As the country and world get ready to celebrate WorldPride in Washington, DC this summer, more details about the big event are coming out every week. Recently, Rainbow History Project announced their featured exhibition entitled “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington.”
Rainbow History Project (RHP) is a non-profit volunteer-led group which has been recording LGBTQ+ history in D.C. for more than two decades. Their WorldPride exhibition will be on display between May 27 and July 6 in Freedom Plaza.
Spokesperson for the organization, Emma Cieslik said the multi-display exhibition would be open 24/7 under any weather conditions, and even illuminated for night-time viewing. Plus the exhibition will see increased security measures.
A statement from RHP reads “the exhibition disrupts the popularly held belief that the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement began with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 in New York.” The display moves its timeline back about four years to 1965, when D.C. residents picketed for gay rights in front of the White House, a protest organized by Mattachine Society of Washington.
“From 1965 to the present day, the exhibition divides D.C.’s LGBTQ+ history into 10 eras that are explored in a visual timeline wall along Pennsylvania Avenue.” Archival photos of pickets, protests and parades, along with community pioneers will be displayed throughout. RHP will also stage a re-enactment of the 1965 White House picket on its 60th anniversary – April 17 at 4:15 p.m.
According to RHP, this exhibition is a culmination of 25 years of work, and will be the largest in the organization’s history. Despite this, Washington Blade reports the historic exhibition could still be blocked. Cieslik said the permit for use of Freedom Plaza is still in the final stages of approval.
Ryan Bos, executive director of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance, said the permit application process is overseen by the U.S. Park Service and was moving forward as planned, however the Trump Administration has mandated the Park Service to remove mentions of trans and other LGBTQ+ people from federal webistes.
Many people are remaining positive, predicting that the permit will be approved allowing RHP to construct their exhibition among other WorldPride displays this summer.
