Stonewall 50: LGBTQ+ ACtivism in the united states

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, I curated a Library of Congress agile case display which will run from May 1-July 1, 2019. Located at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Great Hall, Second Floor.

The Stonewall uprising has come to represent a turning point in the movement for LGBTQ+ civil rights in the United States. This exhibit provides context to this historical event, with materials representing activism from the time periods before and after. “Before Stonewall” materials will be primarily dated in the 1950s, representing the education-focused homophile movement that preceded the Stonewall uprising. “After Stonewall” materials highlight the more radical gay liberation movement, for which the Stonewall uprising is widely considered to be the catalyst.

Materials are drawn from the papers of Lilli Vincenz and Franklin Kameny, two early LGBTQ+ rights pioneers. Kameny and Vincenz worked together frequently, both being present at some of the earliest LGBTQ+ protests in United States history. The Stonewall 50 display also includes flyers and ephemera from the first pride march, also known as Christopher Street Liberation Day 1970.