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From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand -
From left: Vernita Gray, Karen Sendziak, Owen Keehnen and Kirstin Leiby. Image by Mel Ferrand
Carter, the author of Stonewall The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution, spoke passionately in front of approximately 80 supporters. He urged that “we need to demand that our [LGBT] history be integrated into the overall narrative of American history, particularly American civil-rights history.” He added, “I’m not talking about ‘us’ individually, but also groups like NGLTF and HRC. This needs to be part of the federal demands these organizations and [similar] state organizations need to send to governors, legislators, state administrators and agencies. Lastly, he said, “We need straight allies too. If they are not already, PFLAG, [it] would be very appropriate.”
In discussing the Stonewall Riots, Carter suggested that the violence was necessary because gay men were (and are) relegated into a stereotype of being “insufficiently masculine” and that there was an expectation that they would respond to police intimidation meekly and in submission to the officers’ abuse.
In a playful response to a recent quote by Carter where he said, “I’d be even happier if they’re teaching the history of our civil rights movement as an integral part of American history. That would be the icing on the cake,” the Gerber/Hart board presented Carter with a cake complete with plenty of frosting.