Celebrating Pride Month: Dewey's sit-ins, early LGBT demonstration advocating for equal rights 1965

Advocates for LGBT rights organized two sit-ins at the popular Dewey's Restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On April 25, 1965, about 150 LGBT demonstrators walked into Dewey's and refused to leave in the name of civil rights.  This was in response to Dewey's recent policy claiming it would not serve homosexuals, masculine women, or feminine men. Nor would they serve persons wearing "nonconformist clothing".   Three people were arrested.

On May 2, 1965, protestors staged a second sit-in at Dewey's. No arrests happened this time and Dewey's reversed their policy.  The incidents helped forge a path toward the gay rights movement.

In October 2018, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a historical marker to commemorate the sit-in. 

"Annie" wins seven Tony Awards 1977

Annie, which debuted on Broadway of April 1977, won seven Tony Awards at the 31st annual ceremony June 5, 1977. I've never seen the stage production, but I did see the movie version with Albert Finney, Anne Reinking, and Carol Burnett.

The 1977 Broadway version won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical for Thomas Meehan, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Dorothy Loudon (as Miss Hannigan), Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre for Charles Strouse (music) and Martin Charnin (lyrics), Best Choreography for Peter Gennaro, Best Scenic Design for David Mitchell, and Best Costume Design for Theoni Aldredge. 

Annie had also been nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Reid Shelton (as Daddy Warbucks), Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Andrea McArdle (as Annie), and Best Direction of a Musical for Martin Charnin.

Endeavour (STS-111) launched 2002

STS-111 crew (L-R): Philippe Perrin, Paul Lockhart, Kenneth Cockrell, Franklin Chang Diaz

STS-111 mission patch

Expedition 5 crew (L-R): Valery Korzun, Peggy Whitson, Sergei Treshchov

Expedition 4 crew (L-R): Daniel Bursch, Yuri Onufrienko, Carl Walz

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-111), launched June 5, 2002, carried members of Expedition 5 to the International Space Station.  Endeavour's crew consisted of Commander Kenneth Cockrell, Pilot Paul Lockhart, Philippe Perrin (CNES), and Franklin Chang Diaz on his seventh and final flight.  The members of Expedition 5 consisted of Valery Korzun (Roscosmos), Peggy Whitson, and Sergei Treshchov (Roscosmos).

Chang Diaz and Perrin conducted three EVAs during the mission.  Endeavour returned to Earth after almost two weeks in space with the members of Expedition 4: Yuri Onufrienko (Roscosmos), Carl Walz, and Daniel Bursch.

Celebrating Pride Month: Jim Roth, first openly gay person to hold a statewide elected office in Oklahoma

Jim Roth, born December 24, 1968 in Prairie Village, Kansas near Kansas City, was elected as Oklahoma County Commissioner in 2002, and re-elected in 2006. He became the first ever openly gay person to hold a statewide elected office in Oklahoma.

He served as one of three members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission from June 2007-January 2009.   He is now a professor of law at OCU's School of Law. 

Happy birthday, astronaut Shane Kimbrough!

Robert "Shane" Kimbrough, born June 4, 1967 in Killeen, Texas, has been in space three times.

He graduated from the US Military Academy and flew Apache helicopters in the Operation Desert Storm. He joined NASA in 2000 and was part of the first group of astronauts selected following the Columbia disaster.

His first mission into space was aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-126) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2008.  He conducted two EVAs, lasting a total of almost 13 hours.  He spent almost 16 days in space.

Kimbrough's second trip into space was aboard Soyuz MS-02 as flight engineer to the ISS in October 2016.  He participated in Expeditions 49-50.  He carried a soccer ball belonging to Ellison Onizuka, who died in the Challenger disaster to the ISS. He returned to Earth in April 2017, after over 173 days in space.

His third mission into space was aboard SpaceX Crew-2 as commander to the ISS in April 2021 to the ISS. He participated in Expeditions 65-66. He returned to Earth in November 2021, after more than 199 days in space, the longest US mission to date. 

Celebrating Pride Month: William Dorsey Swann: The first "Queen of Drag"

Not Swann, but an image from a drag ball during that time.

William Dorsey Swann, born into slavery in  Hancock, Maryland in March 1860, is the first person in the US to lead a queer resistance group and self-identify as a "queen of drag".  After the Civil War, his parents bought a farm and began a job working as a hotel waiter.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized drag balls in Washington, DC and called himself the "queen of drag".  The men attending these drag balls were usually former slaves and rebel drag queens.  These events were very secretive and only communicated by word of mouth.

On April 12, 1888, he was arrested for female impersonation, the first documented case of such.  Swann stood up to the arresting officer and proclaimed, "You is no gentleman."

By choosing to resist instead of go along passively, Swann's arrest is one of the earliest-known instances of violence in the name of gay rights.

The publicity and public shaming made it even more difficult for Swann to throw his secret drag balls.

Swann stopped organizing drag balls in the 1890s, but his two brothers continued to participate in the drag community for almost 50 years.

Swann passed away in December 1925 in Hancock, Maryland.

Gennadi Manakov, cosmonaut, born 1950

Gennadi Manakov, born June 1, 1950 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice.

His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-10 as commander to the space station Mir.  He spent almost 131 days in space, from August to December 1990 before returning to Earth.

His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TM-16 as commander to Mir.  He spent 179 days in space, from January-July 1993, before returning to Earth. 

He passed away in September 2019.