1) what is the Imperial Court System?

 

Founded in 1965 in San Francisco by LGBTQ pioneer Jose' Sarria, the ICS is a 501-C3 charitable organization that today has affiliated Imperial Courts operating all around America, Canada, and Mexico.

 

2) Why is documenting this history so important?

 

After 55 years of operation, we have begun to witness an increasing number of our founding ICS elders pass away. If we hurry, we do still have time to gather the wonderful stories of the founding of our various local Courts from the survivors of our earliest days. In doing so, we hope to secure for our elders their rightful places in our history.

 

3) Who is going to profit from this book project?

 

No one will profit, as this book is highly unlikely to generate any income above and beyond the costs of production and printing. The writing and editing are being 100% donated, so no one will be paid. If the book does eventually generate some income, it will all be donated to the Jose' Sarria Scholarship Fund.

 

4)  if I submit data from my Court, do you want a chronology of our entire College of Monarchs.

 

From a purely research perspective, a year-to-year chronology would be nice to have in a file. Truth be told, however, printing 70+ listings of the various Court Monarch chronologies would make this book about as much fun to read as a phone book. What we are truly seeking are interesting stories and anecdotes that bring the history of your Court (and the people who were critical to its founding) to life. Especially stories that include Mama Jose'.

 

5) I have photos and/or memorabilia from the early days of my Court. Would you like to see what I have?

 

Yes! There is no way to guarantee what will ultimately be included, but the more source material that we have to work from, the better.

 

6) Are you seeking information about Courts that are no longer functioning?

 

Yes! Once again, however, we have no idea at this point what will be included in the final narrative. Picking and choosing origin stories from 80+ potential Courts is going to make constructing a narrative quite a challenge. The most engaging stories will be the ones that make the grade, regardless of whether that particular Court is still in operation, or not.

 

7) When is the book scheduled to be published?

 

If we can line up funding, and receive enough submissions, we are hoping by the fall of 2020.