A first-of-its-kind exhibition centered on LGBT rights and the Constitution debuts this week at the National Constitution Center.
Just in time for Pride weekend and the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Annual Reminder Days, “Speaking Out for Equality: The Constitution, Gay Rights and the Supreme Court” opened June 5 and will run through Jan. 3.
The exhibit includes information on pivotal court cases, artifacts and personal stories, culled from William Way LGBT Community Center’s archives, to chronicle the debate over LGBT rights.
“It has been a huge honor to work with everyone at the Constitution Center,” William Way executive director Chris Bartlett said at an exhibit preview Wednesday. “Our goal has been to show the artifacts in our archives to as many people as possible. We thought there was no better way to do it than with the NCC, who has been a full and energetic partner throughout the entire process.”
The exhibit will be the centerpiece of a weeklong 50th-anniversary celebration of the first Annual Reminders, public demonstrations held every July 4 from 1965-69 in front of Independence Hall, among the first protests for LGBT equality in the nation. The Reminder Days are considered the precursor to the Stonewall Riot in New York City.
“William Way has a commitment to celebrating our history,” Bartlett said. “This exhibit finds the right balance between the seriousness of the subject matter and the lightness of the storytelling that allows it to be enjoyed by everyone.”
“Speaking Out” is a collaborative effort between the NCC and the William Way LGBT Community Center, which began about two years ago.
NCC Chief Operating Officer Vince Stango was among those responsible for taking the idea from concept to execution.
“Along with my colleagues, our CEO and the exhibition team, we chose the title, marketing plan and have been involved at every level of production,” Stango said. “From the standpoint of the NCC, I also worked to incorporate the constitutional lens into the original concept.”
Stango said “Speaking Out” did not present any obstacles that were different from other exhibitions they produce, but noted it is always challenging to tell a constitutional story, rather than a political one.
“It was fun, exciting and challenging to work with [William Way executive director] Chris [Bartlett] and his team to take an exhibit that began solely focused on the demonstrations in ’65 and weave in the courts and what the Constitution had to say about it,” Stango said.
Exhibition highlights include a section showing how gay men and women were once considered mentally ill, another that depicts how the media has portrayed the LGBT community over the years and videos containing original footage of the Annual Reminder demonstrations.
“I hope that visitors understand that over the past 50 years, from 1965 to today, there has been a conversation happening — sometimes civil, sometimes not,” Stango said. “But that the Constitution has been a guidepost for how we navigate this conversation.”
The exhibition is particularly timely given the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges later this month, in which a landmark ruling in favor of marriage equality is expected.
“We had no idea two years ago that the exhibit would open within weeks of such a monumental decision,” Stango said. “But I hope that this multi-layered exhibit can help explain why the Supreme Court thinks the way it does to a diverse audience — gay and straight alike.”
The 50th-anniversary celebration will take place July 2-5.
For more information about the exhibit, visit www.constitutioncenter.org.