Stonewall 40th Anniversary
The other day we read an excellent editorial by Frank Rich in the New York Times ("40 Years Later, Still Second-Class Citizens) which spoke of the current struggle for marriage equality. Rich put today's civil rights movement in an historical context that unfortunately too many in the GLBT community have either forgotten or are unaware. And yet, as good as the Frank Rich editorial is, it does lack a personal historical perspective for obvious reasons--as a straight man he may be old enough to remember Stonewall, but he wasn't aware of it until much later. For a better historical understanding of Stonewall, we recommend you read the Wikipedia article on the subject.
To put it simply, the reason why the GLBT community has parades and festivals at this time of year is the commemoration of the Stonewall Riots back in 1969. Here on this 40th anniversary of the riots and how they started the modern gay civil rights movement we too look back and remember. Of course we have made much progress since 1969 but in many ways our concerns are still invisible to much of society, and seemingly of little interest. That's why the parades and festivals are still important. It's why we have GLBT centers across the country. It's why the HRC, GLAAD, etc exist and need to keep existing.
Although Stonewall was of huge importance there was a gay civil rights movement before the riots set things in motion. We highly recommend the documentary Before Stonewall so you can get a better idea of what went on leading up to this pivotal historical moment. As you might expect there was a sequel, After Stonewall and both films present an historical document that is enlightening, fascinating, uplifting and often heartbreaking. We at Jack Manly salute all those who made valiant efforts and sacrifices on our behalf over the years and those who continue to make them today.
To put it simply, the reason why the GLBT community has parades and festivals at this time of year is the commemoration of the Stonewall Riots back in 1969. Here on this 40th anniversary of the riots and how they started the modern gay civil rights movement we too look back and remember. Of course we have made much progress since 1969 but in many ways our concerns are still invisible to much of society, and seemingly of little interest. That's why the parades and festivals are still important. It's why we have GLBT centers across the country. It's why the HRC, GLAAD, etc exist and need to keep existing.
Although Stonewall was of huge importance there was a gay civil rights movement before the riots set things in motion. We highly recommend the documentary Before Stonewall so you can get a better idea of what went on leading up to this pivotal historical moment. As you might expect there was a sequel, After Stonewall and both films present an historical document that is enlightening, fascinating, uplifting and often heartbreaking. We at Jack Manly salute all those who made valiant efforts and sacrifices on our behalf over the years and those who continue to make them today.
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