In June 1971, members of DC's Gay Liberation Front (GLF) went up to New York City for the second annual Christopher Street Liberation Day (CSLD, later called Gay Pride) a celebration of the precedent-shattering "Stonewall Riots" of 1969. As in the first celebration a year earlier, it was an event of ebullient self-affirmation. In the CSLD parade, a photographer (reportedly David Aiken, a member of GLF and its 1600 block S St. collectives at 1620 and 1624) snapped a photo that has enjoyed wide circulation since the early 70s.
David Aiken (1945-1986) came to DC in 1968 as a journalist for the Chicago Sun-Times. He was a co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front-DC, lived in the GLF House (1620 S St.), and was also a founder of the Stonewall Nation Media Collective which created the Friends Radio program from 1973 to 1982. Aiken was one of the principal broadcasters for the program. He wrote for the Advocate, reporting for it on local issues. He was briefly president of the Washington Area Gay Community Council and edited the area's first gay guide, Just Us, in 1974. He was also actively involved in Black and White Men Together - DC until his death in 1986. Aiken's photos, clipping files, and drafts of his articles were preserved by Bruce Pennington who presented them to Rainbow History. The original photo was found in the Aiken papers.
The photo shows five gay men doing a chorus girl kick in front of Radio City Music Hall. They look like they are having the time of their lives. From left to right they are Jim Lawrence, Paul Bartels (aka Moonbeam), Bruce Pennington (aka Aurora Borealis), Mike Yarr, and Theodore Kirkland.The Original Photo
(image copyright Rainbow History Project)
In 1972, the photo became the cover art for the gay men's liberation issue of Methodist magazine MOTIVE's last issue.
In May 1972, the same photo was cropped to the three central figures and became poster art for Washington, DC's first Gay Pride celebration.
(image copyright Rainbow History Project)
In 2005, the section of the photo depicting Paul Bartels became stylized poster and flyer art for announcing Washington, DC's first public exhibit of GLBTQ history: PRIDE - Party or Protest?
