On July 4, 1965, 7 women and 33 men picketed in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.  On the very spot where Americans first asserted their rights and liberties, this small group of activists demanded equality for gays and lesbians. From these humble beginnings would emerge the Annual Reminder picket, one of the first organized gay rights demonstrations in the country.

Join HSP during Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) to explore the Reminder Day picket and its influence on future generations of LGBT Americans as they fight for equality.

Bob Skiba, archivist at the John J. Wilcox Jr. LGBT Archives, will discuss Reminder Day and the early Homophile movement with playwright Ain Gordon and the audience. Joining the conversation will be Ada Bello, a founding member of the Daughters Of Bilitis Philadelphia Chapter and the Homophile Action League.

When we look back, we cannot know ALL that happened. The historical record is rarely, if ever, complete. When we present history, we fill in the gaps, create the voices that spoke, the characters that lived. Are we creating fiction?  Have we made history un-true?  Or have we created a more layered truth greater than mere fact? Obie award-winning playwright Ain Gordon and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will explore the intersections of history and fiction, fact and truth, as part of a new two-year project, An Artist Embedded.