1970: The Vatican issues a statement reminding the faithful that the Roman Catholic Church considers homosexuality a moral aberration. 1979: Hundreds of demonstrators show up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to protest location shooting for William Friedkin’s new film, Cruising, which deals with a series of grisly mutilation murders within the city’s gay leather community. 1985: In Paris, … Read More
1855: Walt Whitman publishes the first edition of his Leaves of Grass. 1965: At Independence Hall in Philadelphia, picketers begin staging the first Reminder Day to call public attention to the lack of civil rights for LGBT people. The gatherings continue annually for five years. 1969: Daughters of Bilitis and Mattachine society members picket Independence Hall in Philadelphia … Read More
1969: Just a few days after the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City, 500 marchers confront police in the first “gay pride” demonstration, a march down Christopher Street. 1970: The Fifth Biennial Convention of the Lutheran Church in America expresses its opposition to discrimination and oppression of gay men and lesbians. 1997: … Read More
1934: In Germany, approximately 300 Nazi Party members are arrested and murdered in a purge ordered by Adolf Hitler that comes to be known as the Night of the Long Knives. The most prominent victim of the purge is SA (Brown Shirts) chief Ernst Rohm, a gay man whom Hitler accuses of having formed a … Read More
1970: New York City: Police arrest Gay Activists Alliance members Tom Doerr, Arthur Evans, Jim Owles, Phil Raia, and Marty Robinson for staging a sit-in at the headquarters of the Republican State Committee. The men, who wanted to present their demands for “fair employment” practices to New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller, become known as … Read More
1967: The U.S. Suprme Court strikes down Loving v. Virginia, a Virginia law against interracial marriages declaring that marriage is a “fundamental civil right” and that decisions in this arena are not those with which the State can interfere unless they have good cause. 1970: In what is described as “the first marriage in the nation … Read More
1966: A coalition of homophile organizations across the country organizes simultaneous demonstrations for Armed Forces Day. The Los Angeles group holds a 15-car motorcade (which has been identified as the nation’s first gay pride parade) and activists hold pickets in the other cities. 1970: Bella Abzug-running for the 19th District congressional seat in New York City-addresses … Read More
1970: Ingrid Montano, a teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, resigns after being condemned by community Ieadcrs for having invited a homosexual to come and speak to one of her high school sociology classes. Although she has the support of her principal, she submits her letter of resignation, declaring, “I refuse to compromise on certain issues, and … Read More
1970: In the first of a series of public “zaps” by New York City gay activists, an appearance by Mayor John Lindsay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is interrupted by angry protesters shouting “Gay Power!”, demanding his support for an end to job and housing discrimination against LGBT people. His appearance on a local … Read More
1970: Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first (and only) X-rated film to do so. It is also the first major Hollywood film to feature an onscreen sexual encounter between two men. The film’s director, John Schlesinger, also gay, wins for Best Director. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFoaj8utio] 1976: Civil rights crusader and U.S. Congresswoman Barbara … Read More