Organizing in DC, 1961-1975

First picket of the Pentagon

In 1965, the Mattachine Society of Washington held its first picket at the Pentagon, protesting the federal government's anti-gay employment policies. Photograph by Kay Tobin Lahusen.

In the climate of governmental repression that emerged in the 1950s, organizations such as the Mattachine Society of Washington employed a variety of methods of resistance. Their efforts challenged anti-gay and -lesbian laws and policies, as well as the pathologizing practices of the psychiatric profession.

Organizing in DC, 1961-1975