🪧 About the Event: Join us for this moderated conversation "Forced into the Closet to Survive at BYU in the 60s: The Very True but Really Wild Life of Bill Blevins" at the Mildred Berryman Institute for LGBTQIA2S+ Utah History
🎙️ About the Speaker: Bill Blevins was born in the central valley of CA in 1946. He entered BYU in 1964 as a non-LDS student, joining the International Folk Dancers, and the Cougar Band as a talented baton-twirler. Kicked out on suspicion of being Gay, he spoke with Apostle Spencer W. Kimball, confessed his past sexual escapades, and promised to get baptized in order to be readmitted to the school. A mission to Central America followed and then he met his future wife at a BYU summer program in Mexico. A marriage and four children later, his wife divorced him and Bill was excommunicated, leaving him free to embrace the LGBT community here, becoming a founding member of the Salt Lake Men’s Choir. He retired after working 36 years at the Marriott Library, University of Utah. Bill just turned 80 and has been reunited with his children after a long estrangement.
💻 Remote Attendance
Zoom link: https://utah.zoom.us/j/86061269049
Passcode: 464036
📚 Special thanks to Signature Books for allowing us to host this event in their space!
🌈 Past lectures can be accessed on our YouTube channel or on the Berryman Lecture Series page.