Last updated: August 27, 2019
Article
Gay Activist Alliance Firehouse: A "School for Democracy"
Within weeks of the Stonewall Rebellion, activists formed the first political group to arise out of the recent riots, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). (See the article about Washington Square for more on the formation of GLF.) However, GLF members quickly divided over strategy. Some wanted to form alliances with other non-gay radical groups like the Black Panthers. Others wanted to focus exclusively on gay issues.
The latter spllt from GLF to form a group of their own, the Gay Activist Alliance (GAA). Arthur Evans, one of the founders of the organization, called GAA “a school for democracy.”1
GAA chose the lower case Greek letter lambda as its symbol. In chemistry, the symbol represents a catalyst. According to some, the lower case lambda was chosen by GAA to symbolize a complete exchange of energy. However, others say designer Tom Doerr chose the Greek letter because it was pretty.2 The lambda is still used by some LGBTQ rights organizations as a symbol for gay issues, including the Lambda Legal Defense Fund.
In 1971, GAA leased a former firehouse at 99 Wooster Street as its headquarters. Here they planned sit-ins, picket lines and “zaps.”3 A zap might be described as using performance art as a form of political protest.
Here was one example: As Mayor John Vliet Lindsay spoke at the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marty Robinson approached the mayor and spoke into his microphone, “When are you going to speak out on homosexual rights, Mr. Mayor?” Policemen took Robinson away, but others from GAA got into the line to shake the mayor’s hand. Each tried to give Lindsay a flyer and asked why he remained silent on gay rights. Six days later, GAA members made up a third of the audience for the mayor’s weekly TV program on WNEW to call out questions like, “Are you in favor of the repeal of the sodomy laws?”4
The GAA’s most popular events were Saturday night dances. The fact that gays and lesbians (but mostly gay men) could go safely to an openly gay location was an achievement in itself. The dances also gave gay people a place to go besides gay bars, many of which were still illegally run by organized crime in New York City. The dances also gave GAA an important source of income.5
GAA also sponsored “Firehouse Flicks,” a movie night organized by film buff and activist Vito Russo, later known as the author of The Celluloid Closet.6 In the days before VHS tapes, DVDs or streaming video, the only way to watch old movies was usually on late night television. Firehouse Flicks offered gay people a place to enjoy Busby Berkeley musicals and other gay movie favorities while socializing with others.
Like GLF, GAA could not contain its own internal contradictions. Two splits occurred in 1973. First, several women left the organzation, founding Lesbian Feminist Liberation. Later othat year, members parted over strategy, with those preferring street activism staying in GAA and others leaving to form a new organization, the National Gay Task Force (now the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), which favored more traditional political approaches over "zaps."7
Sadly, an arsonist set fire to the structure in 1974, ending its use by GAA. The crime was never solved.8 In 1981, GAA disbanded.
Footnotes
1 Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, St. Martin's, 2004, p. 251.
2 Clendinen, Dudley and Adam Nagourney, Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America, Sion & Schuster, p. 56.
3 NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, "Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse," accessed August 26, 2019.
4 Carter, op. cit., p. 243-244.
5 GLBTQ Archive, "Gay Activists Alliance," 2015, accessed August 26, 2019.
6 3 NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, "Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse," accessed August 26, 2019.
7 GLBTQ Archive, "Gay Activists Alliance," 2015, accessed August 26, 2019.
8 Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, "Gay Activist Alliance Headquarters Bombed," accessed August 26, 2019.
The latter spllt from GLF to form a group of their own, the Gay Activist Alliance (GAA). Arthur Evans, one of the founders of the organization, called GAA “a school for democracy.”1
GAA chose the lower case Greek letter lambda as its symbol. In chemistry, the symbol represents a catalyst. According to some, the lower case lambda was chosen by GAA to symbolize a complete exchange of energy. However, others say designer Tom Doerr chose the Greek letter because it was pretty.2 The lambda is still used by some LGBTQ rights organizations as a symbol for gay issues, including the Lambda Legal Defense Fund.
In 1971, GAA leased a former firehouse at 99 Wooster Street as its headquarters. Here they planned sit-ins, picket lines and “zaps.”3 A zap might be described as using performance art as a form of political protest.
Here was one example: As Mayor John Vliet Lindsay spoke at the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marty Robinson approached the mayor and spoke into his microphone, “When are you going to speak out on homosexual rights, Mr. Mayor?” Policemen took Robinson away, but others from GAA got into the line to shake the mayor’s hand. Each tried to give Lindsay a flyer and asked why he remained silent on gay rights. Six days later, GAA members made up a third of the audience for the mayor’s weekly TV program on WNEW to call out questions like, “Are you in favor of the repeal of the sodomy laws?”4
The GAA’s most popular events were Saturday night dances. The fact that gays and lesbians (but mostly gay men) could go safely to an openly gay location was an achievement in itself. The dances also gave gay people a place to go besides gay bars, many of which were still illegally run by organized crime in New York City. The dances also gave GAA an important source of income.5
GAA also sponsored “Firehouse Flicks,” a movie night organized by film buff and activist Vito Russo, later known as the author of The Celluloid Closet.6 In the days before VHS tapes, DVDs or streaming video, the only way to watch old movies was usually on late night television. Firehouse Flicks offered gay people a place to enjoy Busby Berkeley musicals and other gay movie favorities while socializing with others.
Like GLF, GAA could not contain its own internal contradictions. Two splits occurred in 1973. First, several women left the organzation, founding Lesbian Feminist Liberation. Later othat year, members parted over strategy, with those preferring street activism staying in GAA and others leaving to form a new organization, the National Gay Task Force (now the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force), which favored more traditional political approaches over "zaps."7
Sadly, an arsonist set fire to the structure in 1974, ending its use by GAA. The crime was never solved.8 In 1981, GAA disbanded.
Footnotes
1 Carter, David. Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, St. Martin's, 2004, p. 251.
2 Clendinen, Dudley and Adam Nagourney, Out for Good: The Struggle to Build a Gay Rights Movement in America, Sion & Schuster, p. 56.
3 NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, "Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse," accessed August 26, 2019.
4 Carter, op. cit., p. 243-244.
5 GLBTQ Archive, "Gay Activists Alliance," 2015, accessed August 26, 2019.
6 3 NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, "Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse," accessed August 26, 2019.
7 GLBTQ Archive, "Gay Activists Alliance," 2015, accessed August 26, 2019.
8 Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, "Gay Activist Alliance Headquarters Bombed," accessed August 26, 2019.