Press Release

PENNSYLVANIA ERECTS HISTORIC MARKER AT PHILADELPHIA’S INDEPENDENCE HALL, SITE OF ’60s GAY PROTESTS
Pennsylvania Is The First State To Recognize GLBT History With Historic Marker

Historic Marker at Independence Hall

Photo by K. Ciappa for GPTMC

PHILADELPHIA, December 5, 2005 - Visitors to Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park are reminded once again of the city’s history of tolerance, thanks to a new historic marker at the site of peaceful protests by the gay and lesbian community in the 1960s. Standing directly across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center at 6th and Chestnut Streets, the marker was erected to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first Annual Reminder, a demonstration led by pioneering gay activists on July 4 from 1965 to 1969.

In July 2005, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated the blue and yellow marker, the first in the country to acknowledge gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) history. The sign reads: “Annual public demonstrations for gay and lesbian equality. These peaceful protests and New York’s Stonewall riots in 1969 and Pride Parade in 1970, transformed a small national campaign into a civil rights movement.”

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CONTACT:

Jeff Guaracino, GPTMC
(215) 599- 2290, jeff@gptmc.com