Because he and all of his siblings were gay men, Bill Hull felt that his sexuality was not unusual. But in the 1950s and 1960s, discretion was vital to southern gay men, he says. Publicly acknowledging one’s homosexuality could result in economic recrimination or physical violence. In these excerpts from a 2001 interview, Hull describes his coming-out experience as a teenager and the impact the liberating Chapel Hill atmosphere had on gay males.

• Being gay in the 1950s
  
• Family
  
• Gay life in Chapel Hill