Revisiting 1969 and the Start of Gay Liberation

CityRoom.blogs.NYTimes.com – By Sewell Chan

On Friday afternoon, officials from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and also to honor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.

The embrace of the gay rights movement by Wall Street — the title of the stock exchange event was “From Stonewall to Federal Hall” – was a striking example of how much things have changed for lesbians and gay men in four decades. The change is brought into relief in a monthlong exhibition, “1969: The Year of Gay Liberation,” that opened June 1 at the New York Public Library.