Reclaiming Stonewall

Anniversaries are occasions for remembrance, even pride and celebration, but they should also be moments of reckoning, which offer us the opportunity to reflect critically on where we come from, where we are, and where we go from here. 

To help us reckon with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, The Nation invited a remarkable group of LGBTQ activists, artists, and academics to reflect on its many legacies. Ranging in age from 23 to 88 years old, the participants in “Reclaiming Stonewall” represent the stunning diversity of our community across generations. Combining the personal and the political, this collection of living queer histories is something of an archive of our moment, when many of us are grappling with what might be called the paradox of progress: the coexistence of important changes—in courtrooms and legislatures, hearts and minds—with seemingly intractable challenges.

As we reckon with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, let us heed all these voices and ask, “What still needs to be done?” If the legacy and inheritance of Stonewall mean anything, it’s that our fight is far from over and that our collective struggle for liberation—for everyone—must continue.
—Timothy Patrick McCarthy

Reclaiming Stonewall: Welcome to the Celebration—and the Struggle

Reclaiming Stonewall: Welcome to the Celebration—and the Struggle Reclaiming Stonewall: Welcome to the Celebration—and the Struggle

As we reckon with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, it is essential that we ask, “What still needs to be done?”

Jun 25, 2019 / Feature / Timothy Patrick McCarthy

In Praise of Identity Politics and the Long History of Desire

In Praise of Identity Politics and the Long History of Desire In Praise of Identity Politics and the Long History of Desire

Fifty years after Stonewall, the much maligned politics of identity remains our best means to exert power collectively—and a starting point to freedom.

Jun 21, 2019 / John Scagliotti

Kenya LGBT

How the US Shapes Queer Activism in Liberia How the US Shapes Queer Activism in Liberia

Outsiders have both helped and harmed Liberia’s LGBT community.

Jun 21, 2019 / Robbie Corey-Boulet

A Socialism of the Skin

A Socialism of the Skin A Socialism of the Skin

Our suffering teaches us solidarity; or it should.

Jul 4, 1994 / Tony Kushner

x