Did you know there were gay people in America before the Stonewall Riots? It’s true! Not just that, but there was also gay activism. The Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis were among the “settlement houses” for gay and lesbian “immigrants” — an interesting concept when you think about how religious and ethnic communities had their own outposts at the time, but not gays who wanted to live openly. Then Stonewall hit, activism matured, and everyone revolted not just against the man, but also the mainstream gays!
Splinter groups formed from the Gay Liberation Front, like Radical Lesbians, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, the Gay Activist Alliance, Lesbian Feminist Liberation, Salsa Soul Sisters, and untold other awesomely titled allegiances. The somebody bought a building, called it The Center, and everyone came together in united form to create Act Up.
And there, folks, is our summation of decades of struggle.
bring back thumbnails
After stonewall the movement became a Pride movement. The common thread in all the organizations after stonewall was VISIBILITY. We weren’t content to stay in the bars. It’s so important that we record our history because it hasn’t been very well so far and so many of our trailblazers are deceased and the others aren’t getting any younger.
Here in San Diego, Pride has put together a history of the local Pride movement. http://www.sdpridehistory.org It’s a pretty extensive look at the years since Stonewall and some of the people involved. I was surprised to learn that a local Gay Liberation Front formed here in town and were active in the early 70s.
Oh, and that photo of a gay center in the video around a minute in, is of our first community center which opened its doors in 1973. There are a lot of fond memories of those early days at the center on B street.
We need more local history projects in cities around the country.
Anomaly
Don’t forget the Radical Fairies, who I believe were a splinter group from The Mattachine Society (I could be wrong on this).
Not only did these groups have settlement housing, they also had newsletters, regular meetings and were impressively organized. The gay rights groups of today should learn from the past and get some grass roots activism going.
flippy
It seems likes you’re treating HRC as if its work diminishes other forms of glbt activism, as if there’s “true” grassroots activism, and… well, nothing else.
If gays and lesbians want to play in the big leagues of politics, then we need big money. What would you suggest we do?
Politics and civil rights aren’t static–the environment is radically different from what it was in the 1960s. If we want to be relevant in Congress, petitions and marches only do so much, if anything anymore, mainly because there are so many of them from anyone and everyone.
I’m not saying HRC should be above criticism–definitely not. But please exam specific reasons why what they do seems to enrage you, and ask whether this is really the best place for your ire and criticism. We have plenty to true enemies out there–HRC is not one them. I think you’d be better off encouraging the forms of activism you want to see happen.
Cam
@flippy: You said “It seems likes you’re treating HRC as if its work diminishes other forms of glbt activism, as if there’s “true” grassroots activism, and… well, nothing else.
If gays and lesbians want to play in the big leagues of politics, then we need big money. What would you suggest we do? ”
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Actually HRC has basically had no vicotries to speak of. The Stonewall riots moved gay tolerance ahead, ACT-UP and Queer Nations in your face campaigns got AIDS funds and faster drug approval, as well as some holspitals to allow partners to make decisions. And then individual or groups of people suing their local and state governments for marriage rights (Which HRC tried to prevent and asked them to drop the lawsuits) was what got us marriage in a handful of states. HRC claims taht we need big money, well they got it and what did they do? They spent it on some 20 million dollar office building in Downtown DC. If we had taken half that amount of money and given it to one of the top gun lobbying firms in DC 10 years ago, instead of using it for mortgage payments on their offices they could have probably gotten rid of DOMA or DADT now.
If HRC wants to REALLY work the DC system as they claim they do, then they need to do what everybody else does. Hire GOOD Lobbyists to go and do their job. But no, they would rather act like big shots and brag that they had ANOTHER meeting with the few politicians who will take their calls.
michael
@Cam: Thank you Cam. If any company hired an organization to lobby for them with no better results than they have given us they would have been fired within six months. There are ways of playing with the big boys and HRC acts like a bunch queens in high school with low self esteem that think if the guys on the football team invite them to a party they have might be okay.