1966 Vanguard Sweep: Difference between revisions

(Created page with ''''<font face = arial light> <font color = maroon> <font size = 3>Unfinished History</font></font> </font>''' On a June night in 1966, a group of gay and transgendered youth gat...')
 
No edit summary
Line 10: Line 10:


The city was then a national destination for GLBT youth, many of them disowned by their families. Too young to find legitimate work, they banded together for safety in a neighborhood known for its low-rent apartments, cheap hamburger stands, and gay bars plagued by police raids. Many succumbed to drug abuse and violent deaths.
The city was then a national destination for GLBT youth, many of them disowned by their families. Too young to find legitimate work, they banded together for safety in a neighborhood known for its low-rent apartments, cheap hamburger stands, and gay bars plagued by police raids. Many succumbed to drug abuse and violent deaths.
<embed src="http://www.glbthistory.org/Vanguard/images vanguard/Vanguard CCH promo.mp3" width="375" height="32"></embed>


This particular night was different. Three years before New York City’s Stonewall riots, youth held signs demanding rights. With supportive clergy at their side, they chanted and marched on the street. TV and radio reporters recorded as they spoke out against discrimination. They called themselves Vanguard. They are now considered the first gay liberation organization in the country.  
This particular night was different. Three years before New York City’s Stonewall riots, youth held signs demanding rights. With supportive clergy at their side, they chanted and marched on the street. TV and radio reporters recorded as they spoke out against discrimination. They called themselves Vanguard. They are now considered the first gay liberation organization in the country.  

Revision as of 15:14, 4 August 2010

Unfinished History

On a June night in 1966, a group of gay and transgendered youth gathered on the streets of San Francisco’s low-income Tenderloin district.

Vanguard-sweepers-top.jpg

Tenderloin youth protest police sweeps with a tongue-in-cheek "street sweep" protest. 1966.

Photo: GLBT Historical Society

The city was then a national destination for GLBT youth, many of them disowned by their families. Too young to find legitimate work, they banded together for safety in a neighborhood known for its low-rent apartments, cheap hamburger stands, and gay bars plagued by police raids. Many succumbed to drug abuse and violent deaths.

<embed src="http://www.glbthistory.org/Vanguard/images vanguard/Vanguard CCH promo.mp3" width="375" height="32"></embed>


This particular night was different. Three years before New York City’s Stonewall riots, youth held signs demanding rights. With supportive clergy at their side, they chanted and marched on the street. TV and radio reporters recorded as they spoke out against discrimination. They called themselves Vanguard. They are now considered the first gay liberation organization in the country.

Vanguard-sweepers-bottom.jpg

Vanguard posing after the sweep, June 1966.

Photo: GLBT Historical Society

This material is adapted with permission from the GLBT History website.

Prev. Document Next Document