LGBT History
A Look Back at the Uprising that Started a Gay Rights Movement
Published June 26, 2009 @ 07:15AM PT
Media Matters for America took the MSM to task yesterday for not doing an adequate enough job of covering the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which are set to be commemorated this weekend (and on Monday). While their criticism was a little warranted up until yesterday, today the Web is exploding with Stonewall coverage (even in Germany!).
One of the best pieces we've seen comes from Democracy Now (hardly a bastion of the MSM, but still influential in their own right). It's a hybrid interview with David Carter (author of "Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution”), and a rebroadcast of a radio drama called "Remembering Stonewall," which was produced in 1989 to commemorate the 20th anniversary.
One interesting statistic, according to Democracy Now? At the time of Stonewall there were only 50 to 60 gay groups in the country. In the immediate aftermath of Stonewall? Well, one year later there were 1,500 groups. Two years later, there were 2,500 groups.
Kind of easy to draw some parallels there between Stonewall, and the resurgence of LGBT rights activism in the wake of Proposition 8, eh?
If you've got a half hour today, or over the weekend, or next week even, check out the Democracy Now piece. It's a great historical lesson, and a piece that gives historical weight to the anniversary we're about to celebrate this weekend. Video is below.
Stonewall = Footprints in LGBT History
Published June 25, 2009 @ 09:30AM PT
Someone once said that the AARP (American Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons) is the second largest organization in the entire United States, just behind the Roman Catholic Church. Thankfully, the AARP is much more sympathetic to equal rights than the (institutional) Church :) Case in point, the AARP has launched a very cool multimedia site to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, which the organization refers to as an event that placed "footprints in gay history."
Though LGBT people have been around since the dawn of time, there's an interesting phenomenon right now with the first generation to come out of the closet entering their senior years. Given that huge population, it's great that organizations like the AARP (and Service Advocates for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders - known as SAGE) are taking a leadership role in honoring veterans of the LGBT rights movement, but also recognizing the unique circumstances faced by LGBT seniors that are quite different from straight elders.
The AARP site honoring Stonewall features some very cool items. There's an interview with tennis champ Martina Navratilova, a timeline of LGBT historical events since the AARP's founding in 1958, and an AARP TV broadcast (which you can view below) that tours the neighborhood around the Stonewall Inn, and interviews some leaders of the LGBT rights movement as well as some veterans of the June 1969 riots in Greenwich Village.
Leveraging Stonewall Anniversary for LGBT Outreach
Published June 23, 2009 @ 09:28AM PT
The Stonewall Riots mark their 40th anniversary this week, and a number of organizations are using the week to commemorate both the history of the LGBT rights movement, as well as push forward an agenda that continues the fight for equal rights. SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders) is hosting an event this week to commemorate the founding of the Gay Liberation Front (which laid its foundation in the immediate aftermath of the Stonewall Riots). And the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has put together a "Stonewall Toolkit" to help reporters and bloggers cover the historic week.
The reason? Well, as GLAAD acknowledges, the Stonewall anniversary is an opportunity to couch history with present-day struggles for equality.
With the 40th anniversary of Stonewall occurring this month, GLAAD is encouraging media professionals to use this important milestone as an opportunity to look at the progress made by the LGBT community and its allies over the last 40 years, as well as to examine recent progress and setbacks on LGBT-related policy issues at the federal, state and local level. GLAAD also encourages journalists to frame their coverage of 2009 Pride events, many of which will occur in June, in the context of these past 40 years of cultural, legal, political and community progress.
Even the White House is getting in on the act, with the announcement today that on Monday, June 29 (one day after the 40th anniversary), a special event will be held at the White House for LGBT folks, with an address by President Obama. The NY Times is noting that the gathering at the White House is intended as a celebration and commemoration of Stonewall, but also an opportunity for Obama to address the growing tensions that have popped up between his administration and LGBT voters, over certain issues like the Defense of Marriage Act, delays in overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and lack of any substantive statements from the Obama administration on the issue of marriage equality (despite four states legalizing same-sex marriage this year alone).
One other thought in terms of leveraging the Stonewall Anniversary; how karmaliciious would it be if during the week of Stonewall's 40th anniversary, the New York State Senate voted to enact marriage equality in the Empire State. It could happen, with Governor David Paterson calling for a special session this week where it's expected marriage equality will be debated.
The Importance of Stonewall
Published June 22, 2009 @ 01:52AM PT
This week will mark the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the historic confrontation that happened in 1969 at Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn, and the event that most consider the birth of the modern gay rights movement. During the early hours of June 28, patrons at the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid. Police had crashed the bar to arrest LGBT folks - a fairly common practice up until the 1960s & 70s. The next night, after revolting against the police, more than 2,000 folks showed up in front of the Stonewall Inn, and the gay liberation front was essentially launched.
The importance of Stonewall can't be overstated. Some have called it the "hairpin drop heard around the world." Others have rightfully labeled it the reason that we celebrate pride during the month of June. And though there were certainly organizers for LGBT rights before Stonewall (including several years earlier in Philadelphia), Stonewall is the event that history books remember as the most famous.
Below is a video recap of a conference hosted by SAGE USA (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders), in which a handful of activists, including Jerry Hoose and Mark Segal, recall the meaning and significance of Stonewall, and its immediate aftermath. It's a cool video to check out as we kick off the 40th anniversary week of Stonewall. And each day this week we'll cover something unique about this historic event.
One of the Best Marriage Equality Debates You'll Ever Listen To
Published June 21, 2009 @ 07:51AM PT
Remember that scene in "Milk" where Harvey debates California State Senator John Briggs over the merits of Proposition Six, the California ballot measure that would have allowed public schools to fire gay and lesbian teachers? The part I remember most about that storyline is how vital those debates were between Milk and Briggs, and how Harvey was able to use those debates to point out the ridiculousness and the bigotry that lurked behind Briggs's concerns over gay people in the public school system.
It's rare that a debate matches those Milk vs. Briggs affairs, but we now have one coming out of Pennsylvania on the issue of marriage equality. Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach has introduced a bill in the Keystone State to legalize same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, another State Senator, John Eichelberger, has introduced a bill that would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban same-sex marriage. Opposing bills coming from two state senators.
And this week, they debated each other on WHYY in Philadelphia. And the result? Well, State Senator Daylin Leach, a marriage equality advocate, was able to school State Sen. Eichelberger and in the process, pull the rug out from the myriad of bogus arguments used by anti-same-sex marriage folks to continually discriminate against LGBT people. The two senators tackle nearly every issue surrounding same-sex marriage. You can listen to the debate here, but below we'll summarize a few brief points from State Senator Daylin Leach hitting on a number of crap arguments that anti-LGBT forces make. This debate is worth listening to no matter where you live, as the issues certainly transcend Pennsylvania. Because this just may be one of the best marriage equality debates you'll ever listen to. Hit it....
Concerns Over "Activist" Courts:
Leach: "A court that enacts equality doesn't have to be an activist court. It could just be following the law, which is what Massachusetts did when it legalized same-sex marriage."
Constitutional Amendments and Courts:
Leach: "If there's a court that was bent on declaring same-sex marriage legal, they could just ignore a [state's] constitutional amendment and rule under the federal constitution, and its equal protection clause, which overrules any state constitution.
The Illegitimacy of Ballot Measures:
Leach: "If you put slavery on the ballot, Jim Crow, even interracial marriage on the ballot in many parts of the country, it would have lost....We revere the legislators that voted for civil rights even though it was unpopular in some of their states, even Al Gore's father who lost his seat over [civil rights]. Our job as legislators is to do what's right, not to give voice to every whim of a majority to oppress a minority."
The Influence of the Civil Rights Movement on LGBT Rights:
Leach: "This is in line with the racial civil rights movement and the struggle for equality that women went through, and the struggle for equality that immigrants fought. [LGBT discrimination] is the last sort of acceptable discrimination in society. It's getting less and less, but it's our job [as legislators] to put the nail in the coffin and grant full equality for everyone."
On Trying to Push Through an Amendment Banning Gay Marriage Multiple Times in Pennsylvania:
Leach: "[Opponents of marriage equality] attempted to get a ban passed three years ago when there were many more legislators sympathetic [to a ballot measure] than now. And they failed then."
The Future of Marriage Equality:
Leach: "In 20 years, all 50 states, it's inevitable, will have same-sex marriage. And we'll wonder, like interracial marriage, why this was ever controversial."
The Fallacy that Gay Marriage will Harm Society:
Leach: "The idea that there are tens of thousands of studies [that show gay marriage harms society] is wrong....every study on the issue says that children of gay marriage and gay marriage itself does nothing adverse to society. You would think that if it did, we would notice it."
Dismantling the Slippery Slope Argument that Gay Marriage Could Lead to Bestiality or Polygamy:
Leach: "This is an argument not against gay marriage, but against all marriage - if you allow anyone to marry, you have to allow everyone to marry. The idea that if you allow two men to get married, you'd have to allow a man to marry an aardvark or his lawn mower is just not accurate. We draw reasonable lines all the time in society. You can drive 65mph, but not 95mph; you can keep a gun but not a truck bomb. To me the line should be drawn [on marriage] where it allows everyone to marry the one person that they most love in the world."
Maybe Sonia Sotomayor Will Be Our Fierce Advocate...
Published June 10, 2009 @ 02:40PM PT
Barack Obama pledged on the campaign trail that he would be a "fierce advocate" for LGBT Americans. Time is ticking on that clock, but a news item from 1976 might indicate that Obama's nomination to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter, Sonia Sotomayor, may just be a fierce advocate.
We'll be the first to admit that this isn't bombshell news, but it is pretty cool to see that Sonia Sotomayor was standing up for basic human dignity and equality more than thirty years ago. As Julie Bolcer from the Advocate notes, Sotomayor was one of 39 individuals at Princeton University who signed a letter to the campus newspaper in 1976 condemning an attack against a gay student group.
Condemning anti-LGBT violence? I wonder what offensive thing Newt Gingrich would have to say about that!
The letter was written after eight students broke into and vandalized a dorm room of two students involved in Princeton's Gay Alliance. Here's the juice on the letter:
No matter how much one may disagree with the Gay Alliance or the policies they are advocating, no matter how repugnant one may find homosexuality, the manner of expressing this opposition should be intellectual. At this university we are dedicated to persuasion by reason, not by brute force.
Gosh, here's hoping the U.S. Senate is persuaded by reason, and not the brute force of the conservative right-wing in this country who mind-numbingly call people "latina racists" at the drop of a hat.
Sure, Sotomayor's public denouncement of anti-LGBT violence doesn't make her a fierce advocate. But it is telling that in 1976, when LGBT people could be arrested throughout the majority of the country just for living their lives in the comfort of their own bedrooms, Sotomayor was willing to lend a voice of reason and acceptance. That can only bode well for her tenure on the nation's highest court.
Queer Studies Has Arrived
Published June 03, 2009 @ 01:20PM PT
You don't mix oil and water, and you certainly don't mix your blogging duties with your day job. But I do want to share the news today that Harvard (a University that I have the privilege to work for, albeit completely separate from my blogging duties here) has endowed the U.S.'s first professorship dedicated to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies. As this Guardian article points out, "queer studies has arrived" at the American university.
The endowed professorship is a gift from the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, which launched a $1.5 million funding campaign through its membership to support the position.
Harvard President Drew Faust called it "an important milestone." And it is, which is why for this one post only, I don't mind mixing oil and water, so to speak. Harvard now joins a host of other universities, from Rutgets to Yale to CUNY to Berkeley, with an academic focus on LGBT issues.
