Frank Kameny, Gay Rights Pioneer, Is Honored By LGBT Community At Public Viewing (PHOTOS)

LGBT activist Dr. Franklin E. Kameny was honored on Thursday with a public viewing at the Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C.

Kameny, who was 86 when he died on October 11, became a pioneer in the LGBT movement when, after being fired from his government job in 1957 for being gay, he took his case before the Supreme Court in 1961. In 1965 he helped organize the first gay rights march in front of the White House.

The Advocate reports that City Council members David Catania and Jim Graham as well as Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo served as pallbearers. D.C. mayor Vincent Gray was present and spoke about Kameny's inspirational life.

The Washington Post reports that the National Museum of American History is has opened a special exhibit of "three of the most resonant picket signs" from Kameny in his honor. The exhibit will be on view through January.

The Washington Blade notes that the National Park Service announced on Wednesday that Kameny's residence is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a place, according to an agency statement, that "served as a meeting place, archives, informal counseling center, headquarters of the Mattachine Society, and a safe haven for visiting gay and lesbian activists."

Below, see a slideshow of photos from yesterday's farewell viewing, provided by photographer Robert Dodge:

Comments

[Ronald Scheraga]

05:29 AM on 11/07/2011

I'm sorry. I should have added something.
It is impossible for us to know, to feel, what it meant to be an adult gay man in a world where you were surrounded by hatred and disgust for what you were. And what was worse, the hatred and disgust were taken as a given, not even recognized for the intolerance it was.
It is impossible for us to know, to feel, what courage and tenacity of belief Mr.Kameny held in his fiber, his essence, that placed him as such a leader
And the reason it is impossible is because Mr. Kameny made it impossible.
So we still struggle, but struggle with backbone and teeth and voice and feet and votes.
Because Mr. Kameny has made it possible for us to do so.
Thank you Mr. Kameny.

[StormCarRain]

05:48 AM on 11/16/2011

Yet straight people are also surrounded by hate and disgust and they too die and they too do not get honored. Straights struggle everyday too. Congratulations we are equal.

[Ronald Scheraga]

04:56 AM on 11/07/2011

Michelle Bachmann, EAT YOUR HEART OUT! If your soul were a tenth of the purity of Mr. Kameny's, you might know what it is to be a true American.

[jerry23]

09:54 PM on 11/05/2011

What an example of Courage! My life is better because he took risk and shined a light when the world was a much darker place.

RIP

[Lee Yarbrough]

12:27 PM on 11/04/2011

This is a man that deserves to be honored. He knew how to get things done. He was not a hater or foul. He stood up for what he believed. Used the courts and speaking to the powers to be to see that all could be treated equal. He knew sitting in parks did nothing. He took the right kind of actions. RIP Mr. Kameny. Hopefully many more will follow your lead and learn now to get things done.

[HoosierInMaryland]

12:11 AM on 11/05/2011

"He knew sitting in parks did nothing."

Incorrect. Frank Kameny knew that different situations require different actions to rectify the situation. The one common theme for Dr. Kameny was non-violence, in the tradition and examples of the Mahatma (Ghandi) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Valksy]

11:44 AM on 11/04/2011

Tremendous respect for Mr Kameny, he was truly in the vanguard and had courage. Shame that he could not live to see the end of discrimination in the USA and that, in some states, LGBT people can still be fired for no reason other than they are gay. ENDA must pass.

[lacrosselamore]

11:38 AM on 11/04/2011

It is right to honor this brave man. Respect, Mr Kameny, Rest in Peace.