D’Emilio’s scholarship is foundational to the history of sexuality. Beyond a direct lineage of graduate students, his work has shaped all of us who work in the field. Indeed, his scholarship from the period covered in the memoir (Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, Intimate Matters, and Lost Prophet) is still assigned in university classrooms all over the United States. The key continuing topic/theme of the memoir is the growth and development of LGBTQ history during these decades and its close relationship to movement activism and community building. This roundtable session will be a conversation between four scholars at various career stages. It will begin with a summary of the book's content and major themes for attendees. Then Marcia Gallo, La Shonda Mims, Timothy Stewart-Winter, and Jim Downs will each reflect on the memoir itself, D’Emilio’s work, and their own engagement with LGBTQ+ history, movement activism, and community building. In the process, they will engage with where American LGBTQ+ history as a field has come from and where it is going. Each will speak for approximately 10 minutes, leaving approximately 50 minutes for discussion and audience Q&A. This session will appeal to those who work in or are interested in the history of sexuality in the U.S., as well as those interested in the social movements at the end of the 20th century.