In light of the 50th anniversary of one of the first demonstrations for LGBT rights in the nation, which took place here in Philadelphia before the Stonewall riots in New York, AL DÍA News talked to the organizers of the celebration and to pioneers of the fight for equality which is still being fought in our days.

One of the central pieces of the celebration is the exhibit “Speaking Out for Equality: The Constitution, Gay Rights & the Supreme Court,” organized by William Way Community Center and the National Constitution Center.

The exhibit, which chronicles the fight for LGBT equality throughout history and in courts, is taking place June 5 to September 7 — coinciding with a much anticipated decision of the Supreme Court in regards to same sex marriage in June.

“The timing couldn’t be better to raise this broad range of issues that started in the 1950s and take us all the way to the present,” said Chris Bartlett, executive director of William Way. “This exhibit is a great chance for all generations, youth and elders, to learn more about the important gay history of our region and of our country.”

The exhibit is the first of its kind to be presented at a national museum.

“It’s important for Philadelphians to know the significant part we played in this movement, that has been taking place over the last 50 years, and that the seeds of all that started here in Philadelphia, much like the seeds of our nation took root here over 200 years ago,” said Vince Stango, COO of the NCC.  

As part of the celebration, other organizations were invited to do their own exhibits and programming around LGBT history.

“One of the goals was to show the true diversity of the LGBT community by asking our partner organizations to focus in particular aspects of our history,” Bartlett said.

Taller Puertorriqueño and GALAEI present “En Blanco y Negro: A Gay-Latino Perspective,” in which Philadelphia native José Luis Cortes captures scenes of gay life from his own perspective. 

The African American Museum in Philadelphia presents “Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene” (June 12 - August 16), a photographic exhibit by Gerard Gaskin about the culture of house balls of the African American and Latino LGBT community.

“There was a strong effort to be as inclusive as possible so that multiple voices from different groups would be represented,” said David Acosta, member of the organizing committee of the 50th Anniversary Celebration. “I think we were successful in expanding the range of partner organizations that can now tell their own story”.

Malcolm Lazin, chair of the 50th Anniversary Celebration and executive director of Equality Forum, talked about the other main components of the celebration. 

“From July 2nd to the 5th, there are several panels, parties, a street festival in the gayborhood, an interfaith service, a screening of Gay Pioneers, and the highlight is the 50th anniversary ceremony at Independence Hall,” Lazin said — Full schedule here.

On July 4, 1965, seven women and 33 men assembled at Independence Hall and participated in a the first “Annual Reminders” demonstration for LGBT rights. In subsequent years, demonstrations took place on the same day until 1969. That year, the Stonewall Riots took place, marking the beginning of the modern fight for LGBT rights.

“It’s important to know that there is gay history before Stonewall,” Bartlett said. “A lot of the ideas that led to Stonewall began to be germinated here in Philadelphia in the Annual Reminders.”

Lazin added that the “the LGBT civil rights movement was galvanized with the Annual Reminders and the origins of the movement are clearly here in Philadelphia.”

Ada Bello, who migrated from Cuba to the United States in 1959, participated in the last of the Annual Reminder demonstrations, in which according to her, it was evident that the movement had grown and changed.

In the beginning, women wore dresses and men wore suits to look “normal,” but in the last demonstration they wanted to “look gay,” Bello said.

“We had already presented ourselves as a minority that required the same rights, but when that wasn't forthcoming, we had to take it to the next level,” Bello said. “In the last demonstration we wanted to make clear that we were here, that we were not going to pretend to be anything else but queer, and that we deserved the same rights as everybody else.”

Bello and others knew back then that change would take a long time. 

“Back in ‘65, the organizers of these demonstrations at Independence Hall knew that their chances of succeeding in bringing about some big change were nil,” Bello said. “They knew that they were going to be ignored but they also believed they had the right idea.”

Now, she says that in recent years there has been an “acceleration in the progress,” as evidenced by the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and the legalization of gay marriage in an increasing number of states. But there’s still much more to do. 

“There is currently no federal workplace protection,” Bello said. “Philadelphia has an equal rights ordinance but not the rest of Pennsylvania.”

She is also part of the LGBTEI, an initiative that advocates for interest of LGBT elders.

“We provide information to different agencies that work with elders about how to approach the LGBT population, what are their needs and how do you go around the barrier of an elder gay person coming to an agency and not wanting to say that they are gay but at the same time they may have a partner. If you are going to a retirement home that is going to mean that you are going to have more restrictions. If you are sick and need care, what do you do with respect to your partner if you are not married —  which can also make a tremendous difference if you are on Medicaid.”

Eric Alva, who was the first Marine seriously injured in the Iraq War, and who was part of the fight against DADT, will be leading the Pledge of Allegiance during the celebration on the 4th of July.

When he first joined the Marines in 1990, the application included a question about sexual orientation. Those who marked they were gay were immediately disqualified.

“I lied in my application because I knew I was gay,” Alva said. 

In 1994, President Bill Clinton implemented DADT as a compromise to allow gays in the military. 

“This meant that if you were gay you could join the military but you couldn't say anything,” Alva said. “The law forced individuals like myself to continue lying about who we were. If anyone asked you why you never had a girlfriend or date then you better be prepared to lie because if they started to suspect you could lose your job.”

Despite the risk, during his 13 years as a Marine — during which he was part of eight different units — he came out to a few of his closest fellow Marines. 

“Ten out of ten times they were always comfortable and said ‘you are still my brother,’” Alva said.

In 2003, Alva was in charge of a mission when he stepped on a land mine and lost his right leg.

“If you had a partner you couldn’t even list him as an emergency contact,” Alva said. 

In 2008, he testified about DADT before a subcommittee of the House of Representatives. In 2011 the law was abolished, but according to Alva, when it comes to LGBT equality in the military, the mission hasn’t been accomplished. Alva advocated for the inclusion of transgender people in the military, and to reclassify the status of those who were discharged for no other reason than being gay. 

“We’ve robbed those who served our country of all their benefits,” Alva said. 

Fernando Chang-Muy is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He and his partner were among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the legalization of gay marriage in Pennsylvania in 2014.

“We are proud to have been part of that lawsuit which gained marriage equality for gay people here in Pennsylvania,” said Chang-Muy, a Cuban immigrant of Chinese background.

“I met my partner when I was in law school in the ‘80s. We’ve been together for 34 years. Twenty-one years ago we adopted a baby, but it was only last year, after we won the lawsuit, that we got married,” Chang-Muy said.

Now a family picture of him with his husband, Len, and their daughter Isabel hangs from a wall of the NCC as part of the historic exhibit.

Chang-Muy, who is also an immigration lawyer, talked about some of the achievements and challenges for LGBT immigrants.  

“As of a few years ago being gay is no longer considered a reason to keep you out of the country,” Chang-Muy said. 

And after DOMA was declared unconstitutional in 2013, U.S. citizens who are married to foreign nationals can sponsor green cards for their same sex partners. 

“Discrimination against LGBT people and immigrants is being chipped away, but there are still many challenges,” Chang-Muy said. 

He said LGBT refugee or asylum seekers who face persecution in their home country because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or have fled because of it, still have a hard time obtaining the protection they seek in the United States. 

And transgender immigrants who are taken to detention centers are not always housed according to the gender they identify with.

“There have been great strides but there is still a long way to go,” Chang-Muy said. “I am confident that in my daughter’s generation, and in generations to come, there will be more equality and justice for the LGBT and immigrant communities.”