Gay History: The Gay Rights Movement

The 1960s and preceding decades were not welcoming times for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans. For instance, solicitation of same-sex relations was illegal in New York City.

For such reasons, LGBTQ+ individuals flocked to gay bars and clubs, places of refuge where they could express themselves openly and socialize without worry. However, the New York State Liquor Authority penalized and shut down establishments that served alcohol to known or suspected LGBTQ+ individuals, arguing that the mere gathering of homosexuals was “disorderly.” Establishments could get shut down just for having gay employees or serving gay patrons.

Thanks to activists’ efforts, these regulations were overturned in 1966. The Mattachine Society staged a “sip-in” where they openly declared their sexuality at taverns, daring staff to turn them away and suing establishments who did. When The Commission on Human Rights ruled that gay individuals had the right to be served in bars, police raids were temporarily reduced. But engaging in gay behavior in public (holding hands, kissing or dancing with someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars continued and many bars still operated without liquor licenses. 

The Stonewall Riots, also called the Stonewall Uprising, began in the early hours of June 28, 1969 when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a haven for the city's gay, lesbian, and transgender community. The raid sparked a riot among bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police roughly hauled employees and patrons out of the bar, leading to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside the bar on Christopher Street, in neighboring streets and in nearby Christopher Park. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

( ~ History.com / Photo: A large crowd commemorates the second anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village of New York City in 1971. Fifty years after the first riots, the NYPD made a formal apology on June 6, 2019, stating the police at the time enforced discriminatory laws.)

Gay History: Gay Liberation Front

Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK, Australia and Canada. The GLF provided a voice for the newly-out and newly-radicalized gay community, and a meeting place for a number of activists who would go on to form other groups, such as the Gay Activists Alliance and Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in the US. In the UK and Canada, activists also developed a platform for gay liberation and demonstrated for gay rights. Activists from both the US and UK groups would later go on to found or be active in groups including ACT UP, the Lesbian Avengers, Queer Nation, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and Stonewall.

( ~ Wikipedia / Photo: Photo by Diana Davies: Gay Liberation Front marches on Times Square, New York, 1970.)

Gay History: Gay Pride Month

The concept of Pride Month began with the Stonewall riots, a series of riots and protests for gay liberation that took place over several days beginning on June 28, 1969. The riots began after a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar located within Lower Manhattan. Activists Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Stormé DeLarverie are credited for inciting the riots, though Johnson disputes her involvement.

The year after the riots, the first pride marches were held in several US cities. The march in New York City, aimed to celebrate "Christopher Street Liberation Day", alongside parallel marches across the US, is considered to be a watershed moment for LGBTQIA+ rights. Fred Sargeant, an organizer of some of the first marches, said that the goal was to commemorate the Stonewall riots and further push for liberation. He noted that while the first marches were more akin to a protest than a celebration, it helped to remind people of LGBTQIA+ communities and how they may include one's family and friends.

( ~ Wikipedia / Photo: In the early 1970's, the Northwestern University Gay Liberation group attended the anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Washington DC.)

I Miss New York

I miss New York. Now that I work from home, I rarely make it into the city anymore. What use to be a daily occurrence is now a monthly or a once every other month trip. There's a spirit to the city that's hard to explain to those who haven't experienced it. It has it's rough edges, no doubt, but there's an energy to it that permeates every building, every subway, every street corner, and even every person you walk past. The picture above is the first thing I saw yesterday as I stepped out of the subway and onto the street. New York was the first place to tell me "I belong", that my identity was valid, and that my existence was never the problem. It never demanded anything from me other than to just "be". Validation can be powerful.

With a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills already introduced this year (over 400), I have unfortunately found myself revisiting a lot of the anxiety and darkness that so very often dominated the younger years of my life. Yesterday's trek through New York City felt like an exhale. I still belong. I am still valid, and my existence is still not the problem.