The 20th Anniversary Cake
Some of the Organizers of the Event, including from left to right on the back row, Greg McCurdy of the International Museum of Gay and Lesbian History, Steve Ault, National Co-Coordinator , Joyce Hunter, National Co-Coordinator, Ron Alheim, National Outreach, Dick Radvon of CBST, Rich Wandel of the National Museum and Archive of Lesbian and Gay History, Carol Alpert accepting for Lucy Winer, and Rick Landman, New York Representative 
View of the audience watching the documentary "Greetings from Washington DC"
Close up of one of the Plaques given out that night
View of the plaques before distributionTOWARDS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY!
New York City Commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the First March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
On October 14, 1999, twenty years to the day after the event, the LGBT community of New York City commemorated the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The program was held at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (the world's largest gay and lesbian synagogue), which was the site of the NYC grassroots planning session for the March, in the Spring of 1979.
The theme of the event was to have a community commemoration to both honor and learn from the first March. A March that furthered the dream of Harvey Milk for a National March on Washington and as a reaction to Anita Bryant's Crusade. A new goal was set to have a nationally observed 25th anniversary event in five years. Three of the national organizers of the March, Steve Ault, Joyce Hunter and Ron Alheim, along with National Steering Committee delegate from New York, Rick Landman, gave first hand accounts of how the March was organized from the grassroots up. They also presented examples of how the march strengthened our movement on a local, statewide and national level.
"I remember calling up gay bars across the country to bestow upon the person on the other end the title of 'Delegate From the State' to help organize a contingent to come to the March," recalls Ron Alheim.
"It was a different world. New York had no community center, which is why we were so grateful to get to use CBST's sanctuary for our community meeting. We were marking the tenth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and our community was responding to the national assault of Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade," said Rick Landman.
"This commemoration is very important in that it gives us an opportunity to restate lessons learned from organizing the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights," Steve Ault pointed out. The March captured the spirit, energy and commitment of our community because people from all over the country had a say in decided whether or not to march, and then why, when, and how. "Now, twenty years later, it appears that these lessons have either been forgotten or are being ignored."
"The International Museum of Gay and Lesbian History was proud to sponsor this event because it sustains the memory of a very important chapter in our community's history. Without the first march in 1979 and the ones that followed in 1987 and 1993, it is hard to imagine that Lesbians and Gay men could have gained the visibility and clout that has propelled the great progress we have made in recent years", said Greg McCurdy, Chair of the New York Chapter of the Museum who delivered the opening remarks at the Memorial Event. "Bringing such historic event to life for future generations is one of the main purposes of the Museum."
There was an undercurrent from the speakers comparing the first March's process to that of the proposed Millennium March, but the proposed March was not specifically mentioned.
Betty Santoro, Eleanor Cooper and Juanita Ramos, the other honorees, were not able to attend. Each honoree received a plaque from the co-sponsors of the event, the National Museum and Archive of Lesbian and Gay History and the International Museum of Gay and Lesbian History. The first March was an inspiring event. It was obvious that those who participated still cherish its memory. In addition, the first March served as an excellent organizing tool which helped build a stronger more inclusive movement. Each region's delegation was required to have gender parity and include 25% people of color. The democratic, grassroots process included meetings convened around the country to select delegates and plan for local organizing. The meeting in New York City was one of many such events.
After the speakers shared some anecdotes about their experiences, the documentary "Greetings from Washington DC" (directed by Lucy Winer) was shown in a festive atmosphere full of applause and popcorn. The event ended with a large 20th anniversary cake. In a way, it was almost a 20th anniversary reunion since so many in the audience were involved in putting the march together. Photos of the event, more details and a cyber~archive of memorabilia can be found at http://www.infotrue.com. Anyone with other artifacts from the March can contact the Museum and Archive by using the website. Stay tuned through the site for upcoming news about the 25th anniversary of the March.
Moderator: Gregory McCurdy,
Chair, NY Chapter of the International Museum of Gay and Lesbian History
- Introduction:
- Personal Historical Accounts of the Event by the Honorees
- Awarding of the Certificates of Appreciation by:
- Remarks by Lucy Winer, the director of the documentary "GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON DC", by Rob Epstein, Frances Reid, Greta Schiller, Lucy Winer, a personal view of the March. For Further information about the documentary click here
- Presenting a Historical Marker to Michael Levine, to former Chair of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, in appreciation for using the sanctuary for the 1979 NYC Community Meeting for the March
- Free Showing of "Greetings from Washington DC"
- Conclusion and Refreshments
List of Co-Sponsoring Organizations
It is our desire to co-sponsor with all historical/archival/museum entities in the GLBT community. Including: Lesbian Herstory Archives, et. al
- Steven Ault, National Co-Coordinator
- Joyce Hunter, National Co-Coordinator
- Ronald Alheim, National Outreach Chair
- Betty Santoro, National Fundraising Chair, Female Keynote Speaker
New York Representatives:- Eleanor Cooper
- Rick Landman
- Juanita Ramos
- .
Little Know Facts About the March
- The first community planning session in New York City for the March was conducted on a Sunday in the Spring of 1979 at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in NYC. The vote was taken to have the March and people were elected to represent New York and to help on the National Level. Those are the people being honored. Over 150 representatives of gay and lesbian NY organizations attended that meeting.
- The first national planning meeting for the March was held in Philadelphia in February of 1979, and the second was held in Houston, Texas over the summer where a large representative national structure was realized.
- This started as a grassroots march with support from the National groups such as the NGTF (National Gay Task Force), GRNL (Gay Rights National Lobby) and MCC coming later.
- While the official number count varied, over a hundred thousand people attended this March.
- One of the Outcomes of this March was the encouragement of the initiation of hundreds of grassroots community groups throughout the 50 States. Many statewide groups started because of the need to send people to this March, or by the enthusiasm of coming home from the March.
- The March was of the first entities to use the term "Lesbian and Gay" rather than "Gay" or "Gay and Lesbian" in its title.
- All regions had to have at least 50% parity of women to men and 25% people of color.
- The August 17, 1999 issue of the Advocate has a time line of "Our Best and Brightest Activists". It starts in 1895 to the present. It includes the fact that in 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. had a gay assistant who helped in organizing the March on Washington for Civil Rights, but leaves out 1979's first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Just another example of how a history not learned is soon forgotten. The article is copied below in the cyber~archives section of this webpage.
How to Get Involved In the Commemoration
Contact us through this webpage if you want more information about the New York City Commemoration. Also tell us if your state will also conduct a commemoration and we will post it on the site. You can email us by clicking below...
"A History which is hidden is just a lost memory..."This is a sample of the artifacts from the March.
Actual Postcard from the March
The following names were taken from the end of the documentary "Greetings from Washington DC" by Rob Epstein, Frances Reid, Greta Schiller, Lucy Winer.
| Richard Ashworth | Margot Karle | Betty Santoro |
| Steve Ault | Flo Kennedy | Sandy Schuster |
| Marion Barry | Morris Kight | Arlie Scott |
| Harry Britt | Rev. J. W. Kuper | Eleanor Smeal |
| Charlotte Bunch | Charles Law | Spiritual Cel. Of Life |
| Marc Cobb | Audre Lorde | Adele Starr |
| Ed Crukshank | Arthur McCombes | Anthony Sullivan |
| Armondo Gaiten | Kate Millet | Robin Tyler |
| Allen Ginsberg | Peter Orlovsky | Lucia Valeska |
| Paula Gernation | Rev. Troy Perry | Howard Wallace |
| Ray Hill | Juanita Ramos | Ted Weiss |
| Madeline Isaacson | Sky Rose | . |
ENTERTAINERS
| Blackberry | Gotham | Tom Robinson |
| Meg Christian | Holly Near | Meg Watkins |
SPECIAL THANKS (ORGANIZERS, REPRESENTATIVES,etc.)
| Joyce Hunter | Sally Gearhart | Vicky Gail Price |
| Steve Ault | Margot Karle | Ginny Sandman |
| David Becker | Jonathan Katz | Amy Scarola |
| Anne Benedict | Rick Landman | Michael Seltzer |
| Julia Bruno | Linda Leibman | Elizabeth Stevens |
| Charlotte Bunch | Lesbians Rising | Lucia Valeska |
| Michelle Citron | Armistead Maupin | Tom Wolfred |
| June Creighton | Peoples Gay Alliance | John Wright |
| Dominick Guskern | Noelle Penrat | . |
| East End Gay Org. | Betty Powell | . |
Some of the actual T-shirts from the March
Unofficial buttons sent in by Donald Eckert.
Program sent in by Donald Eckert.
Program Cover sent in by Donald Eckert.The August 17, 1999 issue of the Advocate has a time line of "Our Best and Brightest Activists". It starts in 1895 to the present. It includes the fact that in 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. had a gay assistant who helped in organizing the March on Washington for Civil Rights, but leaves out 1979's first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Just another example of how a history not learned is soon forgotten. Notice that the entire year of 1979 is skipped.
Copy of the Invitation for the 20th Anniversary Event
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IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM, PLEASE EMAIL US HERE...