This is the start of the race
everyone's lining up
getting ready to win
but some start farther ahead
closer to the finish
closer to the goal
As the other groups move up
They are pushed further and further away
Almost pushed out of the race
A blue discharge turns dishonorable
A committee forms to root them out
Nothing to be done except wait
And hope that something changes their fate
anger simmering below the surface
rejected by society
rejected by friends and family
a pamphlet is published
the purple color gives it away
Designed to promote fear
designed to promote shame
a documentary is released
articles are written
children are in danger!
but it's the adults that are harmed
it keeps piling up and up and up
until it can't be taken anymore
until backs break
and families break
and then,
stonewall, 1969.
starting in 1947, gays fired from the military were given a dishonorable discharge, making it difficult to find jobs later.
The johns committee was created in 1956 in order to fight integration. it later expanded to conducting a witch hunt for gay men in universities.
the purple pamphlet, published in 1964, warned floridians of the dangers of homosexuality, which appeared to be a communist threat.
the cbs documentary, the homosexuals, reported that homosexuals disgusted 2/3rds of americans.
the johns committee repeatedly warned that gay men were pedophiles who preyed on young boys.
The stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations after the police raided the stonewall inn.
sources
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Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. New York: Vintage Books. 1995.
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Morgan, Harry. CBS Reports: The Homosexuals. Documentary episode. Performed by Mike Wallace. 1967. CBS. Television.
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Poucher, Judith G. State of Defiance: Challenging the John’s Committee’s Assault on Civil Liberties. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. 2014.
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Stonewall Uprising. Film. Directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner. 2010. New York: First Run Features.