The strategist behd the 1963 march will posthumoly receive the Printial Medal of Freedom this year. As a gay man, his posn the movement was qutned. But now he is nsired "an amazg role mol" for activists of lor who are also gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenr.
Contents:
- A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS THE UNED STAT: NATNAL MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS
- WHAT IT WAS LIKE AT THE FIRST GAY RIGHTS DEMONSTRATN OUTSI WHE HOE 50 YEARS AGO
- MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; GAY MARCHERS THRONG MALL APPEAL FOR RIGHTS
- GAY RIGHTS
- GAY AND LBIAN MARCH ON WASHGTON
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS THE UNED STAT: NATNAL MARCH ON WASHGTON FOR LBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS
Pl Kuntzler said that when he picketed the Whe Hoe 50 years ago today, he uld not image how far the gay rights movement would e five s. * gay rights march on washington *
Protect gay and lbian youth om any laws which are ed to discrimate agast, oppose and/or harass them their hom, schools, jobs and social environments. Marks Ridger, ed., Speakg for Our Liv: Historic Speech and Rhetoric for Gay and Lbian Rights (1892-2000), available as an eBook (2012) through Howard Universy Librari.
We mand passage of a lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr civil rights bill and an end to discrimatn by state and feral ernments cludg the ary; repeal of all sodomy laws and other laws that crimalize private sexual exprsn between nsentg adults. We mand legislatn to prevent discrimatn agast lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenr people the areas of fay diversy, ctody, adoptn and foster re and that the fn of fay clus the full diversy of all fay stctur. We mand full and equal cln of lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenr people the tnal system, and cln of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr studi multicultural curricula.
— -- 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.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE AT THE FIRST GAY RIGHTS DEMONSTRATN OUTSI WHE HOE 50 YEARS AGO
Bayard Rt was an dispensable force behd the Civil Rights Movement and openly gay. * gay rights march on washington *
Fifty years later, Kuntzler, who spent his life workg for gay rights, is astonished by how the untry has evolved and the stris the muny has ma. Protters march the first gay rights prott outsi the Whe Hoe Washgton, April 17, NewsThe Washgton rint add: "We uld not nceive then the astonishg progrs we would eventually make as a muny. "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.
"Protters march the first gay rights prott outsi the Whe Hoe Washgton, April 17, NewsFor Kuntzler there is a sense of acplishment. This Hoe Republin majory has turned even the most route functns of ernment to divisive week, the GOP blew up the annual fense thorizatn bill — which had enjoyed overwhelmg bipartisan support — by tryg to turn to a vehicle for blockg abortn accs, banng books, honorg Conferate generals and dismantlg racial diversy week, Republins took the normally sleepy markup of the humdm Transportatn, Hog and Urban Development appropriatns bill and turned to a vehicle for overt bigotry agast gay and lbian Amerins. ”Pon spoke of when he received a piece of mail wh the words “Dead Faggot” over his photo, and when he was once beaten bloody and unnsc wh a baseball bat after leavg a gay bar.
He was Bayard Rt, a man whose life was shaped by the very prejudic the movement fought agast, not only bee of his race, but also bee he was gay.
MARCH FOR GAY RIGHTS; GAY MARCHERS THRONG MALL APPEAL FOR RIGHTS
The gay rights movement the Uned Stat began the 1920s and saw huge progrs the 2000s, wh laws prohibg homosexual activy stck down and a Supreme Court lg legalizg same-sex marriage. * gay rights march on washington *
Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carola brought natnwi media attentn to Bayard after claimg that the march was beg anized by “Communist, draft-dodger and homosexual. However, wh learship wh the movement opposed to his volvement, Rt whdrew his would ntue his role activism, speakg at events for gay rights the 1980s.
GAY RIGHTS
Bayard Rt, the man behd the March on Washgton, was one of the most nsequential archects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of. Rt imaged how nonvlent civil ristance uld be ed to dismantle segregatn the Uned Stat. He anized around the ia for years and eventually troduced to Dr. Mart Luther Kg Jr. But his inty as a gay man ma him a target, obscured his rightful stat and ma him feel forced to choose, aga and aga, which aspect of his inty was most important. * gay rights march on washington *
It was also durg this time, the last years of his life, that Rt gave an terview wh the Washgton Bla, rellg the dualy of beg both black and gay the Civil Rights Movement and how that shaped his refal to hi his sexual moment particular helped motivate his cisn to be open about his sexualy. "It occurred to me shortly after that that was an absolute necsy for me to clare homosexualy, bee if I didn't I was a part of the prejudice, " he ntued.
"Other prenters clud a young activist who lled for an end to the gun vlence that plagu black muni, and reprentativ om unns, gay rights groups and Hispanic activism groups who exprsed solidary wh the Black Liv Matter ptn, "We're at breakg pot" - Four people reflect on the importance of this year's March on Washgton eventMore on this story.
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMARCH FOR GAY RIGHTSApril 26, New York Tim ArchivSee the article s origal ntext om April 26, 1993, Sectn A, Page 1Buy ReprtsTimMache is an exclive benef for home livery and digal the ArchiveThis is a digized versn of an article om The Tim’s prt archive, before the start of onle publitn 1996. Ocsnally the digizatn procs troduc transcriptn errors or other problems; we are ntug to work to improve the archived once fiant and ftive, hundreds of thoands of gay and lbian Amerins and their supporters rallied the pal today, celebratg the right to be homosexual and mandg eedom om discrimatn. M., hundreds of men and women unr the banner of the Gay Men's Health Crisis of New York lay down ont of the Whe Hoe silence, symbolizg the number of AIDS aths.
GAY AND LBIAN MARCH ON WASHGTON
But the numbers were clearly swelled by reactn to recent anti-gay measur Oregon and Colorado, by creased opposn to homosexualy om relig groups and by the sharply anti-gay ments the fight over endg the ban on homosexuals the ary. Feelgs of PriThe overall tone at the march today was one of pri, of feelg part of a larger gay muny and not beg aaid to march down the street to proclaim .
The state has been an tense polil battleground, wh the passage last year of Amendment 2, which prohibs lol anti-discrimatory laws that are signed to protect lbians and gay Coloradans' black banners, one of them proclaimg "Unr Siege, " stretched almost the full width of the thoroughfare.
Others took to chantg, "Shame, " over and over aga as they Christian Actn Network, a nservative relig group that oppos homosexual rights, labeled the march "a wake-up ll to the silent majory of Amerins whose dividual rights are at stake. Service men and women discharged for homosexualy, who have bee hero among gay people, led up uniform on the stage before the crowd, settg off thunro applse, tears and screams. Schdler, a 22-year-old Navy radman beaten to ath last October near the Uned Stat Navy base Sasebo, Japan, exprsed fear for every gay and lbian service march -- officially lled the 1993 March on Washgton for Lbian, Gay and Bi-Equal Rights and Liberatn -- lled for the meetg of several mands, cludg passage of a civil rights bill and other antidiscrimatn measur; more money for AIDS tn, treatment and rearch; the cln of lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people the tnal system; reproductive eedom; and an end to discrimatn and vlent opprsn based on sexual orientatn, race, relign, sex, disabily, age, class or H.