Reclaiming Stonewall

Anniversaries are occasions for remembrance, even pride and celebration, but they should also be moments of reckoning, which offer us the opportunity to reflect critically on where we come from, where we are, and where we go from here. 

To help us reckon with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, The Nation invited a remarkable group of LGBTQ activists, artists, and academics to reflect on its many legacies. Ranging in age from 23 to 88 years old, the participants in “Reclaiming Stonewall” represent the stunning diversity of our community across generations. Combining the personal and the political, this collection of living queer histories is something of an archive of our moment, when many of us are grappling with what might be called the paradox of progress: the coexistence of important changes—in courtrooms and legislatures, hearts and minds—with seemingly intractable challenges.

As we reckon with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, let us heed all these voices and ask, “What still needs to be done?” If the legacy and inheritance of Stonewall mean anything, it’s that our fight is far from over and that our collective struggle for liberation—for everyone—must continue.
—Timothy Patrick McCarthy

Stonewall Inn

Stonewall Was the Moment Queerness Glitter-Bombed the World Stonewall Was the Moment Queerness Glitter-Bombed the World

Fifty years later, we commemorate the courage of our revolutionaries—and recommit to our fabulousness.

Jun 28, 2019 / Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

The Movement for LGBTQ Rights Is On the March Around the World

The Movement for LGBTQ Rights Is On the March Around the World The Movement for LGBTQ Rights Is On the March Around the World

But so is the backlash, fueled in part by homophobia exported from the United States.

Jun 28, 2019 / Ian Lekus

‘I Want LGBT Africans to Be at Home Everywhere’: A Q&A With Chike Frankie Edozien

‘I Want LGBT Africans to Be at Home Everywhere’: A Q&A With Chike Frankie Edozien ‘I Want LGBT Africans to Be at Home Everywhere’: A Q&A With Chike Frankie Edozien

The author of the memoir Lives of Great Men discusses the skewed coverage of gay life in Africa.

Jun 28, 2019 / Robbie Corey-Boulet

Trans rights activist Schuyler Bailar.

Stonewall’s Children—and Grandchildren—Are Alright Stonewall’s Children—and Grandchildren—Are Alright

On college campuses across the country, the next generation of LGBTQ activists is keeping the flame of Stonewall alive.

Jun 28, 2019 / StudentNation / Susan B. Marine

In Honor of the People Who Have Bled for Our Desire

In Honor of the People Who Have Bled for Our Desire In Honor of the People Who Have Bled for Our Desire

On Stonewall at 50.

Jun 28, 2019 / Diana Oh

LGBTQ solidarity protest

How Do You Create Community Out of a Rainbow of Difference? How Do You Create Community Out of a Rainbow of Difference?

One answer lies in the Stonewall, when, in the heat of collective oppression, a motley band of outcasts chose to fight side by side.

Jun 27, 2019 / Feature / Justice Ameer Gaines and Chrysanthemum Tran

The Power of Transgender Political Representation

The Power of Transgender Political Representation The Power of Transgender Political Representation

From pushing against bathroom bills to pushing for trans asylum seekers’ rights, each trans person that is elected has an outsize impact on the issues most affecting our lives.

Jun 27, 2019 / Ruben J. Gonzales

Trans Women of Color Are the Past and Future of LGBTQ Liberation

Trans Women of Color Are the Past and Future of LGBTQ Liberation Trans Women of Color Are the Past and Future of LGBTQ Liberation

Patriarchy, misogyny, and racism have held back progress for too long.

Jun 27, 2019 / Imara Jones

Stonewall Inn

As a Young Native American, I Internalized This Country’s Homophobia As a Young Native American, I Internalized This Country’s Homophobia

Then I made a pilgrimage to the Stonewall Inn.

Jun 27, 2019 / Wren Walker-Robbins

LGBTQ Pride

Dear Grown-Ups, It’s Time to Let LGBTQ Students Be Our Teachers Dear Grown-Ups, It’s Time to Let LGBTQ Students Be Our Teachers

We have a lot to learn from them.

Jun 27, 2019 / Takeru Nagayoshi

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