Kay Lahusen picketing at Independence Hall, 1969
Kay Lahusen joined other protesters on a picket line in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on July 4, 1969. This protest marked the fifth “Annual Reminder,” a march held yearly on July 4 to remind Americans that LGBTQ citizens were denied basic civil rights.
Frank Kameny Marching with "Gay is Good" Sign, 1970
On the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising (June 28, 19770), Frank Kameny (center) joined members of The Mattachine Society of Washington DC to march in New York City's 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade. Kameny—who coined the "Gay Is Good" slogan after being inspired by the "Black Is Beautiful" cultural movement—was among the first to recognize that progress for LGBTQ Americans was impossible as long as the medical establishment classified homosexuality as a mental illness.
Activists Protesting the American Psychiatric Association's Annual Conference, 1971
In May 1971, the Mattachine Society of Washington (MSW), the Gay Liberation Front-DC, and the fledgling Gay Activists Alliance/DC disrupted Attorney General Ramsey Clark's address to the annual convocation of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), protesting the APA's classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder, at the Shoreham Hotel's Regency Ballroom in New York City.
Rev. Magora Kennedy on the David Susskind Show, 1971
Rev. Magora Kennedy (right) pushed back forcefully when talk show host David Susskind asserted that homosexuality is a "mental aberration" based on "a body of medical evidence." Kennedy was joined by six lesbians, including Lyn Kupferman (center), for this groundbreaking October 10, 1971 event, which marked the first time a group of out lesbians had ever appeared on national television. The David Susskind Show was a nationally syndicated talk show that aired on Sunday evenings on PBS stations.
Protesters Declare "Homo Is Healthy," 1971
Demonstrators gathered in Albany, New York, in 1971 to demand gay rights and to declare that "Homo Is Healthy."
Gittings, Kameny and Dr. Anonymous, 1972
Disguised as "Dr. H. Anonymous" in an oversized tuxedo and distorted Nixon mask, Dr. John Fryer sent shock waves through the American Psychiatric Association's May 2, 1972, convention by describing his life as a closeted gay psychiatrist. Fryer put his medical license in jeopardy by making this speech, since the APA classified every gay person as mentally ill and viewed gay psychiatrists as unfit to practice medicine. Activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny joined Dr. Anonymous on this electrifying panel. Gittings' life partner, Kay Tobin Lahusen, took this now-iconic photo and shared her reflections on this "game-changing" moment in CURED.
Barbara Gittings at 1973 rally
Declaring that "Gay is good! Gay is proud! Gay is healthy!," activist Barbara Gittings addressed a crowd of thousands at the June 24, 1973, Christopher Street Liberation Day rally in New York City. Gittings was instrumental in propelling the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the DSM, its manual of mental illnesses.
Gold, Silverstein, Kameny, and Gittings Celebrate Victory, 1973
Activists Ronald Gold (left), Charles Silverstein, Frank Kameny, and Barbara Gittings celebrated victory at APA headquarters in Washington, DC, on December 15, 1973 — the day the APA Board of Trustees announced its decision to remove homosexuality from the organization's manual of mental illnesses. All of these activists are featured in CURED.