Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings

[AlexanderBarca]

For those of you in the Philadelphia area, The University of Pennsylvania's annual pride week, QPenn, begins on Tuesday. Below is the kickoff event. I'll try to post the larger events on here, but check out http://dolphin.upenn.edu/~qsa/calendar.pdf for a full calendar of events.

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Who Paved the way? - A screening of "Gay Pioneers" followed by a discussion with
Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings

Tuesday, March 15th 2005
7pm
@ The Crest <36th and Locust Walk - the old Paladium>

Gay Pioneers is a film that highlights the origins of the gay rights movement
right here in Philadelphia at Independence Hall with the "Annual Reminders".
Find out how the gay rights movements and public demonstrations started even
before the famous stonewall riots in NYC. The film features our special guests
Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny. Join us folling the film for discussion and
desserts.

The film runs 30 minutes and is produced by Equality Forum. For brief bios of
our guests and a synopsis of the film see below.

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Barbara Gittings - has been a gay rights activist since 1958. Her campaign to
promote gay materials and eliminate discrimination in libraries was recognized
by an honorary lifetime membership conferred by the American Library
Association in 2003.

Frank Kameny - has always been at the forefront of gay activism, instrumental in
overturning policies that discriminate against homosexuals. He has worked to end
the ban on US Civil Service Commission employment of gays (1975), to remove the
American Psychiatric Association’s classification of homosexuality as a mental
illness (1973), to lift the ban on security clearances for gays and lesbians
(1975), and to strike down the DC sodomy law (1993).

Synopsis - Just 40 years ago, coming out carried severe penalties: loss of
family, friends, jobs, and even arrest. Despite enormous social pressure, a
number of brave men and women pursued justice, paving the way for millions of
gay men and lesbians. This outstanding documentary portrays seven of these
pioneers: Barbara Gittings, Frank Kameny, Lilli Vincenz, Jack Nichols, Nancy
Tucker, Randolfe Wicker, and Rev. Robert W. Wood. Meeting at the height of
McCarthyism through such groups as The Mattachine Society and The Daughters of
Bilitis, these heroes strategized the best approach for pursuing equal rights
when American society considered homosexuals both sick and politically
dangerous. When Fidel Castro began incarcerating gay Cubans in 1965, they
organized the first gay rights picket line outside the White House. Maintaining
conservative dress and manner, they strove to show the nation that they were
upstanding citizens, moral and employable, deserving of full civil rights.

Subsequent pickets took place each Fourth of July outside Philadelphia’s
Independence Hall, birthplace of both the Declaration of Independence and the
US Constitution. These “Annual Reminders” ran until 1969, leading to New York
City’s first gay rights march in 1970. Over these years, the initial ten
marchers grew to a crowd of thousands.