Lesbian, gay, bi, trans liberation on many fronts
Here are excerpts from a message by Leslie Feinberg to
the 2001 Pride rally in New York City. Feinberg is a managing
editor of Workers World newspaper, a national organizer for
the International Action Center and a co-founder of Rainbow
Flags for Mumia.
The Stonewall Rebellion was not the first time in history
that lesbian, gay, bi and trans people fought back. In
England, 300 years earlier, police routinely raided "molly
houses"--clubs frequented by feminine, cross-dressing males
who were presumed to be gay. I found an account of a London
raid in 1725 in which the crowd, many of them in drag, fought
pitched battles with police.
The first international upsurge of gay and trans
liberation arose around the turn of the 20th century,
beginning in Germany.
Stonewall signaled the birth of the second mass wave for
lesbian, gay, bi and trans liberation. In the early years of
its ascendancy, the left wing of this young movement could be
found at every demonstration in support of the Black Panther
Party and Young Lords Party, both under murderous siege by
state repression. We were a dynamic component of the
anti-Vietnam War movement and union organizing--including
lending our efforts to the boycott organizing of the United
Farm Workers.
In turn, our multinational movement won strong support,
particularly from the most oppressed. Shortly after the
four-night-long Stone wall uprising, Black Panther Party
leader Huey Newton issued a revolutionary statement in
support of gay liberation. The Young Lords Party initiated an
internal Gay Caucus--one of whose first members was Stonewall
combatant Sylvia Rivera. Workers World Party's many
lesbian/gay/bi/trans members formed a vibrant caucus.
The United Farm Workers has stood tall with our movement.
And with strong backing from the left wing of the anti-war
movement, even the more conservative currents in the peace
movement eventually acknowledged lesbian and gay activist
participation.
Over the years, our role in these and other struggles on
so many fronts--from women's liberation to defense of
political prisoners--helped reshape consciousness about
sexual and gender oppression. And it helped build the support
that many sectors of society now feel for the lesbian/
gay/bi/trans movement.
Today, our movement has so much to be proud of. It refused
to be marginalized or pushed back into the closet by the rise
in right-wing bashings and the Klan-style lynching of Matthew
Shepard. On the contrary. I was one of those arrested at the
political funeral for Matthew here in New York--one of
countless protests to express rage and resistance in towns
and campuses all across the United States. And heterosexual
loved ones, fellow students, co-workers and neighbors joined
us.
We are building a global fight-back to the intransigence
of the U.S. government and pharmaceutical giants over the
AIDS crisis, which is continuing to threaten the lives of
millions around the world and here in this country.
Rainbow Flags for Mumia is a vital component of the battle
to save the life of death-row political prisoner and former
Black Panther Party member Mumia Abu-Jamal. Anti-racist
lesbian, gay, bi and trans youth braved arrest at protests
against the police killing of Amadou Diallo.
We are part of the rising struggle against the racist
death penalty and the use of slave labor in the
prison-industrial complex. And we are fighting for
reproductive rights and domestic partner benefits.
Pride At Work--the AFL-CIO constituency group--recently
passed a resolution demanding the U.S. end its genocidal
economic sanctions against Iraq. Progressive and
revolutionary Jewish activists are standing with the
embattled Palestinian people for self-determination. We are
already part of the building struggle against U.S. efforts to
crush the liberation aspirations of the Colombian people. And
queer-identified youth are on the front lines of the
anti-capitalist movement that emerged from the clouds of tear
gas in Seattle.
The 1969 Stonewall Rebellion--led by Black, Latina and
white drag queens and transsexual youth--was an example that
people who face different oppressions can make history when
we unite to fight back against a common enemy. Today, uniting
together in pride, our struggles for social and economic
justice on behalf of all who are downtrodden and
disenfranchised in this dog-eat-dog economy are making the
spirit of Stonewall burn even brighter.
Stonewall means fight back!
Long live the spirit of Marsha P. Johnson and Amanda
Milan!
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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