Presidency, and special event coverage about our nations history. Enjoy American History tv now and every weekend on cspan3. For archives, museums and Historic Sites around the country. Up next we visit the rise up exhibit at the newseum here in 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, im patty ruhl, Vice President of exhibits and con hetent here. Were here at rise up, stonewall and the lgbtq Rights Movement. Stonewall was an event in the summer of 1969, an uprising at a gay bar in new york city that propelled forward the modern day lgbtq Rights Movement and we tell the story of how ordinary americans used their 1st amendment freedoms, freedom of speech, the press, petition, assembly, religion, to advocate for change and to really change society. Now were going to walk around the corner in this prologue area and look at some artifacts from two of the earliest lgbtq rights organizations that rose up in the 1950s and 60s. Gay americans live ed in fear a secre secrecy. Gay people could be arrested for showing affection in public. Police prowled parks. It was a difficult time to be a gay american. This is when you see the rise of a few early lgbtq groups, social groups, such as when people are meeting in secret in hatheir hos largely to talk about what its like to be a gay man, a lesbian woman, to socialize, dance, to have fun. Out of these social groups rose movements for social justice where instead of simply seeking tolerance by the public, they decide they want more than that. They wanted actual acceptance. And here you see some artifacts from the mattichine society, a matchbook which would be passed on to people who they thought were likeminded people. A secret way to say, are you gay . I am, too, lets talk about it. Here is a legal book that was published for gay people arrested, gave them advice about their rights were when dealing with the police. Over here you see some early pioneering lgbtq publications such as the mattichine review, the ladder which was put out by the daughters of bilitis and won a famous 1st amendment case in the stream court when the post office was refusing to distribute it. The Supreme Court decided they had the right to publish that magazine. Next, were going to go down to the main gallery of this exhibit. Right now were in sort of area right before the main gallery of rise up stonewall and the lgbtq Rights Movement. We decided that Popular Culture was a good place to start for many people. Popular cultures plays such an Important Role in shaping attitudes. Early on in 1961, the first images that you see of homosexuals, because thats what guy people were called back then, is in a pbs documentary aired in San Francisco, it was called the rejected and it talked about homosexuality as an issue, as a problem. Suddenly, you see gradually more lgbtq people being represented in sports, on television, in movies. Heres Martina Navratilovas tennis racket. She is an incredible athlete. Multiple tennis champion who comes out as being gay. Rock hudson, famous hollywood celebrity who reveals that he is dying of aids, a huge earthquake in Popular Culture and in the lgbtq Rights Movement. Then you saw in philadelphia tom hanks portrays a man with aids in an Academy Award winning movie and have a script thats signed by all the cast members of that. Of course, Ellen Degeneres who comes out on the cover of Time Magazine and the repercussions that resulted from that. Her show was canceled soon after that, she received Death Threats because of it. Nonetheless, that moment in time is seen as a powerful moment, a Forward Movement for the lgbtq rights community. Then you have more shows like will grace, even Vice President biden spoke about the tv show will grace as doing more to get more americans used to the idea of samesex marriage than anything else because in that event, theyd invited gay people into their living rooms and in cases when they felt that people might not know gay people in their lives. From will grace we have movies like brokeback mountain, modern family, hugely popular sitcom. And then of course Caitlyn Jenner coming out on the cover of vanity fair as a transgender woman. These are all moments in time that moved attitudes about the movement, that brought popular understanding to the issues that the Lgbtq Community was facing. Next, were going to walk into the main gallery and were going to see what happened at the Stonewall Inn 50 years ago in the summer of 1969. Now were going to go back to a hot summer night in june of 1969 too Greenwich Village in new york city, the Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall Inn wasnt a particularly nice bar. The drinks were watered down. It was run by the mafia. It was a place that gay people could come and dance and socialize. Back then it was illegal to be seen showing affection in public. They could dance together here. The stonewall prayed on the gay wall street workers who socialized there. So, again, not the nicest place, but at least it was a place that gay people could call their own. So theres a Police Crackdown on such illegal establishments going on. When police came in and started raiding the bar and tossing people out of it, they were a little bit rough with a lesbian and threw her out onto the streets, and the crowd went wild. This was kind of a pentup feeling by people there at the to stonewall. Police had been harassing gay people for a long time, arresting them for showing affection in public. At this point in time in 1969 we got all kinds of youth movements, counterculture, sexual revolution is happening. People arent going to take it anymore. Theyre done with not being who they are, done with not being accepted for being gay, theyre just fed up. So this starts six nights of onandoff uprising, rioting, glass throwing, brick throwing, interactions with police. And out of this moment springs forth what we call the modern lgbtq Rights Movement. You see here, here was a headline in the Mainstream Media. Again, you see how dismissive the mainstream publications are of gay people. The headline here is homo nest raided, queen bees are stinging mad. Really insulting, derogatory terminology. The Mainstream Media didnt cover this for a couple of days. Several days of fights and rioting going on in Greenwich Village until theyre paying attention to whats going on there. In this case we have historic publications from the newseum of how the gay Rights Movement was covered by others. We have the advocate which is an early publication based in l. A. You have the ladder, a lesbian publication that reported on uprising at a bar in the california region. And then you have mainstream publications starting to Pay Attention and say, what is going on . Time magazine a few months after stonewall has a cover, the homosexual in america. In which theyve saying never before have homosexuals been in the forefront of the conversation of whats going on in the United States today. Out of this moment springs forth what we call the modern lgbtq Rights Movement. So we organize this exhibit not so much chronologically as much as in themes. The next theme, fighting for the right to work and to serve. We covered a story now of frank kameny, a harvard educated ph. D. , government employee, whos fired from his job because of an arrest for solicitation. Solicitation was a charge that was commonly used against gay people. Oftentimes they wouldnt fight back because of the repper cushions of fighting back from such a crime. You could lose your job from being gay, your neighbors would distance themselves from you, if you were a parent, you could lose your children. To be gay was to live a life of fear and secrecy in the 1950s and 60s. Frank decided he was going to fight back against government rules against gay people. Indeed, president eisenhower actually signed a law into effect that homosexuals could not be hired by the federal government. Frank decided there should be no reason for a law, homosexuals deserved rights to work in the federal government, anywhere else, just as much as anyone did. He organized a series of protests as early as 1965 where people who were gay would picket in front of the white house and the Civil Service commission, going public with signs such as this. America, the land of opportunity for homosexuals, too. Quarter million homosexual federal employees protest, the Civil Service commission is the organization who controls who gets fired by the federal government. Hes considered a father of the lgbtq Rights Movement. Were going to around the corner and talk about barbara gittings. She took it upon herself to fight back against the American Psychiatric association which at this point has deemed homosexuality a mental illness. Barbara gittings was a College Student in 1949 when she was actually diagnosed as being homosexual. She did research about what that meant and found out that homosexual people were frequently institutionalized, had electroshock treatment and various other horrible things that could happen to people like herself. She thought there was something very wrong about that. She took on the American Psychiatric association. In 1972 she appeared at their convention in dallas, texas, and spoke on a panel with a gay psychiatrist who was so fearful of the repercussions of coming out and speaking publicly as a gay person that he wore this mask. Barbara had an information booth. You see the sign up there for the information booth that gave positive images of what gay people were all about. A year later the American Psychiatric association took away the designation of homosexuality as being a mental illness. Frank sent a letter to his friendsmiracle, weve been cured. Next well talk about harvey milk, one of the pioneering lgbtq people to be elected to office in the United States. Harvey milk was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1977. He proceeded to get various laws passed, increasing rights for lgbtq citizens and served for about a year before he was brutally cut down. He was assassinated, actually, by a former policeman and former commissioner, himself. In this case you can see an envelope that was found in milks jacket, and you can sigh the bullet holes that were left in that card that he had written to somebody. The light sentence that the person who shot harvey milk and mayor George Moscone received, that resulted in the white knight riots when people were coming forth with fury and frustration at the lack of attention toward the death of this pioneering figure in lgbtq history. In this case we have artifacts from Tammy Baldwin and barney frank, pioneering congre congresspersons. She was the first openly gay woman elected to congress. This is the red suit she wore when she was elected to the wisconsin legislature. Here we have a news week magazine with barney frank on it. He had served before he came out as being a gay person. The citizens of massachusetts reelected him several more times. After he left office he married his longtime partner jim ready, this is a button that they handed out at their wedding. Were going to walk around the corner and explore the story of lgbtq activists fighting for the right to serve in the military. In 1974 Leonard Matlovitch was a decorated war veteran, served three tours of duty. In fact, he had the bronze star. He decided to challenge the militarys ban of gay people serving. Working with frank kameny, he decides to push back against the air force. The air force discharged him and offered him a settlement instead of deciding to change its policy, but you see this persons brave stance going on the cover of Time Magazine in 1975 saying, im 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. Thats a policy the Clinton Administration that allowed gay people to serve in the military as long as they were quiet about who they were and what their Sexual Orientation was. Up here you see the gavel nancy pelosi used to announce the repeal of dont ask dont tell in 2010. Out of stonewall comes a new era of militancy and clout for the gay Rights Movement. And you saw protests called zaps. They were socalled because they were really provocative, designed to get press coverage, to get a lot of attention to what the activists were fighting for. You had groups like the gay raiders actually of philadelphia who got themselves onto the cbs evening news with Walter Cronki cronkite, got on the stage and had a protest sign that appeared as americans watched their evening news casts. The protesters said cronkite took time after the newscast to talk about what the issues were and actually changed the way cbs covered the gay movement at that time and saw the rise of incredible publications. You know, when various groups and nationalities feel their stories arent being told by the Mainstream Press, they frequently start their own newspapers and magazines. Here you see gay activists, see the lesbian tide. Many, many other publications rose up out of the stonewall era, then you see this incredible flag that is now iconic, the symbol of the lgbtq Rights Movement. Gilbert baker called himself the gay betsy ross, he was encour e encouraged to come up a flag that symbolized the movement. Has two more stripes than the flag does now. Two of the colors were too hard to reproduce at the time, cut them down, got rid of the hot pink and turquoise. The flag was made by gilbert. This is the sewing machine on which he created the original flag. This flag isnt the original but one of the first of that flag of that template. Next were going to go in and talk about the aids crisis and how that activated and mobilized lgbtq activists. In every movement you see signs of progress and then pushback. After this incredible spirit of openness, gay people being public about their sexuality, who they were, their Sexual Orientation, 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 gay men in los angeles and new york, comes to the forefront in Gay Publications first. Quickly the Mainstream Press catches up, but the early headlines because no one knows what causes aids, are really more fear mongering than anything else. At least the Lgbtq Community being further ostracized. In the 1980s it wasnt incredibly welcoming to be a gay person on a staff of an organization of a major newspaper. Both of these journalists reported about the aids crisis and both of them succumbed 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 could live with. Here you saw again gay activists using zaps, the very provocative, flamboyant protests. You see the dieins that took place. There were protests outside the fda were activists were advocating for drugs to come to market quicker, for more research by the government and for more support of people with aids. The Gay Community was providing meals, support, information about drug trials and organizations like act up and other organizations are really advocating for people with aids and for the community as a whole. More than 362,000 americans died of aids before treatment for it became widespread in the late 1990s. And to illustrate that story we have a section of the aids quilt. The names project in 1987 laid patches of a quilt across the National Mall here in washington, d. C. This is evidence that while aids is now a treatable disease, the aids crisis is really 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 evans. Next were going to go to a section that talks about samesex marriage and the role that faith and religion played in that. Some faith communities welcomed members of the Gay Community but not all. In 1977 dade county, florida, joined about a dozen other communities in passing legislation aimed to prevent discrimination about gay people in housing and other areas. Anita bryant was a christian singer and a spokeswoman for the florida orange juice industry. She thought that this law would end up having children corrup d ed by the Gay Community. So she fought back against it with the save the children community. Here again you see the creativity of the lgbtq activists who fought back against anita bryant. In this case you see an album put out by olivia records, a lesbian record label. Its called lesbian concentrate. Bartenders stopped selling screwdrivers which were drinks made with orange juice and vodka. Orange juice sales plummeted as a result. Bartenders started serving the drink they called the anita bryant, which was apple juice and vodka instead. So, again, you see these zaps rising up. The Lgbt Community pushing back against people who are trying to erode their central rights. Then you see faith people like the reverend Jerry Fallwell and billy graham, powerful evangelical leaders blaming gay people of the aids crisis. Again, a setback for the community because these powerful spokesmen of faith are pushing back against the community and their essential rights. Next, were going to come to the section about the historic ruling that led to samesex marriage being made legal across the country. The 1st amendment gives every american the power to petition the government for change if there are policies or laws or things happening that they do not like. Thats really evidenced throughout this exhibit. A man had been planning to marry his longtime partner, john arthur. In their home state of ohio, it was illegal for two men to marry. They flew to an airport tarmac in maryland. Mr. Arthur was dying of a neurological disease at the time. Mr. Arthur died a few months earlier but jim wanted him to be listed as a surviving spouse on john arthurs death certificate. So he joined 14 couples and a view other widowers in a Supreme Court case that in 2015 made samesex marriage legal across the country. In this case you can see the jacket that he wore on his wedding day, the bowtie that he wore on announcement day and the fused wedding rings of his and john arthurs. He had them fused together with some of john arthurs ashes after he died. These artifacts were the first ar artifacts we got on loan for this exhibit. Its a really powerful statement because at its essence this exhibit is about who you have the right to love. So these are powerful exhibits that tell the story of how Everyday Americans petitioned the government for change, using their 1st amendment freedoms. The struggle for samesex marriage was a decadeslong process. Here in this case you see in 1953 the pioneering lgbtq publication, one, puts on its cover, homosexual marriage . Its not until decades later that the Supreme Court ruling makes samesex marriage legal across the country. There are many players who played a role in chipping away at attitudes that prevented samesex marriage. She was with her longtime partner, thea, for many years. When she died edith was stuck with a rather large inheritance tax bill. She decided she was going to challenge the irs saying she was being denied the same rights that heterosexual couples had. More than a thousand of them. Years later, the Supreme Court decided in her favor and this is a copy of the check that she got from the irs for back payment of those inheritance taxes that she had paid plus, of course, the interest. Thats always a favorite 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 Windsor took part in. On the wall across here you see some really iconic figures who 50 years ago would never have been open about their Sexual Orientation, their sexuality. We call this wall once rejected, now embraced. Now you see how attitudes have changed toward lgbtq americans. Their influencers, their politicians, their activists, their actors, their journalists. These are people who are much admired for who they are and what they do. Here at the newseum, our mission is to promote understanding of the importance of the free press and the 1st amendment. We hope more people will come and visit this exhibit because stonewall, the events at stonewall and rise up stonewall and the lgbtq Rights Movement, really tells the story of how Everyday Americans used their 1st amendment freedoms, freedom of press, religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of petition, freedom of speech, to rise up, act up, push back and advocate for change. Thats what were all about here at the museum, explaining to people the story of the 1st amendment. This movement, the story of the lgbtq movement, really embodies everything about the 1st amendment. We hope people will come here and experience the movies and interactives and many of the stories we tell here in this exhibit. You can watch this or other american artifacts programs at any time by visiting our website cspan. Org history. American history tv products are now available at the new cspan online store. Go to cspanstore. Org to see whats new for American History tv and check out all of the cspan products. Next, historian david farber looks at the 50th anniversary of the woodstock music festival. A threeday rock concert that attracted half a Million People to a dairy farm in upstate new york. Hes the author of the age of great dreams america in the 1960s. And he joined American History tv and washington journal for this interview. But first, part of a 1969 abc report about the impact the massive crowd had on the small new york town known as bethel. Last night the traffic was