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LGBT community members and allies are invited to gather Saturday, March 21 at the Resource Center of Dallas, 2701 Reagan St., to participate in organizing "Remembering Stonewall," the Dallas LGBT rights march planned for Sunday, June 28.
Organizers said that any group that would like to participate is invited to send a representative to the meeting, being held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Resource Center of Dallas, Blue and Yellow Room.
They said Dallas is one of 50 locations across the country designated to hold official "Million Gay March" events as part of a grassroots equality network movement started through the Web site www.milliongaymarch.org.
The events are being held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that happened in New York on June 28, 1969. The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of that day at the Stonewall Inn, a bar in Greenwich Village, most of whose customers were drag queens, transgenders and "butch" lesbians.
The Stonewall Riots are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when LGBT people fought back against oppression in the U.S., and are widely accepted as the defining event that marked the start of the modern gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
United Community Against Gay Hate is one of the organizations planning and hosting the Dallas march in June.
"We are looking for volunteers from every LGBT organization that wants to participate and help facilitate this huge event," said Michael Robinson, UCAGH founder. He said organizations from outside of Dallas that want to participate can e-mail ucaghc@yahoo.com.
"We are looking for an event committee member and sub-committee members to organize the event. If you have experience in doing something like this please contact us," Robinson said.
Tisha McDaniel said the march in Dallas will be a chance for the Dallas LGBT community to be a part of history.
"This is a great opportunity for the DFW LGBT community to show the state of Texas that we’re here, we’re active and we’re still fighting," McDaniel said. "I hope ‘Remembering Stonewall’ will encourage people to become more active in issues affecting in the LGBT community."
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 20, 2009.