Stonewall and the LGBT Movement
Brynn Johnson, Katelynne Marsan
Reasons for the Movement
Successes of the Movement
-The American Psychological Association removes homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses
-Public acceptance of gay rights rose steadily following this movement
-Huey Newton of the Black Panther Party openly supports gay rights in1970
- Companies such as AT&T and IBM adopted policies of non-discrimination
-40 towns issue laws or executive orders prohibiting discrimination
-22 states end ban on homosexual relationships
Key people and organizations
In the 1960s and 1970s, the first large scale LGBT demonstrations began. Dick Leitsch, the president of the New York Mattachime society, lead the first staged public homosexual demonstrations and picket lines in the 60s. The Homophile Youth Movement in Neighborhoods, led by activist Craig Rodwell, spread the slogans 'Gay Power' and 'Gay is Good' among the American public. In 1965, Adrian Ravakrowr and Billy Garrison founded an LGBT youth organization called Vanguard. They did demonstrations and picketed small businesses that did not support them. In 1969, Leo Lawrence, editor of the 'Vector,' called for the Homosexual Revolution of 1969, encouraging the masses to come out publicly.
Events:
~A woman ordered coffee at a diner and was refused service due to her sexuality, so she smashed their sugar container and police were called on scene. That night a riot broke out and more armed police were called in to appease it.
~Stonewall Riots involved three to five thousand LGBT rights advocates and were a series of political marches in both New York City and Los Angeles.