LAMBDA AS A SYMBOL OF GAY/LESBIAN RIGHTS

"The Enclylopedia of Homosexuality has the following entry on LAMBDA:

In the eary 1970's in the wake of the Stonewall Rebellion, New York City's Gay Activist Alliance selected the Greek letter lambda, which member Tom Doerr suggested from its scientific use to designate Kinetic Potential, as its emblem. (Curiously, in some ancient Greek graffiti the capital lambda appear with the meaning "fellate", representing the first letter of either "lambazein" or "laikazein.) Because of its militant associations,the lambda symbol has spread throughout the world. It sometime appears in the form of an amulet hung round the neck as a subtle sign of recognition which can "pass" among unkowing heterosexuals as a mere ornament. Such emblems may reflet a tendency among homosexuals toward "tribalization" as a distinct segment of society, one conceived as a quasi-ethnic group.

In "More Man Than You'll Ever Be" by Joseph P. Goodwin (Indiana University Press:Bloomington, 1989) on page 26, Goodwin writes:
The lowercase Greek letter lambda carries several meanings. First of all,it represents scales, and thus balance. The Greeks considered balance to be the constant adjustment necessary to keep opposing forces from overcoming each other. The hook at the bottom of the right leg of the lambda represents the action required to reach and maintin a balance. To the Spartans, the lambda meant unity. They felt that society should never infringe on anyones individuality and freedom. The Romans adopted the letter to represent "the light of knowledge shed into the darkness of ignorance." Finally, in physics the symbol designates an energy change.

Thus the lambda, with all its meanings, is an especially apt symbol for the gay liberation movement, which energetically seeks a balance in society and which strives through enlightenment to secure equal rights for homosexual people.

THE STONEWALL REBELLION...and OUR PRIDE!

It is never easy or quite accurate to pinpoint one event as the begining of an entire movement...but many American LGBT people, we recognize that there have been hundreds of Actions that have signified our liberation throughout time, but we choose - JUNE 28, 1969 to Symbolize - OUR PRIDE!

Shortly after midnight, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a tavern and dance bar across from Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village, which resulted in a mass uprising that lasted through the weekend. The NYC Police Department Morals Division entered the bar in the hopes of shutting it down. The transgendered people, gay men, lesbians and bisexuals that patronized the bar were tired of the frequent raids and resisted.

In 1969 New York, strict gender codes were enforeced that required people to wear clothes appropriate to their biological sex. Many people were harassed, arrested, brutalized, and often raped by police officers for transgressing these codes. That night, police presented the bar with a warrant charging that alcohol was being served illegally. They threatened to shut down the bar and arrest all of the patrons. Those not wearing the legal number (three) of "gender- appropriate" clothes would be doubly charged. Some say a "butch" lesbian resisted arrest, others say a young gay hustler, and some say a drag queen resisted arrrest and a fight ensued. Joined by the crowds outside, people started throwing coins and cobblestones at the police officers until a full-scale riot emerged. The paddy wagon that was to hold the arrested patrons was in danger of being tipped over and fled the scene. Legend has it that drag queens formed a chorus line mocking the officers. Shortly after a torch was thrown inside the bar, the police called for reinforcements.. The rioting continued through the entire night and following day.

There are many legendary reasons for why this night: the previous raids, the death of Judy Garland, the full moon, and the ever-popular Mars in retrograde. While all the facts of the STONEWALL REBELLION are disputed, this action coalesced a movement already forming. This action of power in the face of oppression left many feeling invigorated and liberated. It sparked many actions and sent a powerful message to the larger LGBT communities and to the oppressors.

This STONEWALL REBELLION has been commenorated in June since 1970 in differnt communities. Today, we cebrate PRIDE in June to honor the courage to resist and rebel in the face of oppression. Their are members of OUR COMMUNITY who regretted that we resorted to violent means. Today...we have non-violent marches, and demonstrations to react to our hopes for EQUAL CIVIL RIGHTS, Same-Sex Marriage, Partner-Spousal-Children Health, Adoption, Tax Benefits and various elections and legislation in the spirit of PRIDE. We honor those who demonstrated...and came 'out of the closet' in the begining...the STONEWALL REBELLION...the begining of OUR PRIDE!

HISTORY OF THE RAINBOW FLAG

Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist, designed the first Rainbow flag in 1978, He created the flag in response to a local activist's call for the need of a community symbol. Baker designed a flag with eight stripes: pink,red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. According to Baker, those colors represented, respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony and spirit. Baker dyed and sewed the material for the first flag himself, in the true spirit of Betsy Ross. Baker soon was approached San Francisco's Paramount Flag Company about mass producing and selling his "gay flag". Unfortunately, Baker had hand-dyed all the colors and since the color "hot pink" was not commericially available, mass production of his eight-stripe version became impossible. The flag was thus reduced to seven strips.

In November 1978, San Francisco's gay community was stunned when the city's first openly gay supervisor, Harvy Milk, was assasinated. Wishing to demonstrate the gay community's strength and solidarity in the aftermath of this tragedy, the 1979 SF Pride Parade Committee decided to use Baker's flag. The committee eliminated the indigo stripe so they could divide the colors evenly aong the parade route - three colors on one side of the street and three on the other. Soon the six colors were incorporated into a six striped version that became popularized, and that today is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers.