Most LGBTQ activists in the U.S. knew 2019 as the year marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City, which launched the gay rights movement. As it happens, 2019 was also the 50th anniversary of the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier (MSNF), Buffalo’s first gay rights organization.

Though much smaller than New York City, Buffalo is responsible for giving the world its first gay liberation anthem, building the third gay community center in the U.S., and including transgender activists at a moment when few gay rights organizations did. To celebrate these accomplishments, the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project hosted Gay Liberation NOW!, an event series aimed at educating the public about Buffalo’s hidden status as a trailblazer of gay rights activism.

Gay Liberation NOW! consisted of three events: 

Panel. With the aid of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo on Elmwood Avenue, the History Project hosted a panel featuring members Buffalo’s first two gay and lesbian rights organizations: the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier (MSFN) and Sisters of Sappho. The panel featured former Mattachine members Don Licht and Rodney Hensel, former Sisters of Sappho member Marge Maloney, former Gay Community Services Center manager Greg Bodekor, noted gay rights attorney William Gardner, and Madeline Davis, Buffalo’s internationally renowned activist, historian, and singer-songwriter. The panel reflected on the conditions under which the Mattachine was founded, its greatest achievements, conflict within the organization and with the world at large, and the unfinished work of LGBTQ rights activism.

Walking Tour. Part historic site tour, part peaceful march, the Gay Liberation NOW! walking tour took participants to the bars, community centers, and protest sites that built Buffalo’s gay rights movement. This tour is still performed for local audiences at regular intervals; if you or organization are interested in booking a Gay Liberation NOW! walking tour, please consult the Services page for more information.

Exhibit. On November 10, 2019, the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project unveiled our Gay Liberation NOW! exhibition at Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum North Hall, the crown achievement of the History Project’s yearlong series. Using a mixture of archival images, written narrative, and oral history audio, the Gay Liberation NOW! exhibit explains the social and political circumstances that led to Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier's (MSFN) founding, introduces audiences to the heroes of Buffalo’s gay liberation movement, outlines some of the reasons the organization disbanded, and explores MSNF’s lasting legacy in Buffalo and nationwide. Gay Liberation NOW! is now available as a traveling exhibit; for information on how to bring the exhibit to your community center, school, or place of business, please check the Services page.

The Gay Liberation NOW! event series was made possible by a grant from Humanities New York, and with the partnership of Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the Stonewall 50 Consortium.