Remembering Stonewall

Years before the police raids that led to the Stonewall riots, Philadelphia was home to activists and protesters demanding rights for the LGBTQ community.

Air Date: June 25, 2019

FILE - In this July 4, 1967 file photo Kay Tobin Lahusen, right, and other demonstrators carry signs calling for protection of homosexuals from discrimination as they march in a picket line in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. In 2019, same-sex marriage is the law of the land in the U.S. and at least 25 other countries. LGBT Americans serve as governors, big-city mayors and members of Congress, and one _ Pete Buttigieg _ is waging a spirited campaign for president. (AP Photo/John F. Urwiller)

This Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the police raid of Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, that sparked landmark riots and brought the LGBTQ civil rights movement into wider public consciousness. But years before this historic night in New York City, a steady swell of LGBTQ activism was working its way through Philadelphia. Today, William Way archivist Bob Skiba, Philadelphia Gay News founder Mark Segal, and activist Ada Bello join us to discuss their memories of Stonewall, Philadelphia’s early protests in front of Independence Hall, and how LGBTQ activism has changed over the decades.

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