June 2024 marks the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It was not the first or last community action, born out of the long history of liberation movements including the Civil Rights, Labor, and Women’s Movements. So, on this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library recognized how close these movements are, the people we share, and how our missions overlap. This thought has led to making us all part of the Stonewall celebration and STONEWALL in STONEWALL, is a gift to the LGBTQ+ community as we celebrate this seminal moment taking us from the “closet”, to PRIDE, and from AIDS to marriage equality. On June 1, South Florida will be celebrating Stonewall Pride at the Stonewall National Museum Archives and Library. The community will celebrate and remember the historic Stonewall Riots of 1969 that started the LGBTQ+ human rights movement and shaped our community. Instead of going to New York City, you will find the Stonewall Inn here in Fort Lauderdale. The initiative will feature an exhibit recreating the bar as it was. Post June 2024, this exhibit will become a traveling show with a goal of visiting all 50 states over the next 10 years, when Stonewall turns 65. There is another way for you to become a part of this. If you would like your name or the name of a loved one to be placed somewhere in the exhibit, the museum is also accepting naming gifts. More information about the initiative can be found on the official website of Stonewall Museums.
