Southwest Nova Pride AssociationSouthwest Nova Pride Association
The summer of 1969 is remembered in stories and songs for many things. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Sesame Street debuted on television. Jimi Hendrix rocked Woodstock. The Beatles recorded Abbey Road. If you know your 2SLGBTQIA+ history, though, one event stands head-and-shoulders above all of these, even the walk on the moon: the Stonewall Riots.
Back in the 1960s, ‘homosexual acts’ and ‘masquerading as the opposite sex’ were illegal in much of the world, and the US was no exception. Police raids and harrassment of our community were common, even in spaces we’d made our own, such as the Stonewall Inn, a bar on Christopher Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village. It was a haven for the queer community, and, in the early hours of June 28, 1969, it became the site of a series of riots against police persecution that marked a turning point in the fight for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights.
It’s a truism that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, and so it is with enormous pride and deep gratitude that the Southwest Nova Pride Association welcomes Martin Boyce, one of the surviving Stonewall activists, to speak to our community on May 6, 2023, at 2pm, at Beacon United Church in Yarmouth. Martin is visiting us as part of the International Day of Pink’s 2023 Courage to Stand Up Tour generously funded by the Embassy of the United States.
The event is free to the public, but donations are gratefully accepted and will be split 50/50 between an honorarium for our speaker and to sustain the work of Southwest Nova Pride Association in supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in the Tri-County area.
We’re really excited about this chance to hear about an important chapter in our history from one of our elders who lived it, and we hope you’ll ‘come out’ and join us on the 6th!