6 Major Moments in Queer History BEYOND the Stonewall Riots
During Pride Month, we honor Pride's radical origins at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. But what we don't often hear about are the other political actions and uprisings that have advanced the LGBTQ+ rights movement from as far back as the 1920s through today. In this video (transcript below), our queero Billy Porter takes us through the LGBTQ+ history that doesn't get enough mainstream recognition, and reminds us to appreciate our queer legacies while we fight for our collective queer future.
You’re familiar with Stonewall, of course, but what about the activist movements throughout history that haven’t received as much attention? Groundbreaking queer political actions have been an active part of modern history, with almost 50 years’ worth before that fateful day in 1969. Today, in advance of this month’s Gay Pride celebrations, we’ll take a look at some of the more obscure political actions that have also changed the course of queer history.
1920s: The Society for Human Rights
When U.S. Army soldier Henry Gerber was stationed in Germany from 1920 to 1923, he saw the rise of homophile organizations, as gay rights groups were once called. Gerber was inspired by the work of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, founder of the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, an organization dedicated to overturning Germany’s anti-homosexual rulings. Gerber believed there should be an organization like this in America, too, and upon returning to Chicago in 1924, he dedicated himself to developing one. The group came together in December 1924 as the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in America. They produced the first ever gay rights newsletter in the country, called “Freedom and Friendship.” Shortly after the newsletter was disseminated, Gerber’s home was raided by police. He was arrested, his papers were confiscated, he lost his job and life savings. The Society fell apart. Later, Gerber relocated to New York City and began writing activist works again, this time under the pen name “Parisex.” He continued his activism until his death in the 1970s.
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