Thursday, June 27
6:00 pm
Indianapolis Liberation Center
Pride marches and Pride month are legacies of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, when the modern gay rights movement went from being a “fringe issue” to front-page news worldwide. The following summer, activists organized a march to commemorate the rebellion. Some mainstream organizers called for “pride” instead of “power,” fearing the latter was too militant and idealistic. Given the turnout at Pride parades across the country (including Indianapolis) coupled with increasing anti-LGBTQ ruling-class politicians, it is clear—whatever one thinks about the decision made in 1970—today that power is the real matter at hand.
This month’s PSL Indianapolis Liberation Forum honors the entire movement but pays particular attention to those who focused on the need for power, a position particularly emphasized in the Black LGBTQ community. We’ll learn from the legacies of James Baldwin, Angela Davis, and Indiana Ave. drag queens who resisted bigoted cops. What emerges is a very different lesson than what today’s politicians and media present.
The legacies of Black LGBTQ revolutionaries help show the inherent connection between the LGBTQ movement and all struggles of working and oppressed people globally, from Palestine to Black America. PSL Indianapolis is excited to host, present, discuss, and learn about this tradition and its implications for today’s movements at our upcoming Liberation Forum, monthly events we organize at the Liberation Center to educate and incite conversations on the past, present, and future of the struggle for socialism and liberation.
Featured image: A photo advertising the “1969 Female Impersonators Ball” published in the Indianapolis Recorder. Credit: Indianapolis Recorder.
