A Young Perspective on the White House Reception for the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots
(reprinted from http://blog.nyacyouth.org/2009/06/young-perspective-on-white-house.html)

This blog is written by Jennie Beeson and Ruby Dunning

On Monday, we had the opportunity to go to the White House for the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall Reception with NYAC and our Executive Director, Greg Varnum. To be able to stand in a room with so many important leaders and activists of the LGBTQ community to honor the Stonewall riots felt wonderful and exhilarating. The President of the United States was extending out his hospitality to our community to tell us that he supports us and applauds our progress in this movement. When Obama said, "Welcome to your White House," it felt exciting, a little unreal, and, maybe, a bit for show.

It was a truly amazing experience to be surrounded by so many incredible, influential people from the LGBTQ movement. Especially meeting Frank Kameny – a leader and inspiration from the beginnings of the “Homophile Movement” and the Mattachine Society. The founders of this gay rights group were so terrified at their first meeting of the Mattachine Society that they locked and bolted the door, put a pillow over the telephone in case of wire taps and, even left in shifts so as not to raise suspicion. On that winter night in the early 1950s, it was illegal to be a “homosexual” and this past Monday the White House held a reception for LGBT citizens and activists. It is a startling thing what change can come with half a century of hard work, but it’s still not enough.

When we look back to those humble beginnings of the Homophile movement and then to those summer nights of riots at the Stonewall Inn, it is hard to believe how hard it must have been. When a group of fed-up citizens became unlikely heroes to be shaken and bruised by the AIDS epidemic while an American president would not acknowledge the terrible crisis – we know that we have come a long way. With all there has been to overcome, we are not out of the water yet, not by a long ways.

While a reception at the White House is fabulous, and definitely not an event the queer community would have been invited to over the past 50 years, or, even, 8 years, the struggle unfolds out for years ahead of us. As youth who were born amidst the fight for equal LGBTQ rights, at least we can point to the different battles that have been won for the queer community.

And still, this young queer generation is also able to point to extreme instances of hate and discrimination in our own lifetimes. Unfortunately, the day before this White House Reception to honor the Stonewall raids, a gay bar in Ft. Worth, Texas was raided by the police, people were arrested, and folks were injured. It is great to get recognition from Obama’s Administration, but it would be even better if this White House reception was the catalyst for some real change. Of course, this road is not something that Obama can give us in signing a law or an executive order, equity and safety are concepts that we will have to wage for ourselves step by step.

Obama did not make any grand announcements but he did call to us to hold him accountable and to continue to demand the rights we deserve. He told us not to judge him by his words but by his accomplishments as a president, and we shall do just that. In the meantime, we will continue to look back in time and find inspiration in the heroes of the fights of yester-years.

So, now that we have some one in the White House telling us that he wants to support us, let’s get our job done and not wait on some one else to do it for us.

The National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC) is a national social justice organization working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people to strengthen the role of young people in the LGBTQ rights movement. Celebrating its 16th anniversary, NYAC’s full-time professional staff supports local, state and national organizations working to engage LGBTQ youth. NYAC is committed to representing the voices of young people–the largest living generation–within the broader LGBTQ and social justice movements. Through capacity building, advocacy and youth engagement, NYAC is building a generation of impact. For more information visit www.nyacyouth.org