In the sweltering, early morning hours of June 28, 1969, New York City Police raided the Stonewall Inn. This was not a singular occurrence nor were raids limited to the Stonewall Inn, but this night, the Stonewall patrons rose up and fought back. The police came to enforce laws against “lewd behavior” like serving alcohol to gays, members of the same sex dancing together, or individuals wearing clothing of the opposite gender. This time the police pushed things too far. Police hit an unidentified female over the head while being loaded into the police transport. She cried out, and the crowd responded with six nights of demonstrations and clashes with law enforcement. The Stonewall Uprising was the catalyst for the Gay Right Movement in the United States.
After 50 years, we acknowledge many great successes for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT+) community. However, our march for equality continues!
In celebration of LGBT+ Pride Month, FAA GLOBE will host “Stonewall at 50 – The March Continues,” on June 26, 2019, in the Quesada Auditorium (FOB 10A, 3rd Floor) from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (EDT). All are welcome to attend. The event will look at the FAA’s LGBT+ community with Acting Assistant Administrator Courtney Wilkerson and our keynote speaker, Vicki Malesza. Vicki recently retired and is FAA GLOBE’s immediate past-president. She will recount her story of being a member of the LGBT+ community during her career at the FAA.
Those unable to attend “Stonewall at 50 – The March Continues” in person can watch a live broadcast using the provided link, https://faa.rev.vbrick.com/#/webcasts/faa-globe-lgbt. If you are teleworking, disconnect from PulseSecure, copy and paste this link into your Chrome browser (Internet Explorer will not work), and you can log back into PulseSecure once the stream is running.
FAA GLOBE is the Federal Aviation Administration’s officially recognized LGBT+ Employee Association whose purpose and goal is to bring about a workplace that is free of prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity through education and awareness of issues affecting LGBT+ employees. We are a professional organization acting as an advocate for equitable representation and opportunities in employment, development, and leadership.
