The Stage
1950s-1960s: Homophile Movement (cont’d)
Public Protest (cont’d)
On July 4, 1965, a small group of lesbians and gay men, including Barbara Gittings and Franklin Kameny, picketed Independence Hall in Philadelphia, site of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. This public demonstration for equal rights for homosexuals was repeated annually through 1969.
The 1958 cover of the Ladder shows that the concept of democracy and the promise of equality expressed in the Declaration of Independence were compelling to early activists.
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The Ladder, July 1958. Human Sexuality Collection. [zoom] |