3, 1970, the American-Statesman was publishing reports about the debates between Gay Liberation organizers and UT leaders. Sometime in the fall, they kicked us off campus.”īy Dec. Then in the summer of '69, Stonewall happened, and in 1970, we met at Sutton Hall at the University of Texas. “From that grew a sort of co-op or commune. “Gay Liberation really started in 1969 with a group of friends in an old house at 105 Neches St.,” longtime Austinite and author Dennis Paddie told Grace McEvoy in a 2012 videotaped interview available on the Austin History Center’s YouTube page.
In a city accustomed to political organizing and protest rallies, a group called the Gay Liberation Front, seen by some of its founders as a constituent of the larger anti-war, pro-civil rights movements, started gathering on the University of Texas campus less than a year after Stonewall. As early as February 1970, the Austin underground newspaper the Rag called for “Pink Power!” In April 1970, the first publicly promoted meeting of gay Austinites drew 25 brave souls. Yet Austin’s relatively small LGBTQ community was quick to organize. Many media outlets across the country did not at first report on what happened at Stonewall. The uprising changed the power dynamics in the struggle for LGBTQ rights, which, despite some prominent protests in Washington, D.C., and militant actions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, for the most part had been confined to quiet pushes for incremental changes.ĭuring those two nights 50 years ago, a modern movement was born. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera among the vanguard, continued on and off for two nights. The street riots, with transgender women of color like Marsha P. And Barbarella, which is like an 80s club: it’s always playing 80s music and is a great place to have fun.In the early hours of a torrid June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a scruffy LGBTQ bar in Greenwich Village.Īlthough such raids were routine in New York City and across the country, this time the bar’s clients and onlookers fought back. There’s also Sidebar, which is a great dive bar with great pours. I just love the atmosphere it’s very relaxed and I think kind of embodies what I like about Austin. It’s my favorite place to get drinks in the entire world. Highland is another gay club, not technically on 4th, but right around the corner.Īs for specific bars, I would recommend Spiderhouse Cafe/Lounge. I live on Rainey St.)Ĥth street is where Rain and OCH (Oilcan Harry’s) are, which are two prominent gay clubs (I used to go to Rain a lot as an undergrad). I think the best way of comparing Rainey to 6th is to say 6th Street is where he UT undergrads go, and Rainey St. is more of a low-key, “dignified” (I guess) street of bars. It’s always popping during the weekend (and the weekend starts Thursday). Rainey Street and 6th Street are your go-to bar streets.Ħth Street is more of a “college bar” place.