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| "While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect." - Barack Obama, June 1, 2007 |
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be used or reproduced without prior written authorization of the Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida Board of Directors.
UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA is a 501c4 corporation registered in the State of Florida.
Unity Coalition, Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, Unity Coalition of Miami-Dade, Coalicion Unida, Coalicion Unida de Miami-Dade,
Unity Coalition of Sara-Mana, Coalicion Unida de Sara-Mana, Miami Masquerade Ball, Generacion Q, and Gen Q are registered to
Unity Coalition|Coalicion Inda, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, All Rights Reserved
Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida | 1-800-950-5316
Concept, image, logos, names, documents & contents, and all related versions thereof are the property of Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, Inc., and cannot
be used or reproduced without prior written authorization of the Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida Board of Directors.
UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA is a 501c4 corporation registered in the State of Florida.
Unity Coalition, Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, Unity Coalition of Miami-Dade, Coalicion Unida, Coalicion Unida de Miami-Dade,
Unity Coalition of Sara-Mana, Coalicion Unida de Sara-Mana, Miami Masquerade Ball, Generacion Q, and Gen Q are registered to
Unity Coalition|Coalicion Inda, Inc.
Copyright © 2009 Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, All Rights Reserved
Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida | 1-800-950-5316
| Write us - Escribanos: |
1-800-950-5316
www.unitycoalition.org www.coalicionunida.org
www.unitycoalition.org www.coalicionunida.org
| UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA is fighting against Hatred & Discrimination in our community Estamos luchando contra el odio y la discriminacion en nuestra comunidad Si es Latino/Hispano, Gay, Lesbiana,o Inmigrante Illegal, contactenos...NO ESTAS SOLO If you are Latino/Hispanic, Gay, Lesbian or an Illegal Immigrant, contact us... YOU'RE NOT ALONE |
Herb Sosa - President herb@unitycoalition.org
PHOTOS | FOTOS
| 2007 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2007 |
2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS | JUNTA DIRECTIVA
| 2004 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2004 |
| 2003 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2003 |
| 2002 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2002 |
ANNUAL HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE for needy children & those living with HIV/AIDS
| COLECTA DE JUGETES ANUAL
| COLECTA DE JUGETES ANUAL
| 2005 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2005 |
LGBT COMMUNITY RESOURCES & ASSISTANCE
| RECURSOS COMUNITARIOS LGBT Y ASISTENCIA
| RECURSOS COMUNITARIOS LGBT Y ASISTENCIA
PRESS RELEASES | COMUNICADOS DE PRENSA
| 2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2006 |
| No hay caminos hacia la libertad, La Libertad es el camino. - M. Gandhi |
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| UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA is the leading Latino|Hispanic gay civil-rights initiative, offering leadershipon issues that concern LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) Latino|Hispanic and other minority groups across the U.S. |
UNITY COALITION|COALICION UNIDA es una iniciativa y lider en
defender los derechos civiles de la comunidad latina|hispana
LGBT(lesbianas, gay, bisexual, transgenero), ofreciendo liderazgo
en asuntos concernientes a este y otros grupos minoritario
através de los Estados Unidos.
defender los derechos civiles de la comunidad latina|hispana
LGBT(lesbianas, gay, bisexual, transgenero), ofreciendo liderazgo
en asuntos concernientes a este y otros grupos minoritario
através de los Estados Unidos.
EQUALITY
VOLUNTEER FOR UC | SEA UN VOLUNTARIO DE UC
| When the power of love overcomes the love for power, the world will know peace. - Jimi Hendrix |
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| President Barak Obama Inauguration & Address January 20, 2009 | Washington D.C. |
| 2009 ACCOMPLISHMENTS | LOGROS DEL 2009 |
"Let us NOT seek the Republican answer or the
Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us accept
our own responsibility for the future." - John F. Kennedy
Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us accept
our own responsibility for the future." - John F. Kennedy
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It was 40 years ago today - how the Stonewall riots started the gay rights movement
By Nell Frizzell
In the early hours of 28 June 1969 a relatively unassuming gay bar in the West Village of Manhattan became the epicentre of
an event that changed the course of gay history.
The Stonewall Inn, like most other gay bars during the 1960s, was frequently targeted by the police on the spurious grounds of
checking for alcohol law violations and other transgressions.
What in many cases actually occurred was police intimidation and demands for payoffs, dubbed “gayola”, in return for not
arresting or publishing the names of the patrons.
The Stonewall Inn, it must be said, did have its fair share of Mafia connections and questionable drinks policies. However, on
the night of 27th, those breaches were eclipsed by the dramatic turn in events.
Instead of complying with the police, drinkers in the bar started to resist.
Shouts of “Gay Power” began to erupt in the street outside. Customers started throwing coins, bottles and other missiles at
the police.
The lesbians and drag queens defied the intimidation, choosing to instead linger in the doorway, whipping up the crowd. Fires
were started.
According to Craig Rodwell, quoted in an article by Lionel Wright, "A number of incidents were happening simultaneously.
There was no one thing that happened or one person, there was just… a flash of group, of mass anger."
As news of the fracas spread across the city, the group of angry demonstrators swelled, until the police were forced to take
refuge in the empty bar.
"I had been in combat situations,” Detective Inspector Pine is quoted by Wright as saying. “But there was never any time that
I felt more scared than then."
The crowd, which was made up of all shades of the LGBT community, flocked to Christopher Street to take part in this
revolutionary act of defiance.
Although the police, backed up the Tactical Patrol Force, tried several times to break up the crowd, they were outwitted by
rioters who would simply disperse, regroup and attack from a different direction.
The violence in Greenwich continued for more than three nights, with members of the LGBT using the riots as an opportunity to
distribute leaflets and information.
And so, it is argued, the Gay Liberation Movement was born.
The Gay Liberation Front in America was formed in the wake of the riots to protest against the social oppression of the LGBT
community.
As Michael Adams, the Executive Director of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, said: “In the early days of the modern
LGBT movement, the Gay Liberation Front was one of the most visible and vocal organisations promoting equality for the
LGBT community.”
Similar movements were established in Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand.
So, why were the Stonewall Riots such a turning point? And why did they occur?
Many historians and journalists have pointed out that during the 1960s the whole social climate was changing. The Vietnam
War had radicalised the American youth.
As young men went off to war many became involved in homosexual relationships, while back in the States there was,
according to Wright, an “opening-up of U.S. Society” that could not quite be quashed.
The black civil rights movement was gaining ground, French students had gone on strike the year before, the Communist Party
had campaigned for gay rights and returning servicepeople had stayed in port cities like Manhattan.
Craig Rodwell is quoted as saying: "There was a very volatile active political feeling, especially among young people … when
the night of the Stonewall Riots came along, just everything came together at that one moment… There was no one thing
special about it. It was just everything coming together, one of those moments in history that if you were there, you knew, this
is it, this is what we've been waiting for."
Forty years on from the Stonewall Riots, the global LGBT community still faces significant problems. In many South Asian and
Middle Eastern countries homosexuality is still illegal; still, in theory, punishable by death.
In Western Europe and America, the campaign for full and equal marriage rights continues. Anti-gay bullying is still prevalent
in schools and in workplaces and homophobia in all its manifestations is still being fought across the world.
And yet, for many, those dramatic riots in Greenwich forty years ago, hailed a new era in the fight for gay rights.
By Nell Frizzell
In the early hours of 28 June 1969 a relatively unassuming gay bar in the West Village of Manhattan became the epicentre of
an event that changed the course of gay history.
The Stonewall Inn, like most other gay bars during the 1960s, was frequently targeted by the police on the spurious grounds of
checking for alcohol law violations and other transgressions.
What in many cases actually occurred was police intimidation and demands for payoffs, dubbed “gayola”, in return for not
arresting or publishing the names of the patrons.
The Stonewall Inn, it must be said, did have its fair share of Mafia connections and questionable drinks policies. However, on
the night of 27th, those breaches were eclipsed by the dramatic turn in events.
Instead of complying with the police, drinkers in the bar started to resist.
Shouts of “Gay Power” began to erupt in the street outside. Customers started throwing coins, bottles and other missiles at
the police.
The lesbians and drag queens defied the intimidation, choosing to instead linger in the doorway, whipping up the crowd. Fires
were started.
According to Craig Rodwell, quoted in an article by Lionel Wright, "A number of incidents were happening simultaneously.
There was no one thing that happened or one person, there was just… a flash of group, of mass anger."
As news of the fracas spread across the city, the group of angry demonstrators swelled, until the police were forced to take
refuge in the empty bar.
"I had been in combat situations,” Detective Inspector Pine is quoted by Wright as saying. “But there was never any time that
I felt more scared than then."
The crowd, which was made up of all shades of the LGBT community, flocked to Christopher Street to take part in this
revolutionary act of defiance.
Although the police, backed up the Tactical Patrol Force, tried several times to break up the crowd, they were outwitted by
rioters who would simply disperse, regroup and attack from a different direction.
The violence in Greenwich continued for more than three nights, with members of the LGBT using the riots as an opportunity to
distribute leaflets and information.
And so, it is argued, the Gay Liberation Movement was born.
The Gay Liberation Front in America was formed in the wake of the riots to protest against the social oppression of the LGBT
community.
As Michael Adams, the Executive Director of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders, said: “In the early days of the modern
LGBT movement, the Gay Liberation Front was one of the most visible and vocal organisations promoting equality for the
LGBT community.”
Similar movements were established in Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand.
So, why were the Stonewall Riots such a turning point? And why did they occur?
Many historians and journalists have pointed out that during the 1960s the whole social climate was changing. The Vietnam
War had radicalised the American youth.
As young men went off to war many became involved in homosexual relationships, while back in the States there was,
according to Wright, an “opening-up of U.S. Society” that could not quite be quashed.
The black civil rights movement was gaining ground, French students had gone on strike the year before, the Communist Party
had campaigned for gay rights and returning servicepeople had stayed in port cities like Manhattan.
Craig Rodwell is quoted as saying: "There was a very volatile active political feeling, especially among young people … when
the night of the Stonewall Riots came along, just everything came together at that one moment… There was no one thing
special about it. It was just everything coming together, one of those moments in history that if you were there, you knew, this
is it, this is what we've been waiting for."
Forty years on from the Stonewall Riots, the global LGBT community still faces significant problems. In many South Asian and
Middle Eastern countries homosexuality is still illegal; still, in theory, punishable by death.
In Western Europe and America, the campaign for full and equal marriage rights continues. Anti-gay bullying is still prevalent
in schools and in workplaces and homophobia in all its manifestations is still being fought across the world.
And yet, for many, those dramatic riots in Greenwich forty years ago, hailed a new era in the fight for gay rights.
| . |
New Hampshire becomes the fifth state to legalize same-sex unions
New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage after the Senate and House passed key language on religious
rights and Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation on June 3, 2009.
On April 7, 2009, the Vermont legislature overrode a veto by the governor and passed a bill to eliminate the exclusion of same-sex
couples from marriage, thereby making Vermont the first state to do so prior to a court decision requiring full marriage equality.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts, California briefly allowed gay marriage last year, but a voter initiative in
November repealed it.
CIVIL UNIONS
New Hampshire and New Jersey, same-sex couples can enter into civil unions that entail the same rights and responsibilities as
marriage. New Hampshire's House passed a marriage bill in March, which now awaits a Senate vote.- New Jersey, Gov. Jon
Corzine has pledged to sign a gay marriage bill that has been introduced in its legislature.
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS
California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have domestic-partnership laws that extend many of the benefits of
marriage to same-sex couples.
CONSTITUTIONAL BANS
29 states have approved state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin & Hawaii.
Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. government does not recognize same-sex unions, even those that are legal
marriages in Massachusetts, Connecticut and several foreign countries.
OUT-OF-STATE RECOGNITION
New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere but hasn't allowed them in the state. The District of Columbia
Council recognizes gay marriages performed in other states.
Nationalmente (EE.UU.), aqui esta la situacion del Matrimonio del mismo sexo
Matrimonio del Mismo Sexo es legal en:
New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut y Massachusetts, California lo permitio por un tiempo antes que en
Noviembre del 2008 los votantes lo rechazaron.Uniones CivilesNew Hampshire y New Jersey, parejas del mismo sexo pueden
entar en Uniones Civiles que les da los mismos derechos y responsabilidades como un matrimonio.En New Hampshire la Camara
baja paso en Marzo una ley para permitir el Matrimonio del mismo sexo, esta legislacion esta en espera del voto en el Senado
Estatal.- El Gobernador Jon Corzine de New Jersey se ha comprometido a firmar la ley presentada en la legislatura estatal.
Parejas Domesticas
California, Oregon, Washington y el Districto def Columbia ha extendido las leyes de Parejas Domestica que cubren el
matrimonio del mismo sexo.No Permiten ni Matrimonio ni Uniones CivilesAlabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin y Hawaii.
Reconocimiento Federal
La acta conocida como federal Defense of Marriage Act, del gobierno Federal no reconoce las uniones civiles ni el
matrimonio, aun los de Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont y de otros paises soveranos.Estados que reconocen los
matrimonios hechos en otro EstadosNew York reconoce los matrimonios hechas fuera del Estado, pese que New York no lo
permite.El Districto def Columbia tambien reconoce los matrimonios hechos en otros Estados.
New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriage after the Senate and House passed key language on religious
rights and Gov. John Lynch — who personally opposes gay marriage — signed the legislation on June 3, 2009.
On April 7, 2009, the Vermont legislature overrode a veto by the governor and passed a bill to eliminate the exclusion of same-sex
couples from marriage, thereby making Vermont the first state to do so prior to a court decision requiring full marriage equality.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts, California briefly allowed gay marriage last year, but a voter initiative in
November repealed it.
CIVIL UNIONS
New Hampshire and New Jersey, same-sex couples can enter into civil unions that entail the same rights and responsibilities as
marriage. New Hampshire's House passed a marriage bill in March, which now awaits a Senate vote.- New Jersey, Gov. Jon
Corzine has pledged to sign a gay marriage bill that has been introduced in its legislature.
DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS
California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia have domestic-partnership laws that extend many of the benefits of
marriage to same-sex couples.
CONSTITUTIONAL BANS
29 states have approved state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin & Hawaii.
Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. government does not recognize same-sex unions, even those that are legal
marriages in Massachusetts, Connecticut and several foreign countries.
OUT-OF-STATE RECOGNITION
New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere but hasn't allowed them in the state. The District of Columbia
Council recognizes gay marriages performed in other states.
Nationalmente (EE.UU.), aqui esta la situacion del Matrimonio del mismo sexo
Matrimonio del Mismo Sexo es legal en:
New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut y Massachusetts, California lo permitio por un tiempo antes que en
Noviembre del 2008 los votantes lo rechazaron.Uniones CivilesNew Hampshire y New Jersey, parejas del mismo sexo pueden
entar en Uniones Civiles que les da los mismos derechos y responsabilidades como un matrimonio.En New Hampshire la Camara
baja paso en Marzo una ley para permitir el Matrimonio del mismo sexo, esta legislacion esta en espera del voto en el Senado
Estatal.- El Gobernador Jon Corzine de New Jersey se ha comprometido a firmar la ley presentada en la legislatura estatal.
Parejas Domesticas
California, Oregon, Washington y el Districto def Columbia ha extendido las leyes de Parejas Domestica que cubren el
matrimonio del mismo sexo.No Permiten ni Matrimonio ni Uniones CivilesAlabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin y Hawaii.
Reconocimiento Federal
La acta conocida como federal Defense of Marriage Act, del gobierno Federal no reconoce las uniones civiles ni el
matrimonio, aun los de Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont y de otros paises soveranos.Estados que reconocen los
matrimonios hechos en otro EstadosNew York reconoce los matrimonios hechas fuera del Estado, pese que New York no lo
permite.El Districto def Columbia tambien reconoce los matrimonios hechos en otros Estados.
REGISTER TO VOTE | REGISTRESE PARA VOTAR
BREAKING NEWS | NOTICIAS DE ULTIMA HORA
POLITICAL CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE FORM
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INTERNATIONAL STATUS OF LGBT RIGHTS | DERECHOS LGBT
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40
Years of Pride!