Today Gay History: The First Gay Prott

Contents:

• WHAT IT WAS LIKE AT THE FIRST GAY RIGHTS DEMONSTRATN OUTSI WHE HOE 50 YEARS AGO
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
• PICKET FRONT OF U.S. ARMY BUILDG, FIRST-EVER U.S. GAY RIGHTS PROTT
• LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
• PARTY AND PROTT: THE RADIL HISTORY OF GAY LIBERATN, STONEWALL AND PRI

WHAT IT WAS LIKE AT THE FIRST GAY RIGHTS DEMONSTRATN OUTSI WHE HOE 50 YEARS AGO

— -- Pl Kuntzler said that when he and ne other people picketed the Whe Hoe 50 years ago today, prottg the ernment's treatment of gays and lbians, he uld not image how far the gay rights movement would e five prott on April 17, 1965, is believed to the first gay rights monstratn, advot say. "For others, 's hard to image what life would be like if weren't for the pneers at the Whe Hoe picket like Kuntzler, Barbara Gtgs or Frank Kameny, who all went on to be lears the gay rights movement. Though that showg outsi the Whe Hoe was the most groundbreakg or memorable picket of s time, was actually preced by a prott that happened seven months earlier, on September 19, was the day Randy Wicker, Jefferson Poland, and eight other members of the Sexual Freedom League, six of them straight, gathered outsi the army's ductn center at 39 Whehall Street New York Cy to prott the armed forc's anti-gay discrimatn and plicy wch hunts.

Their voic were for the most part ignored that day, but we all know that the end they won: the army's official discrimatn agast gay and lbian members end we're on the subject of Whehall Street ductn center, here's some bon history: the lotn beme so notor durg the Vietnam draft that found s way to Arlo Guthrie's classic "Alice's Rtrant:" "They got a buildg down New York Cy, 's lled Whehall Street/Where you walk , you get jected, spected, tected, fected/Neglected and selected. “Comg out” me wh threats of vlence and social that changed the aftermath of the 1969 Stonewall uprisg—when a group of LGBTQ people rted rponse to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar New York Cy.

INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN

” The same day, a small group of San Francisns marched down Polk Street, then had a “gay-” piic that was broken up by equtrian and other New York groups had spent months planng the Manhattan event wh the help of anizers like Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist who had cut her anizg teeth durg the anti-Vietnam movement of the late 1960s. 1965: Philalphia – Dewey’s Rtrant S-InDewey's rtrant Philalphia, Pennsylvania as appeared May April 25, 1965, the 17th Street lotn of Dewey’s rtrant Philalphia nied service to approximately 150 people who appeared to be gay or genr non-nformg.

McDarrah/Getty ImagAfter pourg their drks, a bartenr Juli's Bar ref to serve John Timms, Dick Lesch, Craig Rodwell, and Randy Wicker, members of the Mattache Society who were prottg New York liquor laws that prevented servg gay ctomers, 1966.

PICKET FRONT OF U.S. ARMY BUILDG, FIRST-EVER U.S. GAY RIGHTS PROTT

McDarrah/Getty Imag)In sprg 1966, members of the early gay rights anizatn Mattache Society staged a “sip-”—a twist on “s-” prott— which they vised taverns, clared themselv gay, and waed to be turned away so they uld sue.

1966–1967: Los Angel – Black Cat Tavern Protts, Los AngelOpened November 1966, Black Cat Tavern was a haven for Silver Lake’s queer muny, who were subjected to harassment om police enforcg anti-homosexualy laws.

Army Buildg Lower Manhattan on September 19, 1964, was later intified as the first public monstratn for gay rights the Uned Stat by Barbara Gtgs, -founr of the Dghters of Bilis, New York Chapter, 1958.

LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH

Organized by Randy Wicker of the Homosexual League of New York (HLNY), and the New York Cy League for Sexual Freedom (LSF), protted the ary’s treatment of gay people – cludg rejectn, ls-than-honorable discharg, and vlatn of privacy through a policy of sendg gay men’s rerds to current and potential employers. Wicker is also thought to have been the first gay person to appear openly on East Coast televisn, whout a disguise or a fake name, when he appeared on the “The L Crane Show” on January 31, 1964, and answered qutns about homosexualy. Jog Wicker and Poland that day were eight people, cludg his boyiend, Peter Ogren; 23-year-old Craig Rodwell, future owner of the Osr Wil Memorial Bookshop; 20-year-old Renée Cafiero, a rare female MSNY member, who would go on to bee one of the first openly gay (alternate) legat, at the 1972 Democratic Natnal Conventn; her girliend Nancy Garn, who later wrote the first young adult lbian novel Annie on My Md  1982; and Jack Diether, a noted mic cric active LSF.

BUDAPEST, July 15 (Rters) - Thoands of Hungarians braved srchg heat for the annual Pri march Budapt on Saturday, prottg agast ernment ntrols over public displays by the LGBT Mister Viktor Orban's ernment promot a Christian-nservative agenda and 2021 banned "display and promotn of homosexualy" books and films accsible by unr-18s spe strong cricism om rights groups and the European Unn. REUTERS/Bernatt SzaboNeher anisers nor the ernment gave a number for the marchers, though wns timated about 10, ads for the Pri para were only allowed to be aired late at night, wh most channels not takg the risk at all, Hungarian news se this week, Hungary's send-largt bookseller received a rerd fe for sellg a book that picts homosexualy whout closed Friday, the embassi of the Uned Stat, Germany and 36 other untri urged Hungary to protect LGBT rights and scrap discrimatory laws.

Each week’s feature will clu imag om the New York Public Library’s LGBTQ week, we look back at the untry’s first gay pri march — held New York Cy on June 28, 1970, the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Rts — and what led up to that historic Saturday morng on June 28, 1969, police staged a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a mafia-n gay bar New York Cy's Greenwich Village neighborhood.

PARTY AND PROTT: THE RADIL HISTORY OF GAY LIBERATN, STONEWALL AND PRI

The sign the wdow reads: “WE HOMOSEXUALS PLEAD WITH OUR PEOPLE TO PLEASE HELP MAINTAIN PEACEFUL AND QUIET CONDUCT ON THE STREETS OF THE VILLAGE — MATTACHINE” Diana Davi / New York Public LibraryJt a few days after the Stonewall Rts, gay activist Frank Kameny load up a b wh fellow activists and head down to Philalphia for the fifth “annual remr” picket prott outsi Inpennce Hall. “I thk that was probably Frank’s first realizatn that this was a new orr, thgs were changg, ” Farman days after the "annual remr, " on July 6, 1969, the New York tabloid The Daily News ran a homophobic article about the Stonewall raid by Frank Lisky, tled “Homo Nt Raid, Queen Be Are Stgg Mad. ”Activists Lda Rhos, Arlene Khner, and Ellen Davi / New York Public LibrarySoon after the 1969 "remr", four activists — Craig Rodwell, Fred Sargeant, Lda Rhos and Ellen Broidy — cid to attend a regnal “homophile” nference and “propose that the staid ‘annual remrs’ of homophile pickets at Inpennce Hall Philalphia, held every July 4 for the prev five years, be replaced by a march New York Cy, " Farman men were members of the Homophile Youth Movement Neighborhoods, and the women members of Lavenr Menace.

The march stretched 15 blocks — three quarters of a e — at s longt, The New York Tim march end Central Park's Sheep’s Meadow, where the Tim wrote marchers "gathered to prott laws that make homosexual acts between nsentg adults illegal and social ndns that often make impossible for them to display affectn public, mata jobs or rent apartments. ”Michael Brown, who is named by the Tim as a founr of the Gay Liberatn Front, told Tim reporter Lacey Fosburgh: “We have to e out to the open and stop beg ashamed, or else people will go on treatg as eaks.

”At the end of the march, protters gathered Central Park's Sheep's Meadow for a gay "be-"Diana Davi / New York Public LibraryLater that same day, Los Angel held a “Christopher Street Wt” celebratn on Hollywood Boulevard that drew thoands.