Tag Archives: GAA

GAY HISTORY – July 18, 1970: After the Stonewall Riots NYPD Continues Bar Raids, Mafia Bar Owners Get More Brazen.

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Even though the Stonewall Riots happened a year earlier change did not happen overnight for the lesbian and gay community in NYC especially when it came to the NYPD. Yes, the gay community was a bit more organized but the police continued to raid gay bars and clubs, nearly all of which continued to be mob-owned.

At this time in history, the community found itself fighting on two fronts:

  1. Against direct harassment by the police.
  2.  From getting caught in the crossfire between organized crime and corrupt police officials.

Gay activist Randy Wicker described what happened at The Barn, an after-hours club in the early morning hours of July 18, 1970. in his column in GAY, the nation’s first weekly gay newspaper:

Barn Baloney Bared: New York Police raided the Barn Sunday, July 18th, issued summonses to nine employees, and sent dozens of patrons scrambling out of the back rooms and into the streets. Management mafiosi reportedly took to the streets also shouting “gay power” and urging the patrons to return hoping to provoke a confrontation a-la-Stonewall. The Police left shortly thereafter and most of the patrons re-entered the club. “These raids shouldn’t be conducted at all,” Marty Robinson, GAA (Gay Activists Alliance) Political Affairs Committee chairman, declared. “We don’t like these management people running around the street shouting ‘gay power’ to further their ends. Gay people should not simply be pawns in a power struggle between the police and underworld elements. A conference with Police Commissioner Leary has been arranged to discuss this matter more fully. 

And they did meet.  Exactly one month later.  

Robinson led a delegation to meet to discuss the problem of the mafia-owned bars as well as how the police treated gay people.

As GAY reported on August 17, 1970:  Jim Owles, president of GAA, told Commissioner Leary that the homosexual community is achieving a new awareness of itself and its problems, partly as a result of its witnessing other minority group struggles and partly as a result of the problem. with the police that the gay community continually faces. He charged that raids on after-hours gay bars were made at hours on weekend nights, with police by their mere presence intimidating scores of patrons. “They hang around, they check I.D .’s at random. they indulge in verbal abuse, they station one man at the door and a patrol car out front for several minutes.

Just 3 months earlier on March 8th. 1970 at about 5:00 am in the morning the NYPD once again led by Officer Seymore Pine raided the Snake Pit, an after-hours bar at 211 West 10th. Street in Greenwich Village. Pine showed up with a fleet of police wagons, and arrested all 167 customers mostly all gay men, staff, and owners and took them to the station house, which violated police policy.

One patron, Diego Vinales, panicked. An immigrant from Argentina who was in the country illegally, he feared what would happen to him in the police station and tried to escape by jumping out a second-story window. He landed on a fence below, its 14-inch spikes piercing his leg and pelvis. He was not only critically wounded but was also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. As paramedics attended to Vinales, a cop told a fireman, “You don’t have to hurry, he’s dead, and if he’s not, he’s not going to live long,”

Viñales was eventually taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital. He survived after spending weeks in the hospital and when released moved back to Argentina.

PRIDE History – June 4, 1971: Gay Activist Alliance Takes Over the NYC Marriage License Bureau – [Rare Video]

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Step back in time and experience our gay and lesbian forefathers fighting for the rights that we have today.  But may not have for very much longer unless we start fighting again.

On June 4, 1971, less than two years after the Stonewall uprising, a group of men and women from the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) walked into the New York City Marriage License Bureau carrying coffee urns and boxes of cake to hold an engagement party for two male couples and to protest the “slander” of City Clerk Herman Katz, who had threatened legal action against same-sex “holy unions” being performed — yes, already then, in 1971 — by the Church of the Beloved Disciple, which had a large gay congregation.

The GAA was the second major gay-rights group to form after Stonewall, the more organized cousin of the Gay Liberation Front, which fought valiantly in the early 1970s with the goal of, as one member later recalled, of “writing the revolution into law.”

Not known to many there is actual video footage of the planning for the Marriage Bureau takeover and protest or “ZAP” as they were called, and of the action itself, on YouTube.  

There are three videos, each about 10 minutes in length. The first opens with an interview Wicker conducted with the church’s pastor about the controversy over whether or not the church was performing illegal marriages — as opposed to protected religious ceremonies — and thus violating the law. The rest of it consists mainly of a Gay Activists Alliance planning meeting for the action, with a lengthy speech by Mark Rubin, who lays out the protest’s agenda and describes himself as anxious to do what he’s about to do.

The second video shows the GAA members invading the Marriage Bureau office, setting up their coffee urns, and offering the staff cake.

“We’re having a wedding reception for gay people in room 265 …. You’re all invited to come,” activist Arthur Evans, who is the main speaker in the video, says to people down the hall.

“Our rights as gay people have been slandered by a public official,” Evans says to those who tell him he has no right to be there.

Eventually, the group enters Katz’s office and shouts, “Bigot! Bigot! Bigot!”

The third video shows the party part of the engagement party, as activist Peter Fisher sings songs with lyrics modified to make them gay-rights protest songs. “We waited too damn long for our rights,” he sings to the tune of the gospel song “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”

So watch the video below and take a step back in time to when activism was real and experience our gay and lesbian forefathers fighting for the rights that we have today.  But may not have for very much longer unless we start fighting again.

 

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Gay History - April 13, 1970: The Gay Activists Alliance Protests Mayor John Lindsey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gay History – April 13, 1970: The Gay Activists Alliance Protests Mayor John Lindsey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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We’ve seem to have forgotten that our power lies in protest!

On April 13, 1970, a group of approximately 300 gay rights activists gathered outside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to protest an event being hosted by Mayor John Lindsay. The event was a fundraiser for the Cultural Council Foundation, an organization that supported cultural programs in the city.

The protesters, who were members of the newly formed Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), were there to draw attention to the discrimination and violence that the gay community faced in the city. They were also calling for an end to police harassment and the repeal of discriminatory laws, such as those that criminalized homosexual behavior.

The GAA had organized the protest in response to Lindsay’s decision to veto a bill that would have prohibited discrimination against gay people in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The bill, which had been passed by the New York City Council, was seen as a major step forward for gay rights, but Lindsay had vetoed it on the grounds that it would be difficult to enforce and would create more problems than it solved.

The protesters, who had gathered in front of the museum, were met by a large contingent of police officers who were there to maintain order. Despite the police presence, the protest was largely peaceful, with demonstrators holding signs and chanting slogans like “Gay is Good” and “Equal Rights Now”.

At one point, tensions escalated when a group of protesters tried to enter the museum to confront Lindsay directly. The police intervened, using force to prevent the protesters from entering the building. Several people were injured in the ensuing scuffle, and dozens were arrested.

The protest, while barely remembered today had a significant impact on the gay rights movement. It brought national attention to the issues facing the community and helped to galvanize support for the fight for equal rights. It also highlighted the growing militancy of the gay rights movement and the increasing willingness of activists to confront those in power directly.

The protest did have an impact on Lindsay. Although he remained opposed to the anti-discrimination bill, he later acknowledged that the protest had made him more aware of the issues facing the gay community and had prompted him to take a more active role in advocating for their rights.

In 1972, in response to the unrelenting pressure, Lindsay at last signed an executive order prohibiting city agencies from discriminating against job candidates based on sexual orientation.

Today, the protest serves as a reminder of the struggle that LGBT people have faced to gain equal rights and the importance of activism in achieving social change. Something that is sorely missed in today’s LGBTQIA+ community.

*Photo above – GAA member Marty Robinson detained by police at the MMA April 13, 1970

GAY 101 - The History of the Lambda as a Gay Rights Symbol.

GAY 101 – The History of the Lambda as a Gay Rights Symbol.

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Now in he twenty-first century there are a plethora of flags and symbols to represent all aspects of the LGBT community. But in the beginning there was just one. The Lambda symbol.

The lambda symbol has a long and complex history within the “community”. The symbol is derived from the Greek alphabet, where it represents the letter “L”. It was first adopted by the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) in the early 1970s as a symbol of resistance and solidarity. Additionally, the lambda symbol was chosen because it was not a well-known symbol, which made it more effective as a secret code among gay activists. The logo was designed by a graphic designer named Tom Doerr, who was a member of the organization.

The GAA was one of the most prominent gay rights organizations in the United States. The group was founded in December 1969, just six months after the Stonewall riots in New York City. The GAA was known for its aggressive tactics, including direct action protests and demonstrations, and its members were committed to fighting for the rights of LGBT+ people everywhere.

The Lambda was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights in 1974.

Over time, the lambda symbol became more widely recognized as a symbol of the community. It was often used on buttons, t-shirts, and other merchandise, and was a common sight at gay pride events for decades. That is until some members of the community criticized it as being too closely associated with white, middle-class gay men (GASP THE HORROR), and not inclusive enough of other groups within the LGBTQ+ community.

Today it is rarely seen and many younger gay men have no idea of it’s meaning or deep history and is all but forgotten.

Despite this criticism, the lambda symbol remains an important and recognizable symbol of the gay community and it’s history. And this should be “reclaimed” by gay male activists again to show their power and pride.

Gay History – August 5, 1970: NYC Drops Charges Against The Gay Activists Alliance “Rockefeller Five”.

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One of our earliest activists groups the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) which was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, just 5 months after the Stonewall riots by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front( GLF).  Instead of working on multiple issues the GAA wanted to concentrate on a “single issue” the goal being to “secure basic human rights, dignity and freedom for all gay people.”

The Gay Activists Alliance was most active from 1970 to 1974  and performed what they called zaps, (protests conceived by Marty Robinson) which were public peaceful confrontations with officials to draw media attention. Some of their more visible actions included protests against an anti-gay episode on the popular TV series Marcus Welby, M.D., a zap of Mayor John Lindsay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and later at Radio City Music Hall, But the most well known was a sit in at the offices of then Governor Rockefeller as part of a push for a Gay Civil Rights Bill to become state law

As told by GAA member Paul Martin:

“At the New York State Republican Headquarters in Manhattan on June 25, 1970 a number of G.A.A. members walked into the tenth floor offices of the New York State Republican Headquarters and demanded to see Governor Nelson Rockefeller about the issue of gay civil rights in New York State. They were informed that the governor wasn’t in the office at that moment and, strangely, didn’t seem interested in coming over to talk with them. And so the upstairs action began. When asked to leave the demonstrators refused and held a sit in.
 
Downstairs we were marching around chanting as loudly as we could; loud was a G.A.A. trademark. There were never more than ten of us downstairs. Upstairs the Republicans had decided that they’d ignore the people who were sitting in, demanding to see Governor Rockefeller. About two hours into the action Arthur Bell came down and told us that they could hear us over the general noise of the city up in the Republican Headquarters office! He told us that we sounded like there were fifty people or more down in the street demonstrating. A large crowd had gathered around to see what we were doing, and when the Republicans looked out the window they couldn’t tell that the demonstration consisted of only the small number of people in the middle of that large crowd. I don’t think there was ever more than a few continuous seconds of silence on that picket line. Did I mention we were loud?
 
Upstairs there were negotiations, there were demands, and there were requests to leave. The demonstration lasted for hours and hours. Finally, after the Republicans couldn’t stand it anymore, they had five of the sit in demonstrators arrested for criminal trespass. We cheered them as they were led away in handcuffs, and at long last we could stop yelling. My voice never actually recovered from that day.
 
At a meeting of the G.A.A. Political Action Committee (it had nothing to do with campaign contributions) some time later we were all wondering what to call the people who had been arrested. Suggestions were tossed around. I suggested “The Rockefeller Five,” which was met with silence. Shortly, Arthur Evans, one of the arrestees, said, “How about ‘The Rockefeller Five?’” and there was suddenly great jubilation in the room. That was the name that stuck. And I learned a lesson about groups’ expectations and how it shapes the way they listen to you or not.
 
The Rockefeller Five went through court appearance after court appearance, and months after the action the charges were simply dropped. The Rockefeller Five action was one of those ongoing activities that G.A.A. could sustain that were to prove crucial to pushing gay liberation forward in the seventies.”

The charges against the activist were dismissed

The GAA’s  theory stated that consciousness would be raised through activism rather than through introspection.  Its deliberate goal was to effect the lives of as many people as possible by raising consciousness through activism rather than through introspection to effect the lives of as many people as possible.

Here are some of the actions that GAA did in the early seventies.  Many of which are slowly being forgotten. And all of which are worthy of note and remembrance.

  • Occupied St. Patrick’s Cathedral after yet another defeat of a bill by the City Council. This occurred on a weekday afternoon. Pete Fisher sang his gay freedom songs sitting on the steps of the main altar. A meeting with a representative from the archdiocese was demanded and held — obviously Church policy hasn’t moved.
  • Invaded the New York City Taxi Commission to protest its requirement that gays have psychiatric examinations before they could be licensed. The requirement was dropped.
  • Invaded the office of the New York City Clerk after he refused to issue a marriage license to two men wishing to be married by the Church of the Holy Disciple.
  • Zapped and lobbied the American Psychiatric Association in a successful effort to force it to remove the diagnosis of homosexuality from its listing of psychiatric disorders. Ron Gold, chairperson of GAA’s media committee, has long been denied the credit he deserves for directing the campaign that resulted in this most important achievement.
  • Took over the editorial offices of the New York Daily News in response to a viscous anti-gay editorial. The News never did another editorial like that one.
  • Sat in at the offices of Gertrude Unser, President of the New York City Board of Education to protest biased hiring and firing practices. Those biases were soon lifted from official Board of Education policies.
  • Zapped police and occupied the District Attorney’s offices in Hauppauge, Long Island and Bridgeport, Connecticut to protest Police harassment and the brutal beatings of several GAA members.
  • In conjunction with STAR, Street Transvestite Activist Revolution, picketed and held a demonstration at Rikers Island Mental Hospital to protest its treatment of transvestites. One result was Marsha Johnson’s escape to New York.
  • Demonstrated at Times Square to protest police harassment of hustlers and transvestites.
  • Established New York’s first Lesbian and Gay Community Center at the GAA Firehouse. Vito Russo held the first lesbian and gay film festival there.
  • Zapped CBS and ABC News to protest anti-gay tone of its reporting. They shaped up. Dick Cavett, whose relentless anti-gay spiels had become unbearable, was forced to give time to GAA spokespeople on his national TV show after one Zap and the threat of others

Now almost 50 years later we are still fighting the battle that the GAA began. The battle  “to demand our Liberation from repression and for our rights to be written into the documents that protect the rights of all people, for without that writing there can be no guarantees of protection from the larger society.”

We must remember the GAA and all the other early LGBT activists and  groups that started our fight for equality. It is imperative to our community that we not only remember but learn from them but to finish the fight and to use their history and teachings to our advantage.

The Rockefller Five Gay History