{"id":1114,"date":"2012-10-02T20:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-10-03T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glso.org\/enews\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2012-11-06T17:04:04","modified_gmt":"2012-11-06T22:04:04","slug":"the-history-of-coming-out-in-the-beginning-there-was-a-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glso.org\/enews\/2012\/10\/the-history-of-coming-out-in-the-beginning-there-was-a-march\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of Coming Out – In the Beginning, There Was a March"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On Oct. 11, 1987, half a million people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It was the second such demonstration in our nation\u2019s capital and resulted in the founding of a number of LGBT organizations, including the National Latino\/a Gay & Lesbian Organization (LLEG\u00d3) and AT&T\u2019s LGBT employee group, LEAGUE.\u00a0 The momentum continued four months after this extraordinary march as more than 100 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists from around the country gathered in Manassas, Va., about 25 miles outside Washington, D.C. Recognizing that the LGBT community often reacted defensively to anti-gay actions, they came up with the idea of a national day to celebrate coming out and chose the anniversary of that second march on Washington to mark it. The originators of the idea were Rob Eichberg, a founder of the personal growth workshop, The Experience, and Jean O’Leary, then head of National Gay Rights Advocates. From this idea the National Coming Out Day was born.To this day National Coming Out Day continues to promote a safe world for LGBT individuals to live truthfully and openly.The success of NCOD, which from inception quickly expanded to include participation from all 50 states and foreign countries, is because of the hard work of celebrities, volunteers and activists. \u2022Rob Eichberg and Jean O’Leary were the originators of the idea of NCOD\u2022Sean Strub and Keith Haring- In 1987, Activist Sean Strub got Haring to donate his now-famous image of a person fairly dancing out of a closet\u2022Lynn Shepodd –\u00a0 In 1990, Shepodd, who later became a member of HRC\u2019s Board of Governors, was hired as executive director and obtained tax-exempt status for the organization\u2022Geraldo Rivera- In 1991, Geraldo Rivera hosted a coming out day TV program that featured Dick Sargent, a gay actor famous for playing Darren on Bewitched, openly gay California Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl and Eichberg.\u2022Wes Combs in 1994 was named HRCF’s project director for National Coming Out Day\u2022Candace Gingrich, half-sister of then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, became a National Coming Out Project spokesperson and full-time activist in 1995\u2022Dan Butler, who played the character Bulldog on NBC-TV’s Frasier, was NCOD spokesperson in 1995\u2022Rock musician Melissa Etheridge did a radio public service announcement, reminding people that “Labels belong on records, not on people.”\u2022Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., spoke at the “Come Out Voting” rally in Washington, D.C., Oct. 11, 1996.\u2022Fashion photographer Don Flood in 1996 shot past spokespeople Bearse, Butler and Gingrich, along with Olympic diver Greg Louganis, actor Mitchell Anderson, newly minted gay activist Chastity Bono and Sean Sasser, who had appeared in MTV’s The Real World.\u2022In 1996, actress Judith Light, pro golfer MuffinSpencer-Devlin and, in her first appearance at a gay rights event, Cher spoke at a Come Out Voting rally in Washing-ton, DC\u2022In September 1997 the project brought in its first straight spokes-person, Betty DeGeneres, mother of actress\/comedian Ellen DeGeneres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 11, 1987, half a million people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It was the second such demonstration in our nation\u2019s capital and resulted in the founding of a number of LGBT organizations,…<\/p>\n

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