A collection of
artifacts from renowned gay activist Frank Kameny is now
on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and
Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
The Frank Kameny
Collection includes such objects as the protest signs
from the 1960s demonstrations in Washington and
Philadelphia, gay rights buttons with Kameny's
famous phrase "Gay Is Good," and a photograph
of protesters picketing in front of the White House on
October 23, 1965, a demonstration that Kameny
helped organize.
"This is
important because the exhibit gives [the gay rights] story
equal treatment alongside other movements,"
said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications.
Kameny's
artifacts will rest in the "Treasures of American
History" exhibit alongside such historic
American objects as a Greensboro, N.C., lunch
counter from a 1960 desegregation protest, the ruby
slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of
Oz, Lincoln's top hat, and Edison's lightbulb.
The Smithsonian
describes "Treasures of American History" as
representing "the breadth of American
history...conveying the significance of each
object as a treasure of American history."
Other objects in
this case, comprising the new acquisitions of the
National Museum of American History, include a pair of
boxing gloves worn and signed by Joe Louis from his
fight versus Max Schmeling, a teapot reading "No Stamp
Act," and a rare photograph of a freed slave
wearing an American flag.
The exhibit,
which closes October 29, is on display at the Air and Space
museum while the National Museum of American History
undergoes renovation. (The Advocate)
