‘Witness: 50 Years of Change for Law Enforcement and the LGBTQ Community’ on Thursday, June 13
WASHINGTON —The National Law Enforcement Museum at the Motorola Solutions Foundation Building will host a panel discussion marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on Thursday, June 13, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm in the Museum’s Verizon Theater.
This engaging panel discussion is the latest in the Museum’s on-going Witness program, featuring first-person accounts of historic events by people who were actually on the scene as the events unfolded.
On June 28, 1969, members of New York’s LGBTQ community led a series of street demonstrations in response to a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. These riots were a pivotal moment in the gay political movement. One year later, the first Gay Pride marches took place to mark the one-year anniversary of the riots.
In an engaging panel discussion, the Museum will explore how events surrounding the Stonewall Riots have impacted and shaped the relationship between law enforcement and the LGBTQ community over the last 50 years.
“We are extremely proud and excited to be able to bring this panel discussion to the Museum during Pride Month,” said Lori Sharpe Day, Interim National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund CEO. “Programs like Witness give us the opportunity to take an in-depth look at historic events with people who were there to see them happen as well as evaluate their impact and relevance on the relationships law enforcement has with the community today.”
Moderated by NBC4 news anchor Jim Handly, panelists for this Witness discussion include David Carter, author of Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution, Lt. Brett Parson of the Metropolitan (DC) Police Department’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Liaison Unit, and Lucian Truscott IV, a journalist, novelist and screenwriter who was present for the 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn. Mr. Truscott also wrote an article for The Village Voice and became a staff writer there.
The 57,000-square-foot National Law Enforcement Museum at the Motorola Solutions Foundation Building was authorized by Congress in 2000. Located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and just steps from the National Mall and some of our country’s most noted landmarks, the Museum contains more than 20,000 objects and artifacts of which 800 are on display daily. Utilizing its more than 100 interactive elements the Museum gives visitors a “walk in the shoes” experience of all branches of American law enforcement. Educational journeys, immersive exhibitions, and insightful programs strive to strengthen the relationship between American law enforcement agencies and the diverse communities they serve. The Museum is an initiative of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a [501(c)(3)] organization established in 1984. For more information about the National Law Enforcement Museum, visit LawEnforcementMuseum.org.