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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cathy Renna, cathy@targetcue.com, 917-757-6123
Record LGBT Exhibits At National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration
Five Prominent National Institutions Present LGBT History
June 9, 2015, Philadelphia, PA - Organizers of the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration announced today the five LGBT exhibits will be held in conjunction with the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration, July 2-5.
“Never in our civil rights movement has more than one presitigous mainstream institution had a LGBT history exhibit. That the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration empowered five institutions to present exhibits is an incredibly powerful statement,” stated Malcolm Lazin, Chair, National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration.
Independence National Historical Park, Liberty Bell Center
Protesting for Equal Rights: 50th Anniversary - Reminder Day
Special Exhibit in the Liberty Bell Center, Independence National Historical Park, 9 am – 7 pm
On July 4, 1965 forty men and women marched across from Independence Hall, carrying signs with radical messages like "HOMOSEXUAL CITIZENS DEMAND THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS." Risking harassment, career loss, and arrest, these protestors openly marched for equality. Find out more about their struggle to overcome intolerance and gain equal rights for the LGBT community in this free, temporary exhibit in the home of the Liberty Bell in Independence National Historical Park. FREE
Visit http://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/parkevents.htm
The African American Museum, runs June 12 – August 16, 2015
Through the photographs of Gerard H. Gaskin, The African American Museum in Philadelphia’s Legendary captures the culture of “house balls.” These parties, popular in the African-American and Latino gay and transgender communities, allowed marginalized groups to embrace and showcase their most vibrant selves. FREE
http://firstbookprizephoto.com/gerard-h-gaskin-solo-show-at-philadelphias-african-american-museum/
National Constitution Center, runs June 5 through September 7
To honor the 50th anniversary of the first Annual Reminder march, the National Constitution Center is proud to host Speaking Out for Equality: The Constitution, Gay Rights, and the Supreme Court, a new exhibition created in partnership with the William Way LGBT Community Center. The exhibition will chronicle the LGBT rights movement and the ongoing debate over how much the Constitution protects gay rights.
Come learn about the issues, hear personal stories, and join the conversation about the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the constitutional right to same sex marriage. FREE on July 2nd and 4th
National Museum of American Jewish History
“LGBT Stories: A Collecting Project,” an online exhibit that will cull and present LGBT histories. The museum is inviting LGBT Jews and allies to submit ephemera demonstrating the role of Jewish Americans in the LGBT-rights movement over the past century — writings, images of picket signs and buttons, personal photos — as well as stories and links to other websites, which will all be amassed on a Tumblr page, http://nmajh-lgbt.tumblr.com.
The museum will also post pieces from its own collection, as well as present an exhibition on its first floor and programming surrounding LGBT history. FREE
Free Library of Philadelphia
This exhibit at the Free Library of Philadelphia tells the story of Barbara Gittings’ crusade to promote LGBT books and access to them, and includes information about the Stonewall Book Awards of the LGBT Round Table of the American Library Association. Additionally, in partnership with PFLAG, the Free Library presents a pocket exhibition of PFLAG's history in conversation with the changing landscape of queer books over the last 50 years. FREE
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/explore/shell.cfm?topicTitle=GLBT&template=gittings.cfm
The organized LGBT civil rights movement was galvanized when activists from New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia staged demonstrations at Independence Hall for equality each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969. When 40 activists picketed in front of Independence Hall in 1965, it was the largest demonstration for gay equality in world history.
Organized by Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, the father and mother of the LGBT civil rights movement, these “Annual Reminders” laid the groundwork for the Stonewall riot in 1969. After Stonewall, the Gay Pioneers suspended the Annual Reminders and turned their energies to help organize the 1970 march from Greenwich Village to Central Park marking the first anniversary of Stonewall.
There is no registration fee and most programs are FREE.
For more information, visit www.lgbt50th.org and www.gaypioneers.com.
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