On Saturday June 18th 2011 we made our way to Fifth Avenue and 72nd street and into Central Park. Following the trail over to Rumsey play field where the Rally took place. Upon entering the play field area we were greeted by Target employees directing us to the PridePop truck (pictured) for a free ice pop and then are attention was directed towards the stage as Ross Mathews (Jay Leno’s intern, pictured) host of this years rally was gleefully welcoming in Pride week NYC. On stage with Ross was comedian Christine O’Leary (pictured). They introduced the various LGBT entertainment and [...]
The LGBT Community and Our Accomplishments
It’s June and that means it’s LGBT Pride Month and even our president has acknowledged it! So lets look at some of the set backs and movements forward in the community. In 1779 president Thomas Jefferson, a liberal, proposed a law that would castrate men that were found to be gay. At the time the most common penalty was death so in a really bad way this was somewhat of a movement forward. It took over 200 years for the U.S. supreme court to over turn these types of laws making it illegal to discriminate against anyone because of their sexual orientation. In 1961 Illinois [...]
QueerPublicRadio.com & BackInTheGays.com Presents:
“Out, Gay & Loving It With Pride in New York City June 2011.” In honor of Pride Month Two Thousand Eleven we are taking it to the streets with pre-recorded interviews, history tidbits, LGBT Art, LGBT Culture, LGBT Music and chats with Christopher Street youth June 5th -12th airing on the 19th Live for three hours. All the different aspects of our community and the different contributions to society our community gives. What does Pride mean to you? If you would like to be involved in the series contact Pride@QueerPublicRadio.com. Join us every Sunday in the month of June (Pride [...]
The Stonewall Inn, the Riot, the Uprising, the Celebration
On Monday Night April 25, 2011 PBS stations nationwide unveiled a new documentary about the Stonewall Riots which took place June 28, 1969. The oppression that the LGBT community was subjected to should have never happened in the first place. People were getting tired of being arrested and treated like a second class citizens. On that warm night in June the boiling point was at its peak and people were ready to fight back and that’s just what happened. In this documentary we follow the veterans who take us step by step on that fateful night through to the first liberation [...]
Just an Innocent Boy From the Suburbs of Toronto
... side of Yonge, directly in front of the bar, chanting and throwing eggs and water balloons at every single person coming out or going into the St Charles. We’re talking hundreds of people, and the cops refused to do anything about it. Can you imagine? The motherfuckers! Because Halloween brought out a large number of drag queens in all their regalia, they were an easy target. This went on year after year! At 14 I wasn’t yet aware of the oppression or the hatred directed at the gay community, I mean I knew it was wrong and I knew [...]
Harlem, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Before Stonewall
... was inside strutting their stuff and having a good time for prizes. Police would wait for them outside Harlem’s Rockland Palace and as they left police would arrest or harass them. Women were of course not immune to the backlash of the police brutality and if not wearing at least 3 pieces of woman’s clothing they were also arrested for impersonation. During this time African American & Hispanics were also being discriminated against by their own brothers and sisters with-in the gay community from other ethnicities. In the video below African American lesbians tell their story on how they [...]
1950′s, the Rosa Parks of Gay Rights Dr. Evelyn Hooker. Not Gay?
... gay rights in 1974 the weight of her studies, along with gay activism, forced the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its official manual of mental disorders. Startling archival footage of the medical procedure used to “cure” homosexuality, images from the underground gay world of the McCarthy era and home movies of literary icon Christopher Isherwood bring to life history which we must never forget. Dr. Hooker’s insights into gay marriage and the gay community (a term she coined), and the filmmakers’ winning approach make this documentary education at its most exciting and enjoyable. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, [...]