So, for your edification (or as a refresher), here's what happened: On Sunday, June 24th, 1973, only four years after the Stonewall Rebellion, about 60 people were at a gay bar and meeting space called the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans's French Quarter.Īt around 8 p.m., they heard the bell ring, someone opened the door and fire engulfed the room. Even though 32 people died, making it the largest mass murder of gay people in American history, this incident is woefully unknown.
How many times in the past 40 years have you heard about the Upstairs Lounge fire in New Orleans? Sadly, probably not many, and certainly not enough.
