The LGBT Poet Laureate on Stonewall 50

Thursday, 27 June 2019 13:27 GMT

Guests attend the opening of the 'Stonewall 50' exhibit, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the dawn of the gay liberation movement, at the New Historical Society, in New York City, U.S., May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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A poem by Trudy Howson, LGBT Poet Laureate, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969

STONEWALL 50

It’s 50 years since the Stonewall Riots,

Where a lesbian threw the first punch.

And her Queer family rose up and refused:

To be beaten, ostracised or abused

 

The nurses, the teachers, artists…artistes

Sex workers, designers, conductors of a bus

The mothers, the fathers. The famous and infamous

The typical and untypical. People like us.

 

Those brave, big-hearted people

Sparked a Global Gay Awareness.

Magazines, clubs and networks flourished

Demanding justice, equality and fairness.

 

Let’s remember and celebrate our History,

But not falter in the ongoing fight.

To eradicate prejudice through education

Teach, that Love is a human right.

 

Trudy Howson, LGBT Poet Laureate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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