“I looked at this group and thought they were some of the bravest people I’d seen.” “I was one of 250 black students at a school of 16,000,” said Rowan, noting he felt the students standing before him were kindred spirits. Sitting on the committee was SGA Chief of Staff Nile Rowan ’74. The application came to the Student Government Association’s Appropriations Committee. Nile Rowan before his graduation from Illinois State in 1974.īy 1971, the group took the initiative to become an official student organization at Illinois State, which would include some funding from student fees. Allen Ginsberg, in dashiki and love-beads, sat cross-legged on the floor, writing a poem.” Ginsberg later typed up the poem and sent it to Curtis. When Sutherland gave Ginsberg a ride back to his hotel that night, the poet turned to him and asked if they really called the town “Normal.” Sutherland answered, “Yes, they do.” “Long chains of dancers snaked around the floor frozen in mid-motion by the flashing light. In the otherwise dark room a strobe light was thudding rapidly on and off,” recalled Sutherland. In a twist of fate, famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, engaged to speak at Illinois Wesleyan University, heard about the dance and decided to attend. “The football team never showed, and the SDS members ended up dancing with everyone else.” “The ISU football team had threatened to ‘bust up’ the dance, so everyone was nervous,” said Sutherland, who added that in response, students from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) arrived to stop the football players. Now in his 80s, Sutherland was asked to observe the dance as a member of the newly formed American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in case there were any violations of civil rights. “It was to be held on the top floor of Fairchild Hall, known as the Solarium,” said Emeritus Professor of English Robert Sutherland.īeat poet Allen Ginsberg (left) with Jack Kerouac. The group decided to hold its first dance in March of 1970. ISU Pride began as a chapter of the GLF, formed at Illinois State in 1969 under the leadership of student Jim Curtis. The first iteration of a gay civil rights organization, known as the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), emerged from what became known as the Stonewall Uprising. Police estimated more than 400 people came to defend those being arrested. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, New York City police raided a bar in Greenwich Village called the Stonewall Inn.
Police often raided bars and clubs where LGBTQ+ clientele were known to gather, and arrested patrons for indecency. Those who were exposed as LGBTQ+ faced violence, stood to lose their jobs, were evicted, or incarcerated. The American Psychiatric Association considered homosexuality a mental illness. Johnson were part of the force that established the first Gay Liberation Front in New York City in the wake of the Stonewall Uprising.Įven by the late 1960s in the U.S., almost every aspect of LGBTQ+ life was considered illegal, from dating and marriage to gathering in public. It features 250 entries, including floats, musical groups and walking contingents.(Left) Transgender activists Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P.
But the parade does move slowly due to the huge number of participants and spectators, and can take much longer. The parade kicked off at noon and was expected to last roughly 2 hours. Pfeiffer says there were a number of new entries this year, including the Peace Corps, the Chicago Teachers' Union and City Colleges of Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was at the front of the parade, and Gov. Parade coordinator Richard Pfeiffer says many participants are celebrating legalized civil unions in Illinois, and gay marriage in New York. Hundreds of thousands of people converged on the Boystown neighborhood for the 42nd annual Gay Pride Parade on Sunday. "We will not let this stop us," Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer said some groups may not be able to take part. The parade was not delayed because of the crime, although coordinator Richard Pfeiffer told that the order of floats would likely change, as some may need to be dropped to the end of the line. The president of Associated Attractions, Steve Johnson, said he had to lay out $3,000 cash to get a local tire shop to even try to fix all the tires. Man Dies in Naperville Single-Vehicle Crash Saturday