Forty years ago, dozens of people were trapped si a New Orleans gay bar as burned down. Now a new book, two films, an art stallatn, and a mil revis the tragedy.
Contents:
- JAMAI'S ANTI-GAY 'MURR MIC' CARRI VLENT MSAGE
- [ BURN THE GAYS ]
- BURNED AT THE STAKE, INSTUTNALIZED, AND SENT TO DEATH CAMPS: A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY PERSECUTN AND OPPRSN
- BURN-THE-GAYS
JAMAI'S ANTI-GAY 'MURR MIC' CARRI VLENT MSAGE
* burn the gays *
Fally, Gee's landlady picked the boys up that night, and the next day a neighbor took them to the airport to fly home to Alabama, all the while not tellg them the ugly tth of why Dad never do you tell an 11-year-old that his father was burned alive, his body wrapped about his boyiend, the two men charred and clgg to each other, lovers life and ath, while tryg to pe the worst mass killg of gays Amerin history? Gee's son Duane didn't know his dad was gay but lls him a hero PRIDE IN THE '70SIt was the sweltergly humid last day of gay pri the South's most tolerant cy, and the fourth anniversary of New York's Stonewall Rts -- an actn thought unnecsary New Orleans. As Clayton Delery, thor of the upg book Neteen Mut of Hell, told The Huffgton Post's Gay Voic, "Thgs on the surface weren't as bad as they had been New York 1969.
[ BURN THE GAYS ]
Harmoni of hate promote vlence agast gays to lns the Uned Stat and elsewhere * burn the gays *
Gay people lived relative peace.
BURNED AT THE STAKE, INSTUTNALIZED, AND SENT TO DEATH CAMPS: A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF GAY PERSECUTN AND OPPRSN
burn the gays / burn them for days / lock them up / give them bleach a cup / I HATE GAY. Published at the web's largt poetry se." name="scriptn * burn the gays *
Townsend wr that bee the club was outsi the gay area of the French Quarter, the men worked extra hard to draw people wh dancg, sgg, and live piano by popular cktail lounge mician David Gary. Though the Christian worshippers were as vout as any flock the South, a church n by gay, bi, and transgenr people wasn't wholeheartedly wele the lol muny. It had been more than a year sce the last gay bar raid, but you uld never be sure, hence the add secury.
Gay thor Townsend, who wrote about the tragedy two s ago, was able to talk wh many survivors of the fire, no easy feat, says Anrson, who adms gettg people to talk about today is difficult.
"Also, many folks om that generatn don't want to be known to be gay to the public; the peer prsure is still evint today. "Toni Pizanie, who thors a lumn lled Sapphos Psalm for Ambh, the lol gay paper, wasn't at the UpStairs Lounge that night but says happened while she was still the closet and ma an impact on her. "I told gay acquatanc, I didn't know anyone that died.
BURN-THE-GAYS
But 1998 was a far cry om FUNERALS"Sadly, the gay muny was ed to beg ostracized. "The early 1970s were drippg wh homophobia.
Homosexualy was removed om the Amerin Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs December of 1973 -- six months after the UpStairs Lounge fire. Louisiana had a Crime Agast Nature statue passed 1974, makg sexual acts between gay upl illegal.
He was joed by Morris Kight om the Los Angel Gay Communy Servic Center, Morty Manford om New York's Gay Activists Alliance, and two other MCC lears, John Gill and Pl Breton. Their appearance the cy marked the first time natnal gay lears gathered to mourn a tragedy, somethg that uld have been galvanizg or were turned away by every church the cy, however, and fdg a place to hold memorial servic was a unexpected battle. "New Orleans lol media vered the story on day one whout mentng that the lounge was a gay bar.