Stonewall Inn, The LGBT Community Center, GLAAD, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, Alice Austen House, Judson Memorial Church
You’ll learn about LGBT rights activists, organizations and pivotal moments in LGBT history.
The Sip-In at Julius’: An Early Salvo for LGBT Rights
Three years and two months before the Stonewall Rebellion, three young men set out to challenge a NYS Liquor Authority regulation prohibiting the sale of alcohol to homosexuals since they would be considered disorderly. They chose Julius’ Bar in Greenwich Village.
This publicized action was one of the earliest pre-Stonewall public actions for LGBT rights as well as a big step forward in the eventual development of legitimate LGBT bars in NYC. The Sip-In empowered others in the gay community to challenge such discriminatory measures.
Announcing to the bartender that they were homosexual, they were denied service, thus fulfilling their mission. They subsequently contacted the New York City Human Rights Commission and forced the Liquor Authority to stop enforcing the regulation.
Three years later Stonewall happened which catalyzed increased demand for LGBT civil rights.
Prohibition
Julius’ was a popular speakeasy during the prohibition. It was visited by jazz legends and enthusiasts due to it location in the West Village. Over the years, Julius’ started to attract gay clientele and continues to be one of the oldest gay bars in New York City.
New York Mattachine Society: Dick Leitsch
The New York Chapter of the Mattachine Society is one of the country’s earliest gay rights organizations. Dick Leitsch, pictured here, was the president of this chapter and one of the three men involved in the Sip-In.
Members were inspired by sit-ins from the civil rights movement. Mattachine Thursday is a monthly party that meets at Julius’ to honor Dick and the brave individuals of the Mattachine Society.
"Little did we know that the Sip In would have such an impact of the civil rights for the LGBT community and the monthly party celebrating the Mattachine Society is the frosting on the cake." - Dick Leitsch
Julius’ Unofficial Historian: Tom Bernardin
Here sits Tom Bernardin, the unofficial historian of Julius’. Tom, along with the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, played an important role in having Julius’ listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2016 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Sip-In.
"Today Julius' serves as a touchstone to older members of the gay community and as an inspiration for the younger LGBT community." - Tom Bernardin.
Stonewall Inn and Christopher Park, Greenwich Village
The original Stonewall Inn (51-53 Christopher Street), nearby Christopher Park, and the surrounding streets were the site of the Stonewall Uprising, one of the most significant events associated with LGBT history in New York City and the nation.
On the early morning of June 28, a routine police raid on this gay bar resulted in active resistance by the diverse LGBT patrons, local residents, and visitors with unprecedented cries for “gay pride” and “gay power” culminating on July 3.
The events are seen as the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement.
Entrance to Stonewall in 1969
The Stonewall Inn, like many other gay bars in the 1960s, was run by the mafia as a private club. Patrons had to knock at this entrance and were checked by a doorman looking through a peephole.
During the first night of the uprising, the crowd outside became increasingly agitated forcing police officers back into the bar where they locked this entrance door in order to keep the angry crowd out.
Christopher Park
After the initial raid, demonstrations and conflicts with law enforcement continued outside the bar, in Christopher Park, and along the neighborhood streets. At its peak, the crowds included several thousand people with many gathering in the park.
In 1992, the George Segal-designed work, Gay Liberation, was installed in Christopher Park to recognize Stonewall. In June 2016, President Obama designated the Stonewall National Monument, which includes the park.
Christopher Street Looking East Towards Sixth Avenue
The events at Stonewall have also inspired the LGBT pride movement. On July 27, 1969, several weeks after the events at Stonewall, a group of activists staged the first gay and lesbian march, proceeding from Washington Square Park to the Stonewall, which had already closed, on Christopher Street.
Christopher Street Looking East Towards Sixth Avenue by Various
The first anniversary of the rebellion was not commemorated in June 28, 1970 as Christopher Street Liberation Day; the main event was a march up Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village to Central Park, one of the first ever Gay Pride Parades.
The celebration has since evolved into the internationally-recognized LGBT Pride Month.
S.T.A.R
Soon after the 1969 Stonewall uprising, LGBT rights activists and transgender women of color Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) and Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992) founded S.T.A.R. ("Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries").
S.T.A.R by Various
S.T.A.R. helped homeless LGBT youth, particularly gender non-conforming individuals and transgender women of color. S.T.A.R. had its first permanent home in a now-demolished East Village tenement at 213 East 2nd Street.
Marsha P. Johnson at the First Christopher Street Liberation Day March, 1970 (1970-06-28) by Leonard FinkThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
As long-time activists, Rivera and Johnson fought for important visibility and awareness around issues affecting those who identified as transgender or gender queer.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
Founded in 1983, The LGBT Community Center (The Center) is the heart and home of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) New York City. The Center empowers people to lead healthy, successful lives while celebrating diversity and advocating for justice and opportunity.
Today The Center welcomes more than 300,000 visitors every year and provides social, arts and service-based programming to support the vibrant NYC LGBT community.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center by Travis MarkThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The Center’s Physical Home on W 13 Street
A dream born in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall uprising was fulfilled when The Center took title to 208 W 13 Street in December 1984. The December 1983 New York Times article about the sale, by David Dunlap, featured the headline “Sale of Site to Homosexuals Planned.”
A Space for LGBT Groups to Gather
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) began meeting at 208 W 13 St even before The Center’s founding, and for years ran a drop-in space that is now the cyber center. Even today, SAGE members continue to visit the drop-in space on The Center’s second floor.
Edie Windsor Wins Marriage Equality Supreme Court Case
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Windsor, declaring Section 3 of the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. Windsor, a founding Center Member, held her victory press conference in The Center’s lobby, where there is now a café.
Programs for the Trans and Gender Nonconforming Community
In 1989, The Center launched its Gender Identity Project, which provides programming for the transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) communities.
Cyber center and front desk at The Center by Travis MarkThe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
The project has evolved over time to include a range of transgender-driven support, advocacy, education and economic stability initiatives.
The Kaplan Assembly Hall, Room 101
Part of The Center’s purpose is to provide a space where community members can meet and organize around issues facing the LGBT community.
The Kaplan Assembly Hall has served as a hub for the LGBT community since The Center’s founding, hosting dances, activist gatherings, symposia, meetings, town halls, serving as a polling place and more.
Over 12,000 activities happen at The Center each year, many of them in this room.