Although the rioting in Greenwich Village was not, by any definition, the “start” of Gay Liberation, nor was Stonewall the first time queer people fought back, the mythical story of the nights of rage on Christopher Street led directly to a decision to cancel the Annual Reminders in Philadelphia and replace them with a Stonewall commemoration: Christopher Street Liberation Day.Īlthough activists in Los Angeles and Chicago weren’t thrilled about the New York-focused celebration, they recognized the importance of the event, and the local gay organizations put together marches of their own for the last weekend in June. Image by Leonard Fink courtesy of The LGBT Community Center National History Archive ( YOU THINK HOMOSEXUALS ARE REVOLTING? YOU BET YOUR SWEET ASS WE ARE!” screamed one of the pamphlets handed out during the melee on Christopher Street that started with a raid at the Stonewall in the early hours of Jand continued through the first days of July. “CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATION DAY 1970,” Gay Activists Alliance members (including Jim Owles, right), with the lead banner at the first Christopher Street Liberation Day, New York City, June 28, 1970.
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