Almost 50 years later, adly attack at New Orleans gay bar remas unsolved — Mississippi Center for Invtigative Reportg

Contents:

• GAY HISTORY – JULY 21, 1958: NEW ORLEANS LNCH RAIDS AGAST FRENCH QUARTER GAY BARS AND “DEVIANTS”.
• MOMENTS GAY NEW ORLEANS HISTORY
• ALMOST 50 YEARS LATER, ADLY ATTACK AT NEW ORLEANS GAY BAR REMAS UNSOLVED
• RUDY GAY EXPECTED TO DRAW TERT OM WARRRS, LAKERS, MAVERICKS, BULLS, PELINS
• THE UPSTAIRS LOUNGE FIRE: THE LARGT MASSACRE OF GAY PEOPLE U.S. HISTORY
• RUMOR: LAKERS, WARRRS AMONG POTENTIAL RUDY GAY SUORS EE AGENCY

GAY HISTORY – JULY 21, 1958: NEW ORLEANS LNCH RAIDS AGAST FRENCH QUARTER GAY BARS AND “DEVIANTS”.

New Orleans has always been a cy that champned the arts and celebrated culture, which has fostered a lively gay social scene and drew many LGBTQ artists and performers to the French Quarter, home to Café Lafte Exile, one of Ameri’s olst gay bars. The longt nng gay event, the Fat Monday Luncheon, kicked off 1949, and the olst gay social anizatn, the Steamboat Club, was lnched 1953.

Mardi Gras fostered s own gay tradns wh the Krewe of Yuga, the first gay Carnival club formed 1958. Notable gay lols and rints clud Tennsee Williams, who me here 1938 and wrote “A Streetr Named Dire” om his home at 1014 Dumae St. Gay Pri Contt 1981, long before she me out publicly 1997.

A climate of change across the Uned Stat fomented gay activism the early 1970s New Orleans as well, wh groups like the Gay Liberatn Front of New Orleans, a lol chapter of the natnal lbian anizatn, Dghters of Bilis, gay pri events and the foundg of the Tulane Universy Gay Stunts Unn. The Gert Ste Society, which began 1975, brought together a group of men and women who were stmental velopg an active muny astcture the 1980s: the Louisiana Gay Polil Actn Cc (1980), the State Gay Conference (1981), the New Orleans Gay Men’s Chos and a lol chapter of P-FLAG (both 1982), and the NO/AIDS Task Force (1983). LGBT rights were (fally) regnized by New Orleans Cy Council 1991, wh the passg of a gay non-discrimatn ordance.

MOMENTS GAY NEW ORLEANS HISTORY

The Cy of New Orleans, Louisiana might be known as he Big Easy today but as many ci throughout the untry durg the 1950s, members of the homosexual muny New Orleans were often victims of vlence and were often arrted bee of their sexualy. ”) mdset didn’t extend to the cy’s gay cizens, and much like other major ci across the natn, anti-gay mpaigns often heated up ahead of lol electns.

In n 1958, cy uncilmen plaed that the police were stg on their hands while the French Quarter was beg vad by rovg bands of homosexuals, allegedly om other ci sce, apparently, such a thg was unheard of there, the cy’s storied tolerance for sexual eccentrics mic, lerature and the arts notwhstandg.

ALMOST 50 YEARS LATER, ADLY ATTACK AT NEW ORLEANS GAY BAR REMAS UNSOLVED

Durg January of 1959, his assailants were charged but acquted unr the “gay panic” fense, and the urtroom cheered. 300 Years of Lol LGBT+ History1724 – First wrten reference to homosexualy New Orleans 1805 – Sodomy outlawed Louisiana 1848 Walt Whman liv New Orleans 1848 – Gaston Pontalba signs st-ironwork on Pontalba Buildgs 1876 Tony Jackson born 1922 – William Spratlg mov to New Orleans 1930 – Gee Dure born 1933 – Café La tte opens 1939 – Jam Booker born 1940 – Franc Benjam Johnston mov to New Orleans 1946 – Tennsee Williams wr A Streetr Named Dire 1949 – Dixie’s Bar of Mic relot to Bourbon Street 1953 – Steamboat Club found 1955 – NOPD Supertennt clar homosexuals “Number 1 vice problem” 1958 Krewe of Yuga found; birth of Gay Carnival 1958 – Fernando Rs murred Pirate’s Alley 1958 – Mayor Morrison creat “Commtee on the Problem of Sex Deviat” 1958 Tony Baco’s raid six tim 1960 New Orleans chapter of Dghters of Bilis found (year is approximate) 1961 – Krewe of Petroni found 1962 Tee Corrne attends Newb College Instute 1963 – John Rechy’s Cy of Night published 1965 – Krewe of Amon Ra found 1967 Claw Shaw charged the JFK assassatn 1968 – Krewe of Armei found 1970 Gay Liberatn Front lol chapter found 1971 – GLF holds a “Gay-In” at Cy Park 1971 – Barbara Stt ns for Hoe of Reprentativ 1971 – New Orleans Metropolan Communy Church found 1972 – First Southern Dence party 1972 Tulane Universy Gay Stunt Unn found 1973 – Up Stairs Lounge arson 1973 – Gay People’s Coaln found 1974 Gay Servic Center found 1975 – Gert Ste Society found 1977 Ana Bryant prott and march 1977 Charlene’s opens 1977 – Impact found 1977 – Serial killer murrs four gay men 1978 – Fbourg Marigny bookstore opens 1978 – Pk Triangle Alliance hosts cy’s rst Gay Pri rally 1979 – Gayft found 1980 – Louisiana Lbian and Gay Polil Actn Cc (LAGPAC) found 1980 – First Gay Pri Para New Orleans 1981 – First Louisiana State Conference held at the Country Club 1982 – Ambh found 1982 – New Orleans chapter of PFLAG found 1982 – New Orleans Gay Men’s Chos found 1983 – NO/AIDS Task Force found 1983 Lords of Leather found 1983 – Celebratn found 1985 – Lazas Hoe opens 1987 – Krewe of Queenateenas found 1988 – AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed New Orleans 1989 – Fom for Equaly found 1990 ACT UP New Orleans shuts down Loyola Ave.

To prott lack of AIDS fundg 1991 – Cy Council pass non-discrimatn ordance 1991 – Women Wh a Visn found 1992 Lbian and Gay Communy Center of New Orleans found 1993 – Belle Reve opens 1993 – Oz opens 1994 – New Orleans Bears and Bear Trappers Social Club found 1995 – Louisiana State Mm sponsors panel on gay and lbian culture 1997 J. In the midst of annual celebratns like gay pri, rnival, and Southern Dence, there is a group of gay historians who are actively chroniclg, some for the first time, our past, herage, and history. To learn more about gay rnival, there is only one book: Unveilg the Me: The Lost History of Gay Carnival New Orleans by Howard Philips Smh (Universy Prs of Mississippi, 2017).

RUDY GAY EXPECTED TO DRAW TERT OM WARRRS, LAKERS, MAVERICKS, BULLS, PELINS

For a more general look at the LGBTQ+ muny of New Orleans and s recent history, we thk the most important book on the subject is In Exile: The History and Lore Surroundg New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Olst Gay Bar by Frank Perez and Jefey Palmquist (LL-Publitns, 2012). This book explor the French Quarter and s important gay bars, cludg many personal stori about journeyg to New Orleans and g out. However, the history of the gay muny New Orleans is not whout tragedy, as evinced by the UpStairs Lounge Fire of 1973, when a popular gay bar the French Quarter was engulfed flam, killg over thirty people.

Three books are sential for unrstandg not only the vastatg event—which was the largt mass killg of gay people Amerin history until the 2016 shootg at Pulse nightclub Orlando, Florida—but also for historil ntext. Let the Faggots Burn: The UpStairs Lounge Fire by Johnny Townsend (, 2011) was the first publitn on the subject; followed by The Up Stairs Lounge Arson: Thirty-Two Deaths a New Orleans Gay Bar, June 24, 1973 by Clayton Delery (McFarland, 2014); and then the recent Trbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberatn by Robert Fieler (Liveright, 2018). For a more general unrstandg of the LGBTQ+ history of New Orleans, Frank Perez and Jefey Palmquist’s My Gay New Orleans: 28 Remiscenc on LGBT+ Life New Orleans (LL-Publitns, 2016) is a pendium of var stori, all alg wh gay culture the cy.

THE UPSTAIRS LOUNGE FIRE: THE LARGT MASSACRE OF GAY PEOPLE U.S. HISTORY

Howard Philips Smh is art director at the Universy of Southern California Librari and the thor of Unveilg the Me: The Lost History of Gay Carnival New Orleans.

Tags: Frank Perez, Gay Pri, Howard Philips Smh, LGBT, LGBTQ, New Orleans, Southern Dence Ftival, Southern Dence New Orleans, Travel.

RUMOR: LAKERS, WARRRS AMONG POTENTIAL RUDY GAY SUORS EE AGENCY

But bee the Up Stairs Lounge was a gay bar and all but one of the ad were gay men, the police vtigatn of the arson was sual and plete. The crime remaed ath toll om that June 24, 1973, arson -- the adlit crime agast gays the U. That’s when, durg natnal Gay Pri week, the ath toll was surpassed at Pulse, a gay bar Orlando, Florida.