visit to stonewall inn
we are the past: those people sitting outside drinking are the present; and you are the future. don't fuck it up - we went to prison for you.
last night i went to nyu portraits, where various people performed readings of famous speeches that changed american history, covering everything from women's rights to the vietnam war to the gay rights movement. today i had international students brunch at the lgbt office, and then we took a west village tour with special focus on lgbt landmarks, and sat in the field by the piers for a bit on this beautiful sunny day. then we went to stonewall inn, the place which is generally recognised as a symbol and spark of the gay liberation movement. veterans of the stonewall incident, martin and danny, spoke to us about their/its history - what it meant to be gay then, how it was difficult to conceptualise the idea of freedoms and rights even though they felt like they were being denied something, and recounted the events during those two nights of rioting. another speaker talked about how the gay movement is living history because it is still changing now, what with prop 8 and asshole politicians trying to revamp history to suit their agenda.
even before classes begin, i feel as if i am gaining an education here in nyc.
last night i went to nyu portraits, where various people performed readings of famous speeches that changed american history, covering everything from women's rights to the vietnam war to the gay rights movement. today i had international students brunch at the lgbt office, and then we took a west village tour with special focus on lgbt landmarks, and sat in the field by the piers for a bit on this beautiful sunny day. then we went to stonewall inn, the place which is generally recognised as a symbol and spark of the gay liberation movement. veterans of the stonewall incident, martin and danny, spoke to us about their/its history - what it meant to be gay then, how it was difficult to conceptualise the idea of freedoms and rights even though they felt like they were being denied something, and recounted the events during those two nights of rioting. another speaker talked about how the gay movement is living history because it is still changing now, what with prop 8 and asshole politicians trying to revamp history to suit their agenda.
even before classes begin, i feel as if i am gaining an education here in nyc.