LGBTQ+ demonstrators reenacted historic White House protest

Making sure queer history is not forgotten

The modern LGBTQ+ rights movement didn’t start with just the 1969 Stonewall riots, and the Rainbow History Project wants to make sure an earlier protest is not forgotten.

Last month, the Rainbow History Project reenacted a protest that took place 40 years earlier. On April 17, 1965, 10 pioneering activists protested against antigay discrimination, especially by the federal government, in front of the White House. The event kicked off a series of protests that year. Between 30 and 40 people took part in the reenactment, says Emma Cieslik, a volunteer with the Rainbow History Project. “We were expecting a more modest turnout,” she tells The Advocate, and organizers were happy to see the level of participation.

The original protest included such well-known advocates as Frank Kameny, Barbara Gittings, and Gittings’s partner, Kay Tobin Lahusen. The last surviving protester from 1965, Paul Kuntzler, marched in the reenactment. “The signs they held up were reproductions of the original signs from 1965,” Cieslik says, noting that some of the terminology is clearly outdated, but discrimination is still a problem today. Indeed, attacks on LGBTQ+ rights are coming from the White House, Congress, and state legislatures.

“It’s important now more than ever to foreground queer history,” Cieslik says, as many historical records were destroyed by anti-LGBTQ+ forces. “It was wonderful that many people engaged with us outside of the White House,” she added, mentioning that the reenactors stayed in a circle for about 40 minutes. Additionally, “we’re really grateful that we had a wonderful media presence there,” she says.

The Rainbow History Project, an all-volunteer organization, has more to come. From May 19 through July 6, it will present an exhibition, “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington,” at Freedom Plaza in D.C. It will coincide partly with WorldPride, which will be held from May 17 to June 8 in the nation’s capital and is expected to draw more than 3 million people.

The exhibition divides D.C.’s LGBTQ+ history into 10 eras, from 1965 to the present, that are explored in a timeline wall along Pennsylvania Avenue. Alongside the timeline wall will be 10 large cubes with archival photos of pickets, protests, and parades as well as portraits of major activists from each era in what are called Hero Cubes. Fifteen percent of the photos will be by Black queer photographer Leigh Mosley, Cieslik says.

The exhibition is the largest in the project’s 25-year history. It has been two years in the making, with a research team led by curator Vincent Slatt and assistant curator and image coordinator Colette Combs exploring the Rainbow History Project’s collection and archives from across the U.S., and reaching out to early activists and other community members.

“What this exhibit signifies is that I am not starting a new battle,” Slatt said in a press release. “I’m not newly under attack. This is 60 years of my community fighting back and winning more than we lose.”

“This project started as a celebration and recognition of D.C. and nationwide gay rights pioneers,” volunteer Monika F. said in the release. “In the current environment, as the progress we’ve made and the very existence of some of our community members is under attack, it is also a protest — we’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Additionally, the exhibition will host more than 50 days of activities at Freedom Plaza, situated directly between the White House and Capitol Building, including docent-led exhibit tours, a celebration on Mattachine Society founder Kameny’s 100th birthday, Black Pride, Latinx Pride, Trans Pride, queer-affirming religious events, and more to be announced. There will be a meet-up area east of the cubes.

The exhibition has been funded by individuals and community organizations, not corporate sponsors. The Rainbow History Project is also seeking to raise $20,000 to ensure the sustainability of the group. Donations are being accepted online at RainbowHistory.org/donate/.