Martha Shelley Talks About Gay Activism Before Stonewall

“Throwing bottles or bricks or whatever at a few cops, getting arrested, going home. That doesn't change the world. What changes the world is organizing.”

Martha Shelley is one of those names that continuously pops up in books about the early days of gay activism in the U.S.

She got her start in the 1960s in the Daughters of Bilitis, the country’s first lesbian civil and political rights organization. Then after Stonewall, Martha met with the Mattachine Society and convinced them to co-host a protest march in order to build on the momentum from the uprising. One year later, they did another march, The Christopher Street Liberation Day March. This has since become an annual event and transformed into what we know today as Pride.

“Throwing bottles or bricks or whatever at a few cops, getting arrested, going home. That doesn't change the world. What changes the world is organizing.”

I got to speak with Martha recently when she was in NYC promoting her new memoir, We Set The Night On Fire: Igniting the Gay Revolution.

This is one of my favorite interviews that I’ve done. I hope you’ll listen.

And as always, if you enjoy this interview. Please help us out by spreading the word to your friends and/or anyone in your life who you think will also like it. Doing things like that really are some of the biggest ways to help our show continue to grow.

Thanks for listening.

Much love,
Jeffrey
@jeffmasters1

LGBTQ&A is a reader-supported publication and podcast. To support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Click here to learn more.