#frankkameny

“If society and I differ on anything, I will give society a second chance to convince me. If it fails, then I am right and society is wrong, and if society gets in my way, it will be society which will change, not I.” – Frank Kameny
.
Picture: Frank Kameny (May 21, 1925 - October 11, 2011), Gay Pride Day, Washington, D.C., 1985. Photo c/o @washblade.
.
Dr. Frank Kameny, who was born ninety-two years ago today, is among the most important figures in queer history, serving as the American gay rights movement’s moral and intellectual compass for half a century.
.
A hyper-intelligent, Harvard-educated astronomer, Kameny never intended to be an activist. In 1957, he was arrested on a morals charge, pleading guilty based on assurances the charge would be expunged. The U.S. government nevertheless discovered it, fired Kameny from his government job, and barred him from future federal employment. Kameny took this as a declaration of war.
.
“I am not a belligerent person,” he wrote, “nor do I seek wars, but having been forced into a battle, I am determined that this thing will be fought thru to a successful conclusion.”
.
In 1961, he co-founded the Mattachine Society Washington, which shifted the homophile movement to direct action. In 1965, he helped organize the first large gay rights pickets, which led to the Annual Reminders at Independence Hall from 1965 to 1969. In 1968, noting the power of “Black Is Beautiful,” he coined the phrase “Gay Is Good.”
.
After Stonewall, Kameny focused on having homosexuality removed from the APA’s list of mental disorders, a victory secured in 1973. He then mounted the first sustained fight against the military’s anti-gay policies. And, in 1975, the Civil Service Commission announced new rules dictating that homosexuals could not be barred or fired from federal employment because of their sexuality.
.
Finally, in 2009, the federal government formally apologized to Kameny. “Apology accepted,” Kameny responded.
.
These examples represent only a fraction of Kameny’s contributions; there are countless others.
.
Frank Kameny died on October 11, 2011 (National Coming Out Day); he was eighty-six. #HavePrideInHistory #Resist #FrankKameny

Gay rights pioneer Lilli Vincenz filmed the 1968 Reminder Day picket at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on July 4, 1968. The Annual Reminders, starting in 1965, were some of the earliest #LGBTQ demonstrations in the United States.
.
Activists #FrankKameny and #BarbaraGittings were among the activists who organized the actions, which were designed to remind Americans that LGBTQ people did not enjoy basic civil rights. Watch the entire seven-minute film “The Second Largest Minority” on @librarycongress website: bit.ly/reminder-day1968
.
Listen to our episodes with Frank Kameny:
bit.ly/mgh-kameny
and Barbara Gittings:
bit.ly/mgh-gittings-lahusen1
bit.ly/mgh-gittings-lahusen (at Independence Hall)