a second collection of radical queer moments... the stories this far: (Qn no particular order) * these moments in queer history axe uot subjest to chronological order, The decision not ‘ arrango things in such an order is intentional. Chronology suggests things have come and gone where we believe many things continue to be very muuch present and important. Chromologisul order alsu often suggests progress, and I do not believe moving forward, ‘whon the world is so fucking backwards, fs » step in the right direotion... Greetings! thas beer neat to travel across the united siates and canada seeing the frst edition of this ne pappirg up here and there, The montreal anarchist bodldaire, the wooden shoe in philly, ‘punk house bathrooms, queer collective Ebrares, college women and gender studies lunges. thas always been fun to see where these liberated copy machine histeiographies end up... Eutit makes me think more and more about the question, who is history for? Why go through the trouble of meticulous rasearch,eding, formating ard printing? Wy does ths project feel ‘s9 important for me, and who dee ie going to care enough to read this? And even if someone oes read his, what does it activate? | see young (and old) gays all around me obsessirg over gay mariage as if ts going to cure AIDS, stop ant-queer violence, provide all of us uninsured qusers with heath cere, end reform racist immigration potces, Wher in realty & wll imply Consolate power, money nd roperty amongst alteady privlaged geys, not to mention champion coupling over more dynamic ways cf being in relaionships. | cant help but think thet if us younge” queers Fad access to he radical histories we have all come fcr, we couid see other more brillant queer futures than thase promised by my neoliberal models of incusivty. The same models that push those of ts at the furthest margins, queers of color, crip quee’s, HIV+ queers, trans fos, sex worke's, hemeless queers, working class queers, c., even further away... Ferhaps if we put these memcris in action we can sea the struggle for meinsteam hetero- normalcy as imerently violent and destrucive f our queer cultural heritage. if these memories were put info action, perhaps queer leenage's would rasist the gay marriage boot camps being rammec down their throats by the Nafonal Gay and -esbian Task Force and the Fuman Rights Campaign and demand sater schools, safer housing and direct access to culturally competent sex education and safer sex supplies instead. If these memories were in action, maybe we could be looking to dismantle the military industrial complex, nct joining it. If these memories were in action, maybe we would be making queer familes in infrite combinations of lovers and friends. If these memories were put into action, perhaps we could adequately chalenge Obama's new HIVIAIDS prevention campaign tiat is nearly devoid of queer content even hough queer men (particularly of color) account for roughly 75% of new: FIV infections in the united states, Can our radical queer histories really provide the necessary ground ffom which to make our mest ratical dreams and desires a reality? I dn't ‘know. . But this is a place for ne to work from and hopefully others too. And again, his ‘zine is rot an attempt at a complete and definitive radical queer history, though itincldes & more pages cf infermaton than the last version. Such a goals nether ppossitie ner desirable. Akzo, tris zine is not al original work, AA lot ofthe picoes are gathered from here and there, plagiarized at will to shed some light on our histories that are ail to often Hidden, distorted, erased, and lost. Replicate at wil, photocopy like orazy, and teach ezch other. We've gct lots of leamiing to do! ‘Thanks again to fiends and family, nthe queerest sense ofthe word, for helping put ogether ‘pages, researching, editing anc printing this project! Out of the closets, and into the lraries! with heart conrad! NDTHE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT SEC a lets deal with real issues!!! Queer to the Left is a Chicago-based multi-racial group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people committed to working in coalition with queers and non-queers to promote economic, gender, racial, and sexual justice. Our current work focuses on building affordable housing and promoting fair community development that does not undermine important community institutions; fighting to abolish the death penalty; and fighting against US war making. Before the beginning of World War ll, homosexuals in Germany, especially in Berlin, enjoyed more ‘reedom and acceptance than anywhere else in the world, However, upon the rise of Adolf Hitler, gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of several groups targeted by the Nazi Party. Beginning in 1933, gay organizations were banned, scholarly books about homosexuality, and sexuality in general, were burned, and homosexuals within the Nazi Party itself were murcered. The Gestapo compiled lists of homosexuals, and they were compelled to sexually conform to the German norm. More than one million homosexuals were targeted, and at least 100,000 were imprisoned under the policy of “Extermination Through Work". German soldiers also were known to use gay men for target practice, aiming their weapons at the pink triangles their human targets were forced to wear. Estimated deaths of gay men imprisoned in concentration camps vary from 18,000 to 600,000. Homosexuals in camps were treated in an unusually cruel manner by their captors, and were also persecuted by their fellow inmates. This was a factor in the relatively high death rate for homosexuals, compared to other "anti-social groups", An account of a gay Holocaust sutvivcr, Pierre Seel, details Ife for gay men during Nazi contrel, In his account he states that he participated in his locat gay community in the town of Mulhouse. When the Nazis gained power over the town tis name was on a list of local gay men ordered to the police staton. He obayed the directive to protect his family from any retaliaton. Upon arriving at tie police station he notes that ne and other gay men were beaten. Some gay men who resisted the SS had their fingernails pulled out. Others were raped with broken rulers and had their bowels punctured, causing them to bleed profusely. After his arrast he was sont to the concentration camp at Schirmeck. There, S2el stated that during a moming roll-call, the Nazi commander announced a public execution, A man was brought out, and Seel recognized his face. It was the face of his eighteen-year-old lover from Mulhouse, Seel then claims that the Nazi guards stripped the clothes of his lover and placed a metal bucket over his head. Then the guards released tained Gernian Shepherd dogs on him, which mauled him to death. After the war, the treatment of homosexuals in concentration camps went unacknowledged by most countries, and most men were even re- arrested and imprisoned based on evidence found during the Nazi years. They were forced to serve out their sentence for being homosewals under paragraph 175. It was net until the 1980s thet governments acknowledged this episode, and not until 2002 that the German government apclogized to the gay community. This period stil provokes controversy, however; and in 2005, when the European Parliament crafted @ resolution regarding the Holecaust, mention of the persecutior of homosexuals was removed after debate. Lash The Lesbian Avengers was originally founded in New York in 1992 by a group of lesbian activists from ACT-UP. The purpose of the group is to identify and promote lesbian issues and perspectives while empowering lesbians to become experienced organizers who can participate in political rebellion. The Avengers are inclusive and work with and for women of all colors and classes; bisexual, heterosexual, and queer women; and trans and intersex folks. Emphasis is placed highly on turning energy into action, and using that energy constructively against —heterosexist, | homophobic, heteronormative, classist, racist, sexist, and generally oppressive forces and institutions in society and our own community. There are about fifty-five Lesbian Avenger chapters, five of them international. There is no national organization or structure, and each chapter is locally founded and operated. Each chapter of the Lesbian Avengers works in collaboration on major events like the annual Dyke March and larger, national protests, as well as in coalition with other progressive groups in their communities. Turn energy into action. "Be the bomb you throw." ‘Queer Nation was founded in March 1990 in New York City, USA by activists from ACT-UP. The four founders were outraged at the escalation of anti-gay and lesbian vidence on the sireets ‘and prejudce in the arts and media. One of the four was a survivor of anti-gay violence, Gn March 20, 1990, sity queers gathered at the Gay, Bisexual and Iransgender Community Center in New York's Greenvich Village to ercate a direct action organization, The coal of the unnamed organization was the elmination of homophobia. and the increase of aay, lesbian and bisexual visibility through a variety of tactics. The crect-actien group's inzugural action took place at Flute's Bar, a straight angout at the South Street Sea Port cn April 13, 1990. The goal: to make dear to patrons trat queers wil ol be restricted to gay bars for socialzing and for public displays cf affection, More visbity actions lke this one became known a "Gueer Nights Out.” ‘Although the name Queer Nation had been used casually since the group's inception, i: was officially appraved atthe group's general meeting on May 17, 1990, Queer Nation's popular slogan "We're here, We're queer, Get used to it’ was ‘adopted and used by many in the LGET community, Aside from its miltant protest style, as ‘opposed to the more reformist gay rights organitations such as the Hunan Fights Campaign «r the Log Cabin Republicans, Queer Nacion was most effecve and powertl inthe early 1990s in the USA, and used direct action to fight for gay rights. They also worked with AIDS rgarization ACT-UF as well as WHAM! and were the birthplace of Queer Action Figures. Ever ‘hougi never offcialy disvanded, most sources agree -hat Queer Nation no longer exists. Queer Nation is credited with starting the process of redaimng the word queer, which previously, was only used in a pejorative sense and Queer Nation's use of it in ther ame and slogen was at first considered shocking, ‘Queer Nation is also linked to several controversial incidents in which closeted public figures were cuted as gay or lesbizn. Queer Nation's reasoning was that ending this "hypocrisy’ benefited gays asa grcup because it et them know there actualy were gay people In infisentll places, and promoted gay rights by forcing te outed and the organizations they belonged :0 take a stance on issies concerning gays. Many in the gay conmurity did net agree with Queer Nation's radical tactics and favored a mor2 assimilaionit course of action. Queer Liberation Army ‘The Queer Liberation Army formed as a spontaneous reaction to the growing politcal and cultura backlash agzinst queers in America. We are here to liberate this courtry's queers from a far right bent on destroying them, a Democratic party witing to blame them, and a mainstream gaylesbian movement wiling to give up on basic human rights forall queers in exchange for martiage rights for some. We wil actieve our aims through the creative use of mrass media, demonstrations, non-violent drect zctions, the speaking of truth, the use of humor in a bleak world, the pursut of pleasures as multiple as we are, and a fabulously queer stylein the face of ugliness. We alo seek to strengthen and buld aliances with other rrovements for social justice that are sympathetic to our mission. The current threat to queers doesn't come just from right wing evangeicds and neo- conservative poiticians, however. The Democratic Party has alsc dedared open season on queers. Immediately folloning the latest Democratic pary electoral debacle, Dianne Feinstein (0, CA) said thet same sex marriage “gives |conservatives} a position to rally around. The whole issue has been too much, too fas, too soon. People aren't ready for it.” John Kery's cr-cheir of gay and lesbian outreach, Jeff Trammel, concluded that “(the big lesson... (s) figuring out how to talk about issues in a way where you're not ‘or or against gay ceople.” The real lesson of this election is that there's ittle point in queers supporting pditical parties that have absolutely no ethical commitment to providing human rights to all American clizens. Tre Dems have no vision of social justice in this country or for the word. Trey support the war, the military economy and the current systems of class, race, and gende’/sex hierarchies, To paraphrase Gore Vida, the US, continues to 1ave a one party sjstem with two right wings. The Queer Literation Army asks all queers to stop blindly following the Democrats (roughly 75% af gay anc lesbian voters supported John Kerry — a candidate who has done little to extend the rights of quee’s in this counsry ~ in the most recent presidemial eection) and te demand real representation by parties and candidates that support tuman rights for all, aot ust the rights of wealthy, whte, married, heterosenuals. Tre Queer Liberation Army has alse formed as an alternative to mainstream gay and lesbian organizations which are increasingly conservative in their approach, By focusing almost exclusively on the issue of same sex marriage, mainst’eam gayllesbian organizations have ignored the needs o* most quzers and worse, supported the current sexigencer apartheid by agreeing that the only vavable relationships are those that mimic the heterosexial marriage modes. The fact trat a number of rrainsiream gay/lestian organizations are carrertly courting the likes of ex-Now Jersey governor lames McGreevey — who throughout his career sought to beneit from the trappings of heterasenial marriage while doing ittle for the queer community - as a potental public ace is bur one recent example of how misguided the acions of many mainstrean gay organizaionshave become. The Queer Liberation Army hereby decares war on the fer right, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, malnstieam gay and lesbian organizations ad anyone ese wito blocs ful quali for queers. ‘These are our demands: We demand that rights and privileges be detached from marital status, and that family relationships be defined by the pecple in them, not the state. Feople's rights in relation to health insurance, social security benefits, hospital visitation, inheritance, child custody, adoption, and other issues should not be determined by their willingness or ability to participate in fundamentally unequal system such 2s marriage. We demand that all children be allowed to learn about their bodies and sexual health unfettered by political and religious doctrines that turn pleasure into shame and well-being into disease. We demand that the medical and psychiatric professions stop ‘enforcing sex/gender apartheid through the creation of false diseases and the denial ‘of medical care. We demand an end to anti-queer violence and intimidation. We demand full equality in all spheres of American life, ‘The Queer Liberation Army Is fighting to unite all of us into an army of queers—a mass of people willing to live- not die or kill- so that human diversity can prosper. The U.S. Amy wants you for their unjust war in Iraq, but why be cannon fodder when you can join the Queer Liberation Army and fight for peace, justice, truth, and pleasure, ‘Timeline... 10 Nov 1978 - Dan White resigns his elected position on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. 27 Nov 1978 - Dan White entered San Francisco City Hall through a basement window, went upstairs, and shot and killed Mayor George ‘Moscone and Gay Activist/Supervisor Harvey Mills May 1979 - Psychiatrist Martin Blinder testified in court that White had been depressed, which led to esting junk food: Twinkies and Cocs-Cela. ‘This further deepened White's depression, since he was an ex-athlete and Iuew that the food was not good for him. This was evidence of his depzession that prompted his murder spree. This celebsated diagnosis hecame known es the "Twinkie defense" White's depression was used to establish grounds for a successful dimisished capacity ples; aud therefore White was judged incapable of the premeditation required for 2 murder conviction 21 May 1979 - Dan White is convicted of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and is sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison. ‘The queer community revolts.. 4 personal account: ‘As evening approached, a crowd gathered at Castro and Marker. We were angry. We wanted the world to know we were angry. We took over Castro Strcct and stood around with no idea of what we should do. Eventually the crowd moved into tae intersection of Castto and Market. Traffic came to a standstill. There were only a few policemen present and they did nothing more than observe the scene. As time passed, the crowd grew larger, eventuilly exceeding 1000. TV News trucks arrived. More police attived. Amid the shouting and whistle blowing, there were skouts from the crowd. "CITY HALL" became the rallying cry. ‘We began moving down Market toward City Hall, getting louder, growing larger, picking up momentum. ‘The crowé had become huge by the time wwe reached the Civic Center. There wes nothing to do, no one addressed the group, no one gave any inst-uctions. But something had to happen. We were much too angry to jus: end the demoastration. Some people near the entrance began pulling the wrought iron grillwork off the doors and using the pieces to break the glass. Oue persun was seen entering through a broken basement window. They started a fire using papers on the desk in the room. City Hall was trashed. Several hundzed police in riot gear stood in formation at the comer, watching the activity, but they were not allowed to respond, a wise decision on the part of the administration. For some scason they had parked police cars at the other end of the block. No one really wanted to desteoy City Hall. They just wanted to make a statement However, when the Activis's went after the cars, cheers of approval came from the crowd. A dozen police cars were torched. Car horns and sirens from. the burning cats added a chaotic note to the smoky night ait. Seemingly appessed, some began heading back to the Castro. Others feared the inevitable retaliation and hurried off into the night. At some point after the crowd thinned, the police were unleashed, and heads began to roll. Battles erupted everywhere and many fought back valiantly. Tree limbs and parking meters and picces of asphalt were used ss weapons. ‘These were queers fighting for what they believed in. Police suffered ‘neatly as many casualties as the resistance. The people were eventually driven from the Civic Center and the slower ones suffered the wrath of the overzealous officers. They pushed people down to Market Stree: where many stors windows had aleady been broken. Castro stzeet was fall of people relating stories, debating the issues, licxing wounds. After Midnight dozens of police arrived. They had been humiliated earlier and were here tu even the score. They gathesed at Market and started moving the crowd down toward 18th. We were in no mood to comply. Many of them weren't weating badges or name tags! ‘They came 20 our neighborhood to get even. They formed a line and moved us half way down the block. It became evident to all, even to those who had stayed in the Castro and away from the riot; WE WERE AT WAR WITH THE POLICE! People came from every dicection to join the resistance and we moved tae invading forces tight back up to the corner. They appeared to be Ieaving but they somehow regrouped at the corner of 18th and Castro, We stood and watched as they mazched into the Blephant Walk, smashing windows, doors, tables, chairs, bottles, and peoples' heads. Some victims needed to be hospitalized. These police wete vicious. They ‘were out for blood. The rioting police cost the City a fortune in Lawsuits and Investigations. ‘The FBI even looked in:o it We had no reason to apologize for our actioa. We had been pushed beyond our ability to swallow any mote hatred and we did what we had to do. 6 Jan 1984 Den White is paroled from Soledad Prison after serving 5 years and 1 moath in prison. White's release was catried out with great sectecy. The aftemoon before his scheduleé release, he was transferred 200 miles south to a facility in the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles. The nest morning, he wes kanded over to the Los Angeles Putvle Depettment that had arranged an apartment for him somewhere in LA. Several protests were held in San Francisco the day of Dan White's release from Scledad Prison including a rally at Union Square where some speakers called for the public w punish White, while others expressed thie Lope for his dea:h. Jan 1985 - Mfter serving his yeas of parole time in Los Angeles, White was allowed to return to San Kmancisco. Mzyor Dizne Feinstein: publicly asked him aot to return to The City, bat he did. 21 Oct 1985 ~ With a garden hose hooked up to the exhaust pipe of his 1970 Buick Le Sabre, Dan White commits suicide in his garage. Les panthéres MOUVEMENT QUEER RADICAL) montreal Destination centre d'achat, clinique de beauté? A Vinverse des milliers de gais et lesbiennes qui marchent gentiment dans la direction indiquée par les leaders, les Panthéres roses et toujours plus de monde ont décidé désormais de désobéir & ca. Au capitalisme rose. A I'hétéro- société. Aux régles des genres biraires. A toutes les lois ennemies de la liberté, de I'égalité. Et aux ennemies d'une Terre verte, sans frontigre étatique et sans frontiére sexuelle, sot Heading for the shepping mall, or the salon? The Pink Panthers and, as time progresses, many others, have decided to march in the opposite direction from the thousands of gays and lesbians who are cpathetically following the leaders. The Pink Panthers have decided to not obey. Disobey pink capitalism, Hetero-society, Binary gender rules. To disobey all laws that are enemies to liberty and equality. To disobey the enemies of a green earth, and to defy borders and sexual frontiers. Naughty North is 1 movement not a market! We are committed to celebrating our queorest selves while resisting the cevastating violznce inherent M the consumer driven assimfationist gaystream, Wo will defend ourselves against the brusal silence of isolation thru a diverse and dedicated network of ation oriented friends and lovers. We will not deny cur anger or fail to recognize the links betwoon queer struggle and challenging power. Naughty Norta is a defiant orgasm in the face of oppression: all are weloome to get off with us! ~ 2007 NAUGHTY NORTH! Points of Unity ~ We will build friendships and alliances across urban and raral boundaries, celebrating our diversity and micro-cultures while breaking dowa isolation. ‘Through campouts, work parties, daace partice, sleepovers, farm days, etc, ‘we will create and share a positive queer experience. = We will not oaly critique targets like corporations, but we will also expose inconsistencies within our social groups and so-called “communities”, in order to grow more toward ouw radical ideals. Whenever possible, we will use theatrics, humor and satire to communicate and to critique ourselves. = Fighting racism, slassism, misogyny, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, capitalist and all oiler hierarchies is a central parpose of Naughty North, not an add-on. We will work to create a space where radical queers can. challenge these hierarchies and build alliances with other oppressed peoples willing to struggle with us. = We are committed to inter-generstional struggle. Radical queer history has heen systematically distorted, eresed and disappeared by the AIDS genocide and fear, We will re-learn and teach these histories to inform our present and pusk the boundaries of a new queer activism. = We will confont notions of shame from both the Christin Right anc the mainstream gay and lesbian community. - Assimilation is death through erasure. We oppose all forms of assimilation, especially gay marriage and inclusion in the military industrial complex. - Our (direct) actions will not only be fierce and critical, but fun and empowering. - We will create a radical presence at queer events and a queer presence at radical evente. httpu/thenaughtynorth. blogspot.com Prisoner Correspondence Project The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a collectively-run initiative based out of Montreal, Quebec. It coordinates a direct- correspondence program for gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, gendervariant, two-spirit, intersex, bisexual and queer inmates in Canada and the United States, linking these inmates with people a part of these same communities outside of prison. In addition, it coordinates a resource library of information regarding harm reduction practice (safer sex, safer crug-use, clean needle care), HIV and HEPC prevention, homophobia, iransphobia, coming out, etc. The project also aims to reinstate prisoner justice and prisoner solidarity as a priority within queer movements on the outside through events like film screenings, workshops, and panel discussions which touch on the broader issues relating to criminalization and incarceration of queers and transfolk. The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a working group of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia University. Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (Quit! was fourded in early 2001 by members o° LAGAFQueer Insurrection and individuals formerly associated with DAGGER (Dykes & Gay Guys Emergency Response), which was active during the first Gulf War.(itaon needed] According to the Anti-Defamation League. the grcup 'supsorts divestment, the right of return for all Palestinians, immediate Israeli withdrawal from Palestnian territories and describes Zionism as racism." * February, 2002-QUIT! participated in the National Student Conference of the Palestine Solidarity Movernent on the Berkeley campus of the University of California, * June, 2002-QUIT! “inilated” a * ‘No pride in occupation’ anti-war contingent that marched in solidaity with the Palestinian people" in San Francisco's Lestian, Gay, Bisexsal and Transgender Pride March. * August, 2002-25 members of the group reportedly “took over’ @ Starbucks in Berkeley in protest of the fim's stores in Israel and CEO Howard Shultz support for Israel * June, 2008-The screening of an Israeli fim, Yossi & Jagger, at San Francisco's San Francisco Intemational Lesbian and Gay Film Festval is dsrupted by QUIT! activists. The protest “outraged” Yossi Amrani, the Israeli Consul General and caused a rninot loce! media fap. * June, 2003-QUIT! begins its campaign against the cosmetic company Estée Lauder outside of a Macys deparmert store in San Francisco, The company is ‘targeted because of Ronald Lauder, the company's founder, suppott for lsrecl and his service as president of the Jewish Netional Fund. Why do we call ourselves the RHA? “Beware the Radical Homosexual Agenda!” That's the Right Wing’s rallying cry. It’s meant to conjure a legion of pick-chd, poly-loving, left- of left queers who are threatening to invade Small Town America. Well, that description sounds sort of nice to us, too, actually. Except for the invasion part—'cause we're also ant-imperialist. And besides, we've been in those small towns and everywhere else all along. ‘Who is the RHA? ‘We're queer folks of diverse ages and backgrounds who are based in the New York City metropolitan area, We're gendes-queers and run-of the mill homosexuals, bisexuals and trausexuals. What is the RHA all about? Ifyoulisten to the Humaa Rights Campaign or the liberal peliticians, you'd think all queers wanted to sign their lite away to Uncle Sam or ger “married” and have kids, But queer libezation reaches way beyond these isenes. ‘The queer liberation groups of the 60s and 70s had muck broader social visions. They were anti-war, they fought for economic rights and agitaced for free speech and a greater vision of democracy. In the downsizing of our dreams that occurred during the last several cecades, mainstream LGBTQ groups have forgotten these connections. ‘They'd rather feed queer soldiers to Bush’s war than fight the military- iadusteial complex. They forget that, even more thaa marrige, the ragjotity of queers ako need affordable housing and health care. And this is convenient for these groups and politicians, since they're underweiteea by coxporations whose very existences are threatened by steps towards economic equality and a more egalitarian democracy. Gran Fury was an activist/artist collective that came together in 1988. The group was formed as a spin-off from the original group ACT UP. They took the name Gran Fury as it was the specific Plymouth model use¢ by the New York Police anger toward} unofficial pro} strategies as lack of action as an affinity group within 4 on, "LET THE RECORD SI g together as ti sion of the Silence=Dea Fidy existiny CE=DEATH, however, und les of "AIDS criminals” - misrepreser itme. Ronald this years of as well as to lean needles. collaboration 1990's the gral surrounding the AIDS issue, and had staring using more text which had made t hard for the group to shock and relay their messages as effectively as before. In 1984, after the death of member Mark Simpson, the group disbanded, Bash Back! formed in 2007 with a small group of Radical Transfok, Queers ard Alles organizing against the Republican National Convention. In April of 2008 over 100 radical Trans/Queer/Allied folk met in Chicago to formulate plans against the RNC/DNC and to stert a long lasting network. Anyone who ‘agrees with the Points of Unity can starl a Bash Back! Chapter. In November of 2008 Bash Back! folks infiltrated the Mount Hope Church, an. arfi-queer mega church in Lansing Michigan, disrupting services with screaming, banner dropping, gitter throwing, fire alarm pulling and of course, ‘smooching. Soon after the action the croup rocoived tons of press calling out ‘the Mount Hope Church on their participation in ex-gay ministries, "hell houses”, end other anti-queer coings. POINTS OF UNITY Members of Bash Back! must agree to: 1. Fight for liberation. Nothing more, nothing less. State reccgnition in the form cof oppressive institutions such as marriage and militarism are not steps toward literafion but rather towards heteronormative assimilation. 2. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialisrr, and all forms of State power. 3. Actively oppose oppression both in and ou: of the “movement.” All oppressive beavior is not to be tolerated, 4. Respect a diversity of tactics in the struggle for liberation. Do not solely condemn an action on the grounds that the State deeme i o be illegal Active in Hew York City fom 1991 to 1995, fierce pussy was composed of a fuid and often- shit cadre of dykes. Adamantly low-tech, fast and ow-budget, fierce pussy relied on ‘nodest resources: old typewriters, found photographs, their own baby pictures, and whatever ‘naterial they could get donated. Much of tha work was preduced using the equipment at thelr day jobs. Emerging during a deczde steeped in the AIDS ciss, acivsm, and queer identity aoltcs, fierce pussy brought lesbian identity dlcedtly out into the streets in a manner characterized by the urgency of those yzars. ' FIERCE PUSSY COLLECTIVE ‘ierce pussy wheatpasted their posters and printed and cistrbuted stickers and t-shirts ‘throughout the city, Ther other projecs induded redesigning the bathroom at the Gey and Lesbian Canter, a areeting card campaign directed against the polties of Cerdinal O'Conner and Senator D'Amato, and 2 moving bilbcard/iruck. For Gay Pride 1991, “erce pussy re- named streets along the parade route after prominent lesbian heroines using stencled and spray painted street signs. LAGAI - Queer Insurrection hetps//aww.lagal-erg Who We Are We are a small independent radical queer adivst grcup. We started in 1983 as Lesbians and Gays Against Intervention and rave been through a bunch of name changes, but kept our acronym, even though no one can figure out what it stands for any more, We are so grassroots, you almast can't find the root. We get no grants (well, ckay, we got two small grants from Resist about five years ago), have no staf, don't lobby, don’t try to control the gay movement, We work on local Sen Franciscoftiay Area issues and national and international issues. We are the proud publishers of UlraViolet, an every-other-monthly free newspaper. What We Believe ‘We are antiauthoritarian, anti-miltarist, pro-feminist and anti-racist, and we demand that queer issues never 2e put on the back burner, We will accept ncthing less then ful civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, but we believe ssome rights are not worth fighting for. We do not think cueers or straights should be in the military oa society ke the u.s.. or probably any government, and we fes! that the queer liberation postion is to cppose marriage as the central institution of patriarchy, not to try to get married oursehes. ‘What We Do We do poster campaigns and small drect actions, and particioate in larger demonstrations and organizing coalitions. We are active in protests against war, the death penalty and police brutality, in the Justice In Palestine Coalition and the struggle to save social securi:y and workers’ richts. One of our main goals now is to destroy the Human Rights Campaign, because T'm tired of sitting on the back of the bumper. It’s not even the back of the bus anymore — it's the back of the bumper, The bitch on wheels is back. - Sylvia Rivera Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries (STAR) STAR was founded in New York City in 1970 by Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. Syivia is a well known Stonewall veteran, and was ono of tho strost queens who helped. escalate Stonewall from a routine police bust of a queer bar to a revolutionary call fro greater LGBT activism and political organization. At the time Sylvia wes 8 20 yeardld street queen and Marsha was late 20s. STAR originally stood for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, written $..AR. The idea wes to sreate a living spase for young queens on the street. They got an old abandoned house on the lower Bast sido from the mafia and set up 8.7.A.R. House, which survived about 2 years. All the members lives collectively, with Syivia and Marsha hustling to get money for food so that the younger girls would notihave to go out on ths street. Capttallsm get you down? Gender binaries make your teeth hurt? Join Queer Fist! Queer Fist, an anti-assimilationlst, anti-capttallst, anti-authoritarian street action group, came together to provide direct action and a radical queer and traws- identified voice at the Republican National Convention (RNC) protests. We continue using creative methods to fight the right-wing agenda. The Combahee River Collective Black Feminist Organizing in the 70's and 80's We are a collective of Black feminists who have been meeting together since 1974...involved in the process of defining and clarifying our politics, while...doing political work within our own group and in coalition with other progressive organizations and movements... [W]e see Black feminism as the logical political movement to combat the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face. Our polities evolve from a healthy love for ourselves, our sisters and our community which allows us to continue our struggle and work. This focusing upon our own oppression is embodied in the concept of identity politics... [T]be most profound and potentially most radical politics come directly out of our own identity...[t]o be recognized as human, levelly human, is nough.... Although we are feminists and Lesbians, we feel solidarity with progressive Black men and do not advocate the fractionalization that white women who ere separatists demand... Westruggle logether with Black men against racism, while we also struggle with Black men about sexism.... We are socialists because we believe that work must be organized for the collective benefit of those who do the work and create the products, and not for the profit of the bosses... We need to articulate the real class situation of persons...for whom racial and sexual oppression are significant determinants in their working/economic lives... [OJur Black women's style of talking/testifying in Black language about what we have experienced has a resonance that is both cultural and political... No one before has ever examined the multilayered lexture of Black women's lives... "Smart-ugly” crystallized the way in which most of us had been forced to develop our intellects at great cost to our "social" lives.... We have a great deal of criticism and loathing for what men have been socialized to be in this society...[b]ut we do not have the misguided notion that it is their maleness, per se--i.e,, their biclogical maleness--that makes them what they are, STONEWALL RIOTS On Saturday morning, June 28, 1969, not lang after 1:20 am., police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. A number of factors differentiated the raid that took place on June 28 from other such raids on the Stonewall Inn. In general, the sixth precinct tipped off the management of the Stonewall — Inn prior to a raid. In addition, raids were generally carried out early enough in the night to allow business to return to normal for the peak hours of the night. At approximately 1:20 AM, much later than the usual raid, eight officers from the first precinct, of which only one was in uniform, entered the bar. Most of the patrons were able to escape being arrested as the only people arrested “would be those without IDs, those dressed in the clothes of the opposite gender, and some or all of the employees”. Details about how the riot started vary from story to story. According to one account, a transgendered woman named Sylvia Rivera threw a bottle at a police officer after being prodded by his nightstick. Another account states that a lesbian, being brought to a patrol car through the crowd put up a struggle that encouraged the crowd to do the same. Whatever the case may be, mélée broke out across the crowd—which quickly overtook the police. Stunned, the police retreated into the bar. Heterosexual folk singer Dave van Ronk, who was walking through the area, was grabbed by the police, pulled into the bar, and beaten. The crowd’s attacks were unrelenting. Some tried to light the bar on fire. Others used a parking meter as a battering ram to force the police officers out. Word quickly spread of the riot and many residents, as well as patrons of nearby bars, rushed to the scene. Throughout the night the police singled out many effeminate men and often beat them. On the first night alone 13 people were arrested and four police officers, as well as an undetermined number of protesters, were injured. It is known, however, that at least two rioters were severely beaten by the police. Bottles and stones were thrown by protesters who chanted “Gay Power!” The crowd, estimated at over 2000, fought with over 400. police officers. The police sent additional forces in the form of the Tactical Patrol Force, a riot-control squad originally trained to counter anti-Vietnam War protesters. The tactical patrol force arrived to disperse the crowd. However, they failed to break up the crowd, who sprayed them with rocks and other projectiles. Eventually the scene quieted, but the crowd returned again the next night. While less violent than the first night, the crowd had the same energy as it had on the previous night. ‘Skirmishes between the rioters and the police ensued until approximately 4:00 AM. The third day of rioting fell five days after the raid on the Stonewall Inn. On that Wednesday, 1,000 people congregated at the bar and again caused extensive property damage. Gay Dhame @ virus in the éystom (GAY SHAME is a Virus in the Systema. We are committed to a queet extavaganza that brings ditect action to astounding levels of theatricality. We wil not be satisfied with a commercialized gay identity that denies the inttinsic links between queer struggle and challerging power. We seek nothing less than a new queer activism that foregrcunds race, class, gender and sexuality, 10 counter the self serving “values” of gay coneumerism and the increasingly hypocritical left. We are dedicated to fighticg the rabid assimilationist monster ~ We vill express outrage through symbolic