Fifth Freedom, 1983-05-01

              5TH FREEDOM A PUBLICATION FOR THE BUFFALO CAY COMMUNITY MAY, 1983 FREE "The Freedom to love whomever and however we want" GAY PRIDE FEST '83 BEGINS JUNE 1 Some History of Gay Pride Celebrations Buffalo's 1983 Cay Pride Fest activities will begin on June 1 with a visit by National Gay Task Force Executive Director, Virginia Apuno, and continue for another two and a half weeks. This marks the fourteenth year that Gay Pride celebrations have been held across the nation to commemorate the "Stonewall Riots" of June 28, 1969. Early that morning the New York City Police conducted what had come to be fairly routine  another raid on the various gay bars. This raid turned out to be anything but routine, because the gay patrons fought back, leading to a full week of open resistance by gays in the streets of New York City. One year later the first annual "Christopher Street Liberation Day" parades were held on Sunday, June 28 from coast to coast. Cay men and lesbians marched with pride down Christopher Street in the East and along Hollywood Boulevard in the West. The celebrations had been called for by the "Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO)," which adopted a resolution in November, 1969, proposing "that a demonstration be held annually on the last Saturday in June in New York City to commemorate the 1969 spontaneous demonstrations and that this demonstration be called CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATION DAY. It further proposed that homophile organizations across the nation be urged to hold parallel demonstrations on the same day. (The tradition was ultimately changed to the last Sunday editor's note.) These events are often viewed as the beginning of the modern-day, militant and highly visable Gay Pride movement. Let us not forget, however, that even these beginnings were marked by earlier roots. The homosexual purges of the military and government, conducted during the Joseph McCarthy era of the early '50s, resulted from and led to gay visibility and resistance in the 1940s and '50s. Just as the World War II mobilization led to tremendous changes in women's roles, followed by equally heavy backlashes, the war mobilization also created a major change for gays. Many men and women gained their first awareness of homosexuality in the armed services of the early '40s and then experienced their first real oppression as they were sent to psychiatric hospitals and given less —than honorable discharges for the offense of homosexuality. Many fought back. The '40s also, saw the emergence of many gay bars and night clubs, further leading to development of a sense of gay life as oppposed to individual gay isolation. A new consciousness of gay life by the larger public inevitably led to an anti-gay crackdown on all levels, complete with military purges, dismissals from all kinds of employment, outright violence against individuals indentified as gay and much more. Out of this history came such groups as the Mattachine Society, first organized in 1951 in Los Angeles, and Daughters of Biiitis, formed as a lesbian organization in the mid —'50s. Numerous other gay rights groups (often called homophile organizations) sprang up during the 1950s and '60s. In faot, ERCHO, referred to above, was sponsoring a picketing demonstration in front of Philadelphia's Independence Hall to celebrate its fifth anniversary during the week following the Stonewall incident. Scholars, students, researchers, writers, librarians and all kinds of people are actively engaged in digging out this often-unknown history and recording it for all of us. Fifteen years of gay pride struggles and celebrations represent only the tip of the iceberg in looking at the history of Gay Pride. (Sources for various information in this article include: GAY AMERICAN HISTORY, by Jonathan Katz; Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1976; THE GAY MILITANTS, by Dorm Teal, Stein and Day Publishers, 1971; and "Coming Out Under Fire," by Allan Berube, in MOTHER JONES, Feb/March, 1983.) National Gay Task Force Director Visits Buffalo June 1 ■ virgina Apuizo, Executive Director of the tional Gay Task Force (NGTF) and a leading gay spokesperson on the national level, will visit Buffalo on June 1 as part of Gay Pride Fest '83. The Apuixo visit is being sponsored and coordinated by the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier as its contribution to this year's Gay Pride celebrations. The highlight of her visit will be a discussion and urine and cheese party with Ms. Apuzzo at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, June 1 at the Unitarian Church, corner of Elmwood and West Ferry. Billed as "An Evening with Virginia Apurto," the program will feature a talk by Apuzzo, followed by an informal reception. Admission will be S3, with a 50 cent discount for Mattachine members. According to MSNF President, Rod Hensel, Mattachine will also arrange television and radio Merviews for Apuzzo during her visit to Buffalo. "We are delighted that Ms. Apuszo accepted r invitation to visit Buffalo," Hensel said. "She is an exciting and dynamic speaker, and we think it vitally important the gay people in Buffalo be in touch with national gay organisations. "NGTF in particular is unique because it has taken on the role of coordinating information from gay groups across the country. Through this national information exchange, local organisations can better deal with common problems, such as AIDS," Hensel added. While Apusso is not charging a speaker's fee, Mattachine has offered to reimburse NGTF for her expenses. Any further proceeds will benefit the FIFTH FREEDOM and the Gay Hotline. "We hope other gay organisations in Buffalo will help us in making this event a success," Hensel said. "We hope to encourage as many as possible to attend." (continued on page 7) Events and Workshops described, page 7 and 10 GPF TB3 Calendar Listings, page 9