my study of the subway really began years ago when i was about eight years old and my father told me that down in the subway stations in new york, there were pictures on the walls. i thought that was very curious. but what got me going deeper, besides the fact that i realised some stations were boosting their decor so they had to be recorded, and realising this, i got concerned and thought, well, somebody has to preserve a record of what we have now. it became, sort of, a cause for me to record the embellishments of the stations. so it rather snowballed into rather a long project, which is now a0 years in the making and not done yet. well, actually the earliest stations were built 1900, 190a and at that time there was a great movement
the birth of the modern gay rights movement. so this is where it s at. yes where it all happened. mark segal was 18 at the time and had arrived in the cityjust a few weeks earlier. ..seeing all the rainbow flags on it. what is it like to be back here? it s sort of emotional. i think of the people who helped educate me or what we needed to do to create a real movement, to create real equality. what was it like that night? just like any other normal night. we were inside, we were having a great time. i was standing in the back near the dance floor. the lights flickered on, then they came on full force. i looked over at someone and said, what s happening? and they said, oh, very casually, it s a raid. i d never been in a raid before, so i was a little nervous. police barged in and just started pushing people around. and anybody looked like they were successful, they went up to them and said, take out your wallet. and they took the money. it was, you know, out and out graft
now for the piece de resistance, the original torch. wow! ..to hidden treasures. somebody has to preserve a record of what we have. it s worth it. ..lasting legacies. i think it was what we needed to do to create a real movement, to create real equality. ..and a record breaking show. you re standing in the wings and the orchestra starts, . something just takes over. # phantom of the opera. i guess it s theatre magic. new york is, without a doubt, one of the most dynamic, diverse,
there was a great movement for the city, beautiful movement, when the mayor and his council decided that they wanted to establish new york as noble and attractive a city as the old european capitals were, are, which the americans and new yorkers have always looked up to. and the mayor decided, well, you know what, we can do that right here in new york also. a good example of the very high design elements in a subway station we found a borough hall, in brooklyn, the first subway station and the first subway line into brooklyn. it s just like one of the dozen designs that lafarge created just for this station alone. but it s worth it. so what i do when i do my project, i have to do it at night or weekends. 0ften you ll find me at the library or in the subway, drawing pictures of what s on the wall and taking notes on how many mosaics are there,
in demonstrations. - i think we need to appreciate today and also be inspired i by today to know that we can make a difference again. - and back at stonewall, a chance encounter with a group of students provides an emotional reminder ofjust how far the movement has come. i m proud of what happened there. it makes you proud to see you all here today because it says the work that we did, it s filtering through. i think any of us who were there that night would have never expected we would have come as far as we have. i m shocked. i never thought i d be able to be married. i never thought i d be able to express that publicly, me saying that i have a husband. sorry, i m getting emotional. something i never thought i could do. applause so, thank you, guys.