WILB QUARTO HQ 75 .0971 /, 1, .. i..;..i_I1;;; agreed o let \ speech at the ; . m.:»_‘«:.2f _ us publish the text of her CF _2._). .5 pre-parade" rally, delivered under a damp, gray, threatening sky. The rain held off, the parade stepped out on time, and the hecklers were few. The article below is a somewhat expanded version of her spoken remarks. I‘ 's year I want to talk about the origins of ourmovement. I was lucky enough to catch a documentary on the life of Harry Hay who founded the Mattachine Society in the 1950s. This was the first organization to advo- catei for and support homosexuals. It was open - to lesbians but they were never really drawn to the organization. Later Del Martin and Phyllis Lyons would start the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) specifically for lesbians. There was footage in this documentary of some of the very first demonstrations for homosexual rights. One of the marchers was Barbara Gittings, an early DOB member and fierce fighter for lesbian and gay rights. I mention Gittings because in 1973 when I had just come out, Gittings agreed to ‘come to Vermont and speak to the nascent group of lesbians who had formed themselves in to a lesbian rap group. She was my house- guest. I feel very lucky to have met one of the real pioneers of gay liberation. When Hay started Mattachine it was a secret society. Gay bars were raided regularly. Just being there meant being arrested and jailed. The censure was too strong and the penalties too high for most people to come out. Butwhen a Mattachine member was arrested, Harry Hay found a sympathetic lawyer who took the case and won it. Hay said they had -never before heard anyone refer to homosexu- als in a positive way as this lawyer did in argu- ing the case. It brought him to tears. That success brought a large influx of ‘ :,;p.,6 .$e_rni-ex-p___at,lNat‘,fi f, f S gmichaef jta,li