1963-08-13Bayard Rustin attacked as sexual pervert by white supremacist U.S. Senator.

Strom Thurmond, a white supremacist Senator from South Carolina, verbally attacks Bayard Rustin on the floor of the U.S. Senate and labels him a sexual pervert in an effort to discredit the upcoming March on Washington, for which Rustin is the chief organizer. Thurmond’s attack backfires, as the key leaders of the civil rights movement publicly express their “complete confidence” in Rustin’s character.

1963-08-28March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brings more than 200,000 people to Washington DC in support of racial equality and justice. Larger than any other protest demonstration since the 1930s, it pushed the civil rights movement into the center of national politics. The lead organizer of the March was Bayard Rustin, a Quaker advocate of Gandhian non-violence whose homosexuality was used by opponents of racial justice as a way to discredit the March.

1963-08-31First conference of East Coast activists

In the wake of the national March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the first conference of East Coast Homophile Organizations opens in Philadelphia. The conference, whose theme was “Homosexuality—Time for Reappraisal,” brought together gay and lesbian activists from New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, among them Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny. Speakers at the conference included ministers, lawyers, and mental health professionals.

1963-12-17The New York Times publishes a front-page story titled “Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern.”

The New York Times publishes a front-page story titled “Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern.” The article describes the existence of a homosexual subculture as the city’s “most sensitive open secret.” It leads to a rash of other such articles in city papers around the country, including Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, and Seattle.