This Day in History

July 4, 1965: First Annual Reminder Demonstration for Gay and Lesbian Rights

Time Periods: 1961
Themes: Civil Rights Movements, Laws & Citizen Rights, LGBTQ, Organizing
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Only July 4, 1965, 40 gay and lesbian activists held the first Annual Reminder demonstration in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, symbolically held in front of Independence Hall, meant to draw attention to the civil rights still due to the LGBT community.

The second annual Reminder Day at Independence Hall in 1966. Credit: John F. Urwiller

Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings were the principal organizers of this event, one of the many pre-cursors to the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 that ignited the LGBT movement on a national level. Read more at LGBT50.org

Visit the Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs collection at the New York Public Library.

Related Resources
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality (Teaching Guide) | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History
Teaching Guides

Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality

Teaching Guide. Edited by Annika Butler-Wall, Kim Cosier, Rachel Harper, Jeff Sapp, Jody Sokolower, and Melissa Bollow Tempel. Rethinking Schools. 2016. 476 pages.
A collection of essays on how to create a nurturing classroom at different grade levels, curriculum, teachers coming out, organizing beyond classroom walls, and integrating LGBTQ+ content into teacher education programs and ongoing teacher education.

Queer History of the United States for Young People
Books: Non-Fiction

A Queer History of the United States for Young People

Book — Non-fiction. By Michael Bronski, adapted for by Richie Chevat. 2019. 336 pages.
A young adult readers edition of the original text explores the history of LGBTQ+ experiences in the U.S. since 1500.

Teaching Guides

Beyond Tolerance: A Resource Guide for Addressing LGTBQI Issues in Schools

Teaching Guide. Published by New York Collective of Radical Educators. 2010.
A curricular resource guide on Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) for educators.

Websites

GLSEN – Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

Website.
Provides news on LGBT issues for teachers and students, as well as K-12 lesson plans, curricular tools and teacher training programs.

This Day in History

June 24, 1973: UpStairs Lounge Massacre

The largest LGBTQ massacre in U.S. history (until the Orlando Massacre) occurred at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans.

This Day in History

June 28, 1969: Stonewall Riots

Police arrived at the Stonewall Inn and arrested anyone found to be cross-dressing, resulting in mayhem and what are now referred to as the Stonewall Riots. This was a milestone in a long history of LGBTQ+ activism.