, we visit the museum hearing washington, d. C. To learn about the 1969 stonewall riots and how they served as a catalyst for the modern lgbtq Rights Movement. Welcome to the newseum. You are here at the prologue of our new exhibit, rise up, stonewall movement. It was a gay bar in new york city that profound forward the modern lgbtq Rights Movement. We tell the story of how americans used the First Amendment freedoms speech, protest, religion, to advocate for change in really fight. We walk around the corner and look at some artifacts from two of the earliest lgbtq rights organizations that rose up in the 19 fifties and sixties. Gay americans lived in fear and secrecy. Gay people could be arrested for showing affection in public. Police prowled parks to arrest gay people. It was difficult to begin being gay in america. And people would talk what it was like to be a gay man or a lesbian woman. I love these social groups, rose illumines for social justice instead of just seeking tolerance by the public they wanted acceptance. Here you see some artifacts from the medecine society, a matchbook that would be passed on people in public places. People i thought were of likeminded people and its like are you gay i am to lets talk about it. Over here you see some early pioneering lgbtq publications, such as the mattachine review, and one. It was a magazine. Next we go to the main gallery of the exhibits. Right now we are in an area right before the main gallery of rise up. We decided Popular Culture was a good place to start. Popular culture played such an Important Role in shaping attitudes. Early in 1961, the first images that you see of homosexuals, because that is what gay people were called back then was in a pbs documentary that aired in San Francisco called the rejected. A talked about homosexuality as an issue, as a problem. Gradually you see more energy to keep people being represented in sports, television and movies. Here is martina naturalist tennis racket. Rockets in a famous celebrity who reveals his dying of aids can its a huge earthquake in Popular Culture and in the in the movement. As you saw in philadelphia tom hanks portrays a man with aids, and the script is signed by all the cast members of that. An Ellen Degeneres who comes out on Time Magazine, and the repercussions that a came out of that. Her show was canceled, she received death threats. But that moment in time is seen as a powerful moment. A Forward Movement for the lgbtq. You have shows like will and grace, and even Vice President biden spoke about willing grace, as a show to do more you dont get used to americans seeing same sex marriage, and you know they invited the people into their living rooms in this case, and they thought maybe if you dont know gay people in your lives here was. And then we have movies like broke back mountain, modern family a popular sitcom, and Caitlin Jenner coming out on vanity fair as a transgender woman. These are moments in time that moved attitudes about the movement and had popular understanding to the issues of the Lgbtq Community in the United States. Next we will walk into the main gallery, we are going to see what happened at the Stonewall Inn in the summer of 1969. Lets go back to a hot number hot summer night, we Stonewall Inn. It wasnt particularly a nice bar, the drinks were watered down was run by the mafia, but it was a place that gay people could come and downs together and socialize. Remember it was illegal for gay people to show paint affection in public, and at the stonewall they condense together. They could pray on the gay wall street workers who socialize there. It was you know not the nicest place, but at least was a place that gay people could call their own. So there is a Police Crackdown on such establishments going on, and the police came in and started writing the bar, tossing people out of it. They were a little bit rough with the lesbian, and they threw her out onto the streets, and the crowd went wild. This was kind of a pentup feeling by the people there at the Stonewall Police had been harassing people gay people for a long time. The resting them for showing affection in public. At this point in time 1969 we had the youth movement, counterculture sexual revolution is happening, and people arent just gonna take it anymore they are done with not being who they are, they are done with not being except for being gay. They are just fed up. So this starts six nights of on an off uprising writing, gloss throwing bricks throwing, interactions with police. And out of this moment, springs fourth what we call the modern lgbtq Rights Movement. We see here he was a headline, in the Mainstream Media and again you see how dismissive the mainstream headlines are vacay people. The headline is hollow got is mad. You know the mainstream didnt really even cover this for a few days but. In this case we have some historic publications, from the museums collection of how the Gay Rights Movement was covered by other publications. We have the advocate, and early lgbtq publication. Based in l. A. You have the letter, which is a lesbian publication it reported on uprising at a bar in the california region. And then you have mainstream publication, that started to Pay Attention here and say what is going on. Time magazine two months after stonewall occurs. This homosexual in america. Never before have homosexuals been in the forefront of conversation of whats going on the United States today. So out of this moment, springs fourth what we call the marge the modern lgbtq movement. We organize this movement not chronologically but more themes. When we come to the right to work and you serve fighting for the work to work and to serve. So a Government Employee is fired from his job for solicitation. Nestle station was a charge which is commonly used against gay people. Oftentimes they wont fight back because of the repercussions of fighting back from such a crime. And you could lose your job for being, gay your neighbors would probably distance and selves from you, your family if your parent you could lose your children. So to be gay was really to live a life of fear and secrecy in the 19 fifties and sixties. Frank decided that he was going to fight back against government rules against gay people. And indeed, president eisenhower actually signed a law that homosexuals cannot be hired by the government. And they figure there should be no reason for such a law, homosexuals have rights to work there as much as anybody else did. So they organized a series of protests, as early as 1965. For people who are gay, who had pickett in front of the white house, Civil Servants commission. Going public with signed such as this. America the land of opportunity for homosexuals to. Quarter million homosexuals federal employees protest Civil Service policy. The so he is a figure, who is considered the father of the movement, and his story pops up throughout it. When we go around the corner now were going to talk about a woman named barbara gettings. She took it upon herself to fight back against the association, and they had against society who considered that being gay was a mental illness. So she was diagnosed with being homosexual, she did research about what that meant, and she thought that she hurt that homosexual people were often institutionalized, and had electroshock treatment, and various other horrible things that can happen to them. To people like yourself. And she thought there was something wrong about that. So she took on the American Psychiatric association in 1972 she appeared at the convention in dallas texas and she spoke on a panel with a gay psychiatrist who was so fearful of the repercussions of her coming out and speaking out as a gay person that he wore this mask so she also had an information booth. In this what she had positive images of what the gay social was all about. We. Next we will talk about harvey milk. Harvey milk was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors 1977. He proceeded to get various but increasing rights for lgbtq citizens. He served for about a year before he was assassinated by four policemen, and a former commissioner himself. In this case, you can see the envelope that was found in his jacket, and you could see the bullet holes that were left in that card that he had written somebody. The light sentence that the person who shot harvey milk, we received that resulted in the white knight riots. Where people were just coming forth with fury, and frustration at the lack of attention toward the death of this pioneering figure in lgbtq history. This case, we have artifacts from two other people, who are pioneering people. Tammy baldwin in 1998, was the first open lead a woman. Here we have, news week magazine showing barney frank. He has served three terms as congressman of massachusetts before he came out as being a gay person. We and they did elect him several more times, and after he left office he married his longtime partner jim ready, and this is a button that they handed out at their wedding. Im going to walk around the corner, and explore the story of lgbtq activists writing fighting for the right to serve in the military. 1974, a sergeant in the air force, he was a decorated vietnam war veteran, he has served three tours of duty. In fact he had the bronze star. He decided to challenge the militarys ban on gay people serving. Again working with the father of the lgbtq Rights Movement, he decided to push back against the air force. The air force discharged him, and instead of deciding to change its policy. You see this persons brave stance going on the cover of Time Magazine in 1975 saying, i am a homosexual. The first gay person to appear on the cover of Time Magazine. These stories start to chip away at attitudes, that prevented gay people from serving in the military. In this case you can see some news coverage, of the repeal of dont ask dont tell. That is a policy that clinton administration, that allowed gay people to serve in the military, as long as they were quiet about who they were in what their Sexual Orientation was. Up here you see the gavel that nancy pelosi used to announce the repeal, of dont ask dont tell in 2010 out of stonewall. Comes a new era of militancy. And you saw protests called zaps. They were done to get a tension, and to show what the activists were fighting for. You had the gay raiders out of philadelphia, who got themselves on the cbs evening news with walter conch right. They got on to the stage and had a protest. As americans watch their evening newscast. We they said it cronkite took time after the news to talk about them to what their issues was. These are incredible publications. When various groups and nationalities feel they are you know their stories not being told by the Mainstream Press, 5 you om magazines we see gay activists, the lesbian tide and many other publications rose up out out of the storm wall era. You see this flag, which is now iconic a symbol of the lgbtq Rights Movement. We you notice that the flag has two more stripes and it has now, because to the colors were too hard to reproduce at that time, so they cut them down. They got rid of the hot pink in the turquoise. But that flag was made by gilbert, and this is the sewing machine on which he created the original flag. This flag is not the original, but it is one of the first of that template next were going to go and talk about the aids crisis, and how that mobilized lgbtq activists. In every movement you see signs of progress, and then push back. After this incredible spirit of openness, gay people being public about their sexuality who they were, what theyre Sexual Orientation, wasnt protesting in the streets. Quickly on the heels of that comes the aids crisis. In the early 1980s stories about aids this Mysterious Illness that is striking game in, in los angeles and new york. Come to the forefront in Gay Publications first. Quickly the Mainstream Press catches up with it, but the early headlines because no one knows what causes aids, it is really more fair hungering than anything else. At least the Lgbtq Community being further ostracized. Here you see two journalists were poor part of the Mainstream Press. Who werent incredibly welcoming to the gay people. Both of these journalists, reported about the aids crisis and both of them had succumb to aids as well. It wasnt until 1992, that drugs were found that actually made aids not a death sentence, but a disease that people can live with. Here you saw again, a gay activist using zaps, the provocative buoyant protest. You see the dying that took place it patricks cathedral in new york, there were protests outside the fda, were activists were advocating for drugs to come to market quicker. More research by the government, more support with people for people with aids. Gay community was providing meals, and supports and, you know drug trial information, and they were really advocating for people with aids in the community as a whole. More than 362,000 americans died of aids before treatment before it became widespread in the late 1990s. And to illustrate that story, we have a section of the aids quilt here. Will they lead patches of a quilt across the mall here in d. C. And while aides is now a treatable disease, the aids crisis is not over. This is a piece of the quilt, that tells the story of a transgender woman in atlanta who died in 2016. Her name was Cheryl Courtney evidence. Next we will go to a section that talks about the battle for same sex marriage and the role that faith and religion pay played in that. Some face welcome people of the Gay Community but not all. 1977 dade county florida, and about a dozen other communities they passed legislation aimed to prevent discrimination against gay people and housing and our other areas. Anita brian, was a folksinger any of bryant, and she thought that this law would have children corrected by the Gay Community. She fought back on. It the save the children campaign. Here you see the lgbtq activists who fought back against anita bryant. And album was put out by what. And it pushed back on anita bryant and orange juice. And bartenders started serving a drink all the anita bryant which was apple juice and vodka instead of orange juice. So you see the Gay Community pushing back, and on this. I see faith people, like jay falwell, billy graham, powerful evangelical leaders, who are blaming gay people for this crisis. Also a setback for the community, because hes powerful spokesman of faith are pushing back against a community in their essential rights. Next we will come to the section about the historic ruling, that led to same sex marriage being legal across the country. The First Amendment, gives every american the power to petition the government for change. If there are policies, or laws or things that are happening that they do not like. And that is really throughout this exhibit. So a couple had planned to marry, and in the home state of ohio it was illegal to marry. So mr. Arthur had been dying of neurological disease at the time, and mr. Arthur died a few months later, but he wanted to be listed as a surviving spouse on the death directive get, so he joined 14 couples in a few other weather wars, in the Supreme Court case, in 2015 for the thats what made same six marriage legal cross the country. You can see the jacket he wore for his wedding day. And the bow tie he wore an announcement day, and the wedding rings. He had some fused together with some of john arthurs ashes after he died. These are some of the fifth artifacts that we have on loan, and its a powerful statement because at its essence this is about who do you love and who you have the right to love. So these are powerful exhibits the tell the story about every day americans petition the government for change. Using their First Amendment freedoms. The struggle for same sex marriage, was decades long process, here in this case you see 1953, the pioneering lgbtq couple and they put on its cover homosexual marriage question mark. Its not until decades later, that the supreme ruling in 2015, the maids same sex marriage legal across the country. There were many players that played a role in chipping away at attitudes, that prevented samesex marge. Edith windsor was one of those people. She was with her long term partner, see a spire for many years. When theodore died, she had a big tax bill. And she decided that she was going to challenge the irs, saying that she was should be given the same rights as heterosexual couple should have. Years later, the Supreme Court decided in her favor, and this is a copy of the check that she got from the irs, for best payment of those inheritance taxes that she paid. And of course the interest. Its always an interesting artifact for people to see. Especially around tax time here. Here you see posters, that were used by protesters, who were heralding the Supreme Court decision, that edith winds are took part in, and on the wall across you see some really iconic figures, who 50 years ago would have never been open about their Sexual Orientation. Their sexuality. We call this wall once rejected now embrace. And you can see how attitudes have changed, towards lgbtq americans. They are influencers, they are politicians, they are activists, their actors and journalists, these are people who are much admired for who they are and what they do. Here to museum, our mission is to promote an understanding of the importance of free press and the First Amendment. And we hope more people come and visit this exhibit because, stonewall the event at stonewall and rise up, and the lgbtq rights and movement, really tells the story of how every day americans use their First Amendment freedoms, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of petition, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech to rise up and act up, and push back and advocate for change. And that is what we are all about here at the museum. Explaining people the story of the First Amendment, and this movement the story of the lgbtq Rights Movement really embodies everything about the First Amendment. We hope people will come here to experience it, as well as the movies and interactive and many more stories that we tell here