Community Building.
Beginning with the exhilarating sense of liberation following the June 1969 Stonewall ‘Riots’, and the support of non-gay community organizations encouraged gay men and lesbians did not   simply “come out of the closet, into the street” but they built a community capable of playing an active part in all aspects of Washington, DC’s life.  Gay and lesbian veterans of the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s were also experienced in the counterculture’s creation of ‘alternative’ social structures and institutions.  As it became clear that existing social organizations in the wider community were not attuned to the needs of gay men and lesbians or particularly welcoming, LGBTQ pioneers organized.

New organizations needed to make themselves known and needed places to meet.  The creation of The Gay Blade in October 1969 provided an essential communications medium for announcing new organizations and for recruiting new participants.  In the Dupont Circle area, local collectives such as the Gay Liberation House at 1620 S Street NW and the Community Building at 1724 20th Street NW provided space.  Deacon Maccubbin, whose Earthworks shop and later Lambda Rising bookstore were located in the Community Building, saw to it that fledgling groups found meeting space in the building.  On Capitol Hill, the city’s first LGBTQ bookstore, Lammas, offered space for meetings and social events.  The Gay Activist Alliance/DC’s community center (1972 -1973) on 13th St.. NW was conceived as a meeting and social space for the community.

One consequence of the Mattachine Society of Washington’s outreach to local clergy in the 1960s was the willingness of churches and synagogues to support new gay and lesbian community groups.  Among local Episcopal and Unitarian congregations Grace Episcopal (“Amazing Grace”), St.. Margaret’s, St.. Mark’s, and All Souls hosted gay and lesbian organizations’ meetings.  First Congregational provided a home for the newly formed gay congregation from the early 1970s.  The Friends Meeting provided space for lesbian and feminist groups, including Rising Women’s coffeehouse.

Though some local universities resisted (among them Howard University and Georgetown University) others sanctioned gay student organizations which gave community groups access not just to meeting space but to large auditoriums and halls for social events.  American University provided not just a meeting space but a place for gay activists coming to DC to stay.  George Washington University’s Gay People’s Alliance secured use of the Marvin Center for dances and the popular Showstoppers revue.  At the University of Maryland, the Gay Students Alliance found space for a weekly coffeehouse.

Community Pioneers.
None of this tremendous surge of community building would have been possible without the energy and vision of a remarkable population of men and women dedicated to creating the particular institutions for which we remember them.  Some are original creators.  Others revitalized or invigorated already existing organizations.  Some created the social, economic, and political conditions that enabled others to succeed.

When we pause to admire the flourishing contemporary gay community in Washington, DC, it is important to remember how much work went into creating it.  In recognizing the Community Pioneers, Rainbow History honors their commitment, creativity, and hard work and reminds the entire Washington community of those efforts.  Rainbow History also honors them as role models for the contemporary community.

Many of Washington, DC’s LGBTQ Community Pioneers have passed away.  Others have moved away.  In future years, Rainbow History will add their stories to the list of Community Pioneers.

We invite you to meet and honor our Community Pioneers.  Without them, we wouldn’t have a community offering, as Just Us stated in 1975,  “a fuller gay life.”
 

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