ANITA SUCKS [ORANGES]
Bryant, Anita
The popular singer, a former Miss Oklahoma and spokesperson for the Florida citrus industry, Anita Bryant became the face of homophobia in 1977 when she campaigned to repeal a Dade County ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Her Save Our Children coalition won repeal of the ordinance, but repeal led to a nationwide boycott of Florida orange juice; Bryant’s career nosedived. Civil rights activists across the country protested and gay bars replaced screwdrivers with the “Anita Bryant” cocktail: vodka mixed with apple juice.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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BOSTON/LAMBDA
Gay Activists Alliance
The lower case Greek letter lambda was chosen as a symbol by the Gay Activists Alliance of N.Y. after the group split from the Gay Liberation Front in 1970. The lambda could be mistaken as a college fraternity symbol, but was recognized by those in the know. The Gay Activists Alliance headquarters was destroyed by arson, along with its records, and the organization collapsed, but the lambda as a gay rights symbol lived on.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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BRING SHARON HOME / D.C. LESBIAN COMMITTEE TO FREE SHARON KOWALSKI
Kowalski, Sharon; Thompson, Karen
Sharon Kowalski and Karen Thompson were partners in St. Cloud, Minn., for four years when, in 1983, Kowalski suffered massive brain injuries in an automobile accident. A court named Kowalski’s father as legal guardian with the understanding that Thompson would have visitation rights; however, the father cut off Thompson’s visitation rights and Thompson sued. Ultimately, after many years, the Minnesota Court of Appeals finally ruled in favor of Thompson as legal guardian, a significant victory for gay rights.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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END IMMIGRATION ABUSE OF LESBIANS AND GAYS
Though for more than half a century family reunification has been the goal of U.S. immigration policy, under current laws, including the so-called Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, U.S. citizens received no legal recognition of their same-sex partners for the purpose of immigration.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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EQUAL JUSTICE: MARRIAGE FOR ALL / MAY 17, 2004
Same-sex marriage--Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health found in a suit brought before it by Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) that same-sex couples had the right to marry. Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, writing for the majority, stated that the state’s constitution (originally written by John Adams) “affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.” Massachusetts was the first state to sanction same-sex marriage.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
2004
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GLAD TO BE GAY
Robinson, Tom, rock musician
An anthem of the gay rights movement, the song was written by out gay punk rocker Tom Robinson for a London gay pride parade in 1976. Released in the U.K. and U.S. in 1978, the song condemns homophobia and societal hypocrisy, and rallies for gay solidarity. Robinson has over the years added lyrics to reflect immediate concerns, like HIV/AIDS.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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GO-GO MATTACHINE
Mattachine Society
Founded in Los Angeles in 1950 by activist Harry Hay, his lover Rudy Gernreich, and others, the Mattachine Society was one of the earliest homophile organizations in the U.S.; it took its name from the medieval French masked wandering entertainers who through their anonymity could freely criticize the ruling nobility. The Mattachine Society spawned both One, Inc., which published an influential nationally-circulated magazine, and indirectly, the Daughters of Bilitis, the women’s organization. In 1961 the Society splintered into regional chapters, including those in S.F., Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
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HOMOSEXUALS FOR PEACE
In the late 1960s, activists seeking to change society participated in all sorts of progressive groups and movements - anti-war, Civil Rights, women’s rights, and gay rights; organizations shared members, leaders, and tactics. In Boston, the first Gay Pride march (in 1970, a year after the Stonewall Rebellion) began as an offshoot of a march against the war in Vietnam.
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LIFT THE BAN! MARCH ON WASHINGTON APRIL 25, 1993
Gay military personnel--United States
The third March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation attracted up to 1,000,000 participants. The march was spearheaded by Urvashi Vaid of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, with marchers demanding full civil rights for LGBTQ people, including in the military. Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992 advocating repeal of the ban against homosexuals serving in the military, but after winning election was forced to compromise in accepting the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. that policy was finally repealed under President Obama in 2011.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
1993-04-25
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MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR LESBIAN AND GAY RIGHTS, OCT. 11, 1987
March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
Known by some as “The Great March,” the second national march was attended by close to 500,000 participants demanding legal recognition of lesbian and gay relationships, the repeal of sodomy laws, for federal laws banning discrimination, for the passage of a lesbian and gay civil rights bill, for the end to discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS and for a massive increase in funding for education, research, and patient care, for reproductive freedom, and for an end to racism. Speakers included NOW president Eleanor Smeal, Cesar Chavez, Whoopie Goldberg, and Jesse Jackson. The march featured the first public display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
1987-10-11
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NATIONAL GAY RIGHTS MARCH, WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 14, 1979 – “RIGHTS ARE NOT WON ON PAPER…,” HARVEY MILK
The first such march on the nation’s capital, the National Gay Rights March was galvanized by the assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, an organizer, months before. Between 75,000 and 125,000 participants in the march demanded passage of a lesbian/gay rights bill in Congress, the repeal of anti-lesbian/gay laws, an end to discrimination in lesbian-mother gay-father child custody cases, and protection for lesbian and gay youth in schools. Speakers at the rally on the Mall included Allen Ginsburg, Flo Kennedy, Morris Kight, Audre Lorde, Leonard Matlovich, and Troy Perry.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
1979-10-14
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NATIONAL GAY TASK FORCE
National Gay Task Force
Bruce Voeller, Dr. Harold Brown, Ron Gold, and Nath Rockhill founded the National Gay Task Force in New York City in October, 1973. It was the first professionally led organization to lobby politically for lesbian and gay rights on the national level. SUPPORT THE GAY RIGHTS AMENDMENT IN CONGRESS. On May 14, 1974, U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Edward I. Koch of N.Y. introduced in Congress the Equality Act of 1974, a federal bill to ban discrimination against lesbians, gay men, unmarried persons, and women, in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Though it failed to pass, this first national bill to end discrimination against lesbians and gay men lived on in spirit, in campaigns to win federal support for a full response to the AIDS crisis, in support of hate crimes legislation, and for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).
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REMEMBER THE PAST – CELEBRATE THE FUTURE / 1969-1994 STONEWALL 25
Gay liberation movement--Massachusetts--Boston; Gay Pride Day--Massachusetts--Boston; Stonewall Riots, New York, N.Y., 1969
The Stonewall Rebellion was a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations protesting a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, on June 28, 1969. The patrons of the bar – largely trans women of color and homeless youth – reacted against pervasive harassment by the police, and in so doing launched the modern LGBTQ rights movement. The first march (that would eventually become known as a Pride march) took place the following June in New York City, and today Pride is celebrated each June all over the world. This button was distributed as part of the annual Pride celebration in Boston in 1994.
The History Project: Documenting LGBTQ Boston
1994
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THP-
SILENCIO = MUERTE [SILENCE = DEATH]
ACT UP Boston (Organization); ACT UP (Organization); AIDS (Disease)--Political aspects
The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP), an international HIV/AIDS advocacy group, was formed in New York City in 1987 at the urging of activist Larry Kramer. The organization advocated direct political action and staged a series of high-profile confrontations at symbols of patriarchal authority, including the New York Stock Exchange and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and federal offices around the country including the office of the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C. The Boston chapter of ACT-UP formed in 1988. This button shows the Spanish-language translation, "Silencio = Muerto," of ACT-UP's slogan "Silence = Death."
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U.S. HANDS OFF CENTRAL AMERICA – GAYS AND LESBIANS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF CENTRAL AMERICA
Following the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, reaction against popular revolutions in Nicaragua and El Salvador was supported by the U.S. government. Gay anti-war activists joined in the protest of U.S. policy.
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