March 26, 2000 — Hilary Swank Wins Oscar for ‘Boys Don't Cry’
She thanks Brandon Teena during her acceptance speech. Teena's mother takes offense at Swank's use of the male name and reference to Teena as male: "That set me off. She should not stand up there and thank my child. I get tired of people taking credit for what they don't know."
March 27, 1951 — U.S. State Dept Fires Four Gays
The four are fired from the Hong Kong office. John Wayne Williams is fired for his involvement in a bribery plot, and the other three remain unidentified and were not involved in the plot. The department statement said: "In the course of investigation, it developed that there were homosexual aspects to this case. In addition to Williams, three other homosexual cases were uncovered in Hongkong [sic]. None of these three persons were found to be involved in the visa irregularities. After the department secured their confessions, they were discharged."
March 28, 1979 — Toronto Police Leaders Apologize for Anti-Gay Article
Toronto's police chief and the police association president both issue statements apologizing after an anti-gay article, "The Homosexual Fad," appears in the police association newsletter.
March 29, 2009 — First LGBTQ Bookstore Closed
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore in Greenwich Village shuts down due to financial troubles. It had opened in 1967.
March 30, 1958 — First Performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey was one of the most important modern dance choreographers of the century. He was a gay man who died of AIDS in 1989.
March 31, 1997 — Premiere of “Teletubbies”
The first teletubby is Tinky Winky. His purple color and triangle icon, in addition to his carrying a purse, are controversial throughout the run of the show, with some claiming he is a "gay role model." Jerry Falwell publically denounces Tinky Winky in 1999.
April 1, 1998 — Coretta Scott King Calls on Civil Rights Community to Fight Homophobia
The widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. says in Chicago: "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group."
April 2, 2013 — Uruguayan Senate Approves of Gay Marriage.
The 23-8 vote makes the South American country the fourteenth in the world to legalize marriage equality.
All of the information above has been reprinted with permission from Quist, an LGBT mobile history app that can be found on iOS and Android devices. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.quistapp.com/"www.Quistapp.com for more information. The app was created by Sarah Prager and launched in July of 2013.
