SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Did you know one of our country’s first gay newspapers was founded in downtown Sacramento?
It was published in the 1970s and circulated for more than 30 years. Now, the Center for Sacramento History is trying to preserve the collection.
The owner of the "Mom Guess What" newspaper, Linda Birner, says she started it in 1978.
“I felt like Sacramento didn’t have a gay voice," said Birner.
She was on a mission to show the world gay people are no different from straight people. Proposition 6 is one of the things Birner says fired her up to start the publication.
“Proposition 6 was from a senator, John Briggs, from southern California," said Birner.
She said the senator wanted all gay schoolteachers and employees to be fired, so that’s when they got to work.
“I wanted to educate people really fast. So, I had it on the front page of some of the issues,” said Birner.
Their hard work paid off.
“It did not pass, we got the word out. With flying colors, it did not pass. We got the word out and were so thrilled,” said Birner.
It wasn’t all political. Anyone could pick up the paper and it was published every two weeks.
“We had a huge straight readership. People enjoyed reading our opera reviews and our restaurant reviews and things that were for everybody,” said Birner.
Sabrina Holecko is an archivist at the Center for Sacramento History. She needs the public’s help to complete the ‘Mom Guess What’ newspaper collection. The paper ran from 1978 to 2009.
“Trying to get the complete run of the newspaper from when it started to the end and we’re missing a good chunk of the 80s but there’s also some other dates in there that we need. We’re trying to get the full run so that we can then digitize it and make it more accessible to anyone,” said Holecko.
Holecko says this collection gives us a good look at the LGBTQ+ community and how far it’s come.
A clipping from the early 90s showing a gay pride parade on Capitol Mall. On the left side of the paper, gay pride marchers. On the right, those in protest.
Birner remembers the AIDS epidemic and how frightening it was to so many.
“The AIDS thing was such a shock and it all happened really fast and changed everything,” said Birner.
The newspaper was created out of a need for acceptance and was later recognized for its many contributions to the gay community. So, how did the name for the paper come about anyway?
“All of a sudden someone said, “Mom, Guess What!” Because your mom is the first one you tell and we all just said, 'yes, yes, yes.' And that’s how it started.”
If you are a former employee or photographer of the ‘Mom Guess What’ newspaper, the Center for Sacramento History would love for you to contact them and share any items you may have with them.
Watch more on ABC10: The history of the Black Panther Party in Sacramento
