Quiz time: 9 moments from LGBTQ rights history — what should be #. 10?
Earlier we shared our favorite kids’ books as conversation starters about the history of LGBTQ rights. But few adults know the milestones either. How many of these 9 questions can you answer? What question should be #10?
Q: Before the rainbow flag, what was the LGBTQ symbol?
A: Sadly, one of the most commonly-used LGBTQ symbols was Hitler’s upside-down pink triangle. 100,000 Germans were arrested for the “crime” of being LGBTQ; 15,000 were sent to concentration camps, and as many as 60% of those died (Nico Medina, What was Stonewall?, 87). Politician Harvey Milk and his friend, rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker, wanted a more positive symbol.
Q: Why the rainbow? Why a flag?
A: “Gilbert Baker was often asked these questions. He usually answered by saying, ‘Rainbows are from nature,’ reminding us that it’s natural to be whomever we are, and to love whomever we love. He also noted that, as a symbol, the rainbow exists in every culture, showing we’re all connected. Why a flag? Gilbert always knew the power of flags; he was once quoted as saying, ‘A flag is torn from the soul of the people’” (Dr. Gayle E. Pitman, Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag, Reader Note).
Q: How many people carried the mile-long rainbow flag in New York City at the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots?
A: It took 10,000 people to carry the flag through the streets in 1994. The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that it was the world’s largest flag (Rob Sanders, Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, Time Line).
Q: Why was the White House lit up in rainbow colors on June 26, 2015?
A: “On that day, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry. They are free to live and love as they please” (Rob Sanders, Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag, Biographical Notes).
Q: What was Harvey Milk known for?
A: Harvey Milk (1930-1978) was one of the first openly gay people elected to public office. He was assassinated at age 48 after less than a year in office, along with San Francisco mayor George Moscone. The perpetrator, a former coworker named Dan White, served five years of a seven year sentence for manslaughter, then died by suicide less than two years later.
Q: What is Harvey Milk’s most famous quote?
A: “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door” (Nico Medina, What was Stonewall?, 75).
Q: The Stonewall Riots occurred over several days in New York in June 1968, and are widely credited with igniting the LGBTQ rights movement. What question started the Stonewall Riots ?
A: Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, was often raided by the police. “This time, those not arrested didn’t disappear into the night. Instead, they stood defiantly in the street. This time, they weren’t quiet. As the ones arrested were led to police cars and patrol wagons, the anger of the growing crowd was lit. ‘Why don’t you do something?’ yelled one woman as she was forced into a police car. Immediately the spark of anger grew into a smoldering resistance. The Stonewall Uprising had begun” (Rob Sanders, Stonewall: A Building. An Uprising. A Revolution, 20-23).
Q: What is the first piece of public art dedicated to LGBTQ rights?
A: The sculpture pictured above, “Gay Liberation” by George Segal (1924–2000) “honors the gay rights movement and commemorates the events in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn opposite this park that gave rise to the movement. A decade after Stonewall, the Gay Liberation monument was commissioned. Though the work had received all of its community and design approvals by 1982, public opposition and a planned renovation of Christopher Park (completed in 1985) sidelined the project for years. In the meantime, a second cast of the piece was installed on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. On June 23, 1992, the monument was unveiled in Christopher Park. In March 2000, Stonewall Inn was designated a National Historic Landmark” (nycgovparks.org).
Q: What milestone of LGBTQ history did we overlook? What milestone in the future do you imagine?
A: What do you think? Comment below!