The Stonewall National Museum, Archives, & Library (SNMAL) in Fort Lauderdale serves as a unique archive with its Stonewall Library. Now, the organization’s traveling exhibit “The Stonewall Uprising: The Start of a Movement” is on view ahead of Key West Pride celebrations.
The 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, marked a period when marches and activist organizations gained momentum for the LGBTQ movement.
Occupying half of the Bumpus Gallery at the Key West Museum of Art & History is an enclosed space assembled to evoke the feeling of the Stonewall Inn.
Inside the small area is a Seeburg SQS Quadraphonic First Edition jukebox, complete with listings for popular tracks of the time that are piped into the gallery. Tables and chairs face a televised recording that attempts to transform the space into a bar top area, while a cigarette vending machine and chalkboards with offerings of the day sit nearby.
The Executive Director at SNMAL, Robert Kesten, explained that this mobile exhibit was first assembled for the 55th anniversary of Stonewall. Key West is the first city thus far to display it.
Kesten wants visitors to come away with an idea of how significant it was to be at a venue like Stonewall when it was risky for patrons to even reveal their names, addresses, or occupations. Some of whom are featured on posters that explain their activism or presence at the storied night several decades ago.
“I hope that people gain strength from where we are today and don’t act out of fear, but act out of courage that we have been able to overcome these obstacles time and time again,” Kesten said, adding that people should remember that they have an important role to play in the larger community.
The other half of the gallery, meanwhile, pays tribute to some of Key West’s popular LGBTQ-friendly establishments from previous years that longtime visitors or readers might remember. Matchboxes and tote bags from The Monster Disco & Restaurant are laid out on the opposite side from original swatches from Key West Island Print Fabrics.
Another display houses signage from the now-defunct Gay & Lesbian Community Center, plus marketing materials announcing an encore performance by the disco sensation The Village People at the famous Copa Bar on Duval Street.
One attendee at the exhibit, Janiece Rodriguez, a founding member of the Queer Keys nonprofit, moved to the island decades after some showcased businesses and groups even opened. She appreciated the combination of Key West and Stonewall representation. She noted that it all serves as a reminder of the history of oppressed groups that she believes are still being marginalized.
The Stonewall Uprising: The Start of a Movement
