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Photo Album |
The historic 25th anniversary of the 1969
Stonewall
Rebellion
saw not one but two Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
("G.L.B.T.") marches in New York City. The "Spirit of Stonewall
March" -- marching from Sheridan Triangle Park in the original STONEWALL Club area on
Christopher
Street across Waverly Place through part of
Greenwich Village and then, from the Washington Square Arch, all the
way up Fifth Avenue and into Central Park at the Avenue of the Americas
entrance -- was the real Stonewall March! This historic march was
sponsored by the STONEWALL Rebellion Veterans
Association ("S.V.A."), the AIDS Coalition To
Unleash Power ("ACT-UP"), the Imperial
QUEENS &
Kings of Greater New York ("IQKNY"), the G.L.B.T. Political Coalition and the PRIDE Democrats of New York City -- and
no other G.L.B.T. organizations! Not one international G.L.B.T. group! "It is the
Gay Pride march that virtually everyone said
....could never and would never happen". The
S.V.A., under the innovative leadership
of its founder and elected president Willson L. Henderson,
declared and promised that the march would
happen one way or another, with or without arrests. NYC Mayor Rudy W. Giuliani and NYCPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton
are the two people who ultimately made eveything possible.
Seasoned Judge Robert Patterson,
a former head of the Legal Aid Society and a
publicly-admitted admirer of the S.V.A., helped, too.
So did civil rights attorney Norman H. Siegel,
Esq. of New York City and a solid S.V.A. supporter. Norman, in
fact, has been a multiple guest speaker at S.V.A. monthly meetings and
their annual conferences. The "Spirit of Stonewall March" did happen
and it
happened big
time! Uniquely, this march had only one main vehicle the classic and famous 1969
"Stonewall Car" and the SVA's trailer car, a Mustang convertible owned by S/W vet 'Papa' Jean Devente, for SVA-ers' personal effects, supplies, wallets, etc. The
march was
led by the historic blue 1969 convertible with the big whitewall
tires and the white leather interior popularly known as the
"Stonewall
Car". This monumental event in a word, to quote a number
one Diana Ross & The Supremes' song of the original STONEWALL Club
jukebox, was "The
Happening"!  ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), at its zenith, was the driving force in making this alternate Gay Pride March happen. Unlike the 'official' "S/W-25" committee, ACT-UP had the approach representing inclusion of, respect for and consideration of the veterans of the Stonewall Rebellion -- the unquestionable sole reason that there is a "Stonewall 25"! This alternative march was clearly for the Gay people and allies not the corporate money interests. The bottom Gay line was that both the "Spirit of Stonewall" led by the STONEWALL Veterans' Association and the "Stonewall 25" marches converged at the main entrance on West 59th Street to Central Park to evolve into the biggest Gay Pride Rally in history anywhere in the World! |
| To "celebrate" (as in steal) the Silver
Anniversary of the
Stonewall Rebellion,
this 'official', bureaucratically-organized,
self-serving, overly well-funded but misappropriated, ad hoc,
clandestine group thought
of just about everything -- except the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion
Veterans! Was the uprising computer-generated, asked SVA's
Willson Henderson? Very little ever recognizes, nevermind honors,
the people who created the "Pride"!
This oddly concocted group -- an expanded version of the
Heritage of Pride, Incorporated (they're very into incorporation) with
some of the same cast -- used our "STONEWALL" event to
rake
in endless cash for themselves from Gay people and Gay supporters
from all around the world but zilch for the founding Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and
Transgender ("G.L.B.T.") organization --
the National STONEWALL Rebellion Veterans
Association ("S.V.A."). The S.V.A. represents the people, living and deceased, who actually made this historic event happen in the first place. They were the mostly kids who were regular patrons of the Mafia-owned and operated The STONEWALL Dance Club and Bar! In fact, with an out-of-control budget of millions of dollars, "the committee" did not even offer "gas money" (about $19.69) to fill up the tank of the historic 1969 blue convertible "Stonewall Car" which led the alternative Stonewall march into Central Park. Stop! The Stonewall International Committee including our local Heritage of Pride and company did not even invite the car! Rude! Dum! This ad-hoc group was so 'smart' that they 'voted' to hold the 'protest' against the symbolic United Nations ("U.N.") on a Sunday -- when the U.N. is always "closed"! Duh! "Meaningless" said Gay activist Ann Northrop! We remember the era (not long ago) when Gay people still had a reputation for being courageous, well-dressed, attractive in some way such as nice build, hair or, at least, smile, and smart! That era has apparently and sadly ended! Marching on a place when you know it is closed is really ineffective and, quite Janely, simply stupid. There is absolutely no other explanation or excuse. For example, "Oh, we could not get a permit for a Monday". Huh? Really? The "alternate Gay march" did not have an authorized 'permit' for any day! In fact, we had no permit! Yet, we happened.... big time!! Why? Because the S.V.A., ACT-UP and the I.Q.K.N.Y., acting in unity, had the real "Spirit of Stonewall"! |
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