberate a Nazi concentration camp; he inspired others to be their authentic selves by performing at San Francisco’s Black Cat Café, a haven for artists and activists; and he cared for his community through his LGBTQ+ advocacy work, including the establishment of the Imperial Court System, a global charitable organization that still thrives today.
Sarria led by example, joyfully giving back to his community while challenging the status quo. With a fairy-tale feel and radiant illustrations, this picture book biography celebrates his legacy of seeing the world not as it is but as it could be.
Andrew co-authored What Kind of Queen? with Kyle Casey Chu.
San Francisco Bay Times
The San Francisco Bay Times, the first LGBTQ newspaper founded jointly by gay men and women, launched in 1978 and remains one of the largest and oldest LGBTQ newspapers in Northern California.
Andrew wrote a monthly column on LGBTQ history for the San Francisco Bay Times.
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May 2024 “The Forgotten Nationwide Protests That Happened Three Years Before Stonewall”
April 2024 “Anti-LGBTQ Bills Being Introduced Today Echo Movements From Years Past”
February 2024 “The Power of the Sun and the Sum”
January 2024 “A New Year and an Old Story”
December 2023 “A Mystery and an Invitation”
November 2023 “Sharing Indigenous History”
October 2023 “Coming Out and Coming In”
September 2023 “A Time Capsule of Joy”
August 2023 “Uncovering Compton’s”
July 2023 “Celebrating Queer Bodies at the Gay Games”
June 2023 “Raising the Rainbow”
April 2023 “We Have Always Been”
March 2023 “For Whom These Were Written”
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Our Lives
Our Lives is Wisconsin’s source for LGBTQ news, people, community, and culture since 2007.
Andrew wrote a quarterly column in the publication, featuring stories from the Madison LGBTQ Archive.
Oral History Review
The Oral History Review, published by the Oral History Association, is the U.S. journal of record for the theory and practice of oral history and related fields.
Andrew served as the Social Media and Editorial Assistant, editing two virtual issues of the journal, publishing two review articles, and managing a regular blog schedule.
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Editor/Co-Editor
Editor, “Oral History and Public History Virtual Issue,” Oral History Review, 2017
Co-Editor, “OHA@50: An OHR Virtual Issue,” Oral History Review | 2016
Author
“West Side Stories and Narratives of Displacement and Resistance Map,” Oral History Review 43.2 | Fall, 2016
“StoryCorps,” Oral History Review 43.1 | Spring, 2016
Selected Published Articles and Research
2017 “A (Re)Turn to the Past: Memory and Movement in ¡Viva 16!,” Queer Studies in Media and Popular Culture 2.2
2012 “The Lavender Tide: LGBTQ Activism in Neoliberal Argentina”, University of San Francisco Masters Thesis
2011 “If there is no justice: The emergence of the escrache and the recreation of Argentine society”, Augustana College Bachelors Thesis
2011 “The Continuous Coup: Honduras 18 Months After the ‘Return to Democracy’”, International Affairs Review
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Selected Conference Presentations
June 2022 “Preserving the LGBTQ Past,” Queer History Conference Keynote
April 2022 “Why We Rise: LGBTQ History from the Harlem Renaissance to ‘Don’t Say Gay,’” Caltech Center for Inclusion & Diversity Keynote
October 2014 “From Glee to Grindr: Media Representations & the Sexual Inequality Gap Among Queer Men,” Film & History Conference
March 2013 “The Color of Invisibility: Sexual Racism and Online Sexual Ideals,” Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference
Use the contact form to request information about any of these presentations.
Andrew W. Shaffer 