Equal Time

by Deesha Dyer

festival

If you take a stroll in the gayborhood and ask where the hottest bar is, you'll get a few answers. If you ask where the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement began, you might get a shrug of the shoulders and a quick, "I don't know."

But that's the question of the week for the LGBT community as Equality Forum 2005 kicks off. The event acknowledges the 40th anniversary of a demonstration in front of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in 1965, making Philadelphia the founding city of the LGBT civil rights movement. Currently, the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York are credited as the first incident demanding equal rights for LGBTs. (For more on Equality Forum and the history of the fight for GLBT rights in Philly, see the news story on p. 13.)

Known as PrideFest Philadelphia for its first 10 years of existence, Equality Forum is a weeklong celebration with fabulous parties, informative programs and special events that promotes understanding of the impact of homophobia on individuals, families and society, and of course, advancing LGBT equality. The programming of the first three days is diverse and packed with big names (all events are free and take place at the Prince Music Theater). Alexander Robinson, strategic director of the National Black Justice Coalition, will lead a discussion called "Race Matters," about African-Americans and the balance between sexual orientation and race (Mon., April 25, 8:30 p.m., free). On Tuesday, Mara Keisling of the National Center for Transgender Equality hosts a forum on gender identity (7 p.m., free), while academics debate the presence of gays and lesbians in American history (Abraham Lincoln? James Buchanan? Eleanor Roosevelt?) in a panel called "Invisibility: Gay Icons in U.S. History" (8:30 p.m., free). Wednesday's programs include a discussion on the LGBT community and religion (7 p.m., with Rea Carey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) and a panel on media perception of homosexuality (8:30 p.m., free, with Gail Shister of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bruce Steele of The Advocate and others).

Equality Forum is proof of how far the LGBT movement has come and a reminder of how far it has yet to go.

Equality Forum, April 25-May 1. For more information, visit www.equalityforum.com or call 215-732-3378.