Pride and Civil Rights

Ranger playing with 4th grade students during a civil rights education field trip

NPS Photo / Neal Hamilton

June is pride month. Pride is often defined as “a sense of one’s one worth.” But how do marginalized people develop a positive sense of self amidst great hate, disdain, and misunderstanding?

At Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, we often provide field trips to young students. Sometimes when we ask them what civil rights are, they respond: “Oh, that’s something for Black people.”

Bayard Rustin: Civil Rights and LGBTQ+ Activist

NPS Image / Hannah Smith

Yes, the movement which culminated in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was fought for by predominantly Black people in this country. But the gift of this legislation is that equal opportunity was extended to all regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age. In other words, civil rights are for everyone.

For marginalized groups, there are far more points of connection than divergence. Overlaps between the LGBTQ+ community and the African American community, for example, are numerous. Bayard Rustin (1912 – 1987) is a prime example. Instrumental to the Black community's civil right struggle, he was ostracized at times for being gay. He led freedom rides, assisted in forming the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and even wrote much of Dr. King’s memoir, Stride Toward Freedom. Through it all, he either chose or was asked to take background roles so as not to call attention to himself and this core part of his identity. Even in background roles, Rustin was a target, such as during the 1963 March on Washington, of which he was one of the key organizers. Weeks before the March, senator Strom Thurmond accused Rustin of being a “sex-pervert,” hoping this scandal would quash the demonstration. A. Philip Randolph, the March director, quickly called a press conference defending his comrade and saying the March would go on.

Stonewall National Monument: National Park Service employees march with family members and friends in the 49th annual Pride parade in New York City June 24, 2018.

Courtesy Adam Stoltman

Another example of the overlap between the LGBTQ+ community and the Black civil rights movement has to do with methodology. Ghandi inspired African Americans in the use of nonviolent tactics, which in turn became the playbook for the LGBTQ+ community. Activist Randy Wicker stated, “Essentially, the gay movement copied the techniques from the civil rights movement and that’s what ultimately enabled us to advance...”

June 28, 1969 is often described as the start of the modern gay rights movement in America with the riots at Stonewall Inn. The Inn was owned and managed by the Genovese crime family of the Mafia. This often surprises people, but it was actually quite common for the mob to cater to the LGBTQ+ community. In New York state, a regulation on the books prohibited serving alcohol to those who were “disorderly,” which was often applied to the homosexual and trans community. This meant very few bars would serve them, forcing an unlikely collaboration with the mafia. The riots took place during an NYPD raid of the Stonewall Inn, allegedly for its lack of a liquor license. However, reportedly leading up to that point, one or more officers received monthly bribes to allow the bar to operate. The protests following the raid solidified Stonewall’s icon status. As of 2016, Stonewall Inn is now a part of the National Park Service as Stonewall National Monument.

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, built of thin copper sheets over a steel framework, was designed in Paris by the French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi.

NPS / Kevin Daley

Why is it important that civil rights sites become part of the National Park System? In the words of Virginia Apuzzo, quoted in American Experience: Stonewall Uprising, “It's very American to say, 'This is not right.' It's very American to say, 'You promised equality. You promised freedom.' And, in a sense the Stonewall Riots said, 'Get off our backs. Deliver on the promise.' So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives.”

Zoom out a little further and contemplate the global significance of these movements. Through world history, differences have often been weaponized as an excuse for oppression. The Nazis targeted Jews in their extermination camps, but did you also know that homosexuals, Roma, and disabled people were also sent to those same camps?

So for this Pride month, let’s all consider how we can celebrate our differences. Let’s embrace the magic, beauty, and mystery in being ourselves, whoever that may be. Let’s remember the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty, also a national park service site, which represents freedom, democracy, and true liberty and justice for all. Let’s hold tight every color of that rainbow.