PHOTOS: First Look at the First LGBT Exhibit at the Constitution Center

We got a sneak peek at "Speaking Out for Equality."

William Way Executive Director Christopher Bartlett points at his younger self in a photo of him marching with ACT-UP in 1992. | Photo by HughE Dillon

William Way Executive Director Christopher Bartlett points at his younger self in a photo of him marching with ACT-UP in 1992. | Photo by HughE Dillon

Yesterday afternoon you may have seen a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram update from us about the “Speaking Out for Equality” exhibit at the National Constitution Center. We were there to get a sneak peek at the gallery before it opens to the public on Friday afternoon.

“Speaking Out” is the first LGBT exhibit at NCC, and, with the help of the archives at William Way LGBT Community Center, they’ve gone out of their way to make it special, dotting all the “i”s and crossing every LGBT, if you will. The artifacts comprising the exhibit trace the steps we’ve taken toward equality in the last 50 years, with a particular focus on how it got started in Philadelphia. There is video footage of some of the first LGBT protests outside Independence Hall, and a section that highlights Philly’s role in pushing for equality during the AIDS epidemic, among others. It also touches on major national highlights, like the coming out of infantry officer Dan Choi, an old TV broadcasts a vintage Mike Wallace segment about homosexuals, and one section showcases memorable LGBT moments in pop culture (if you’re lucky, you’ll be there when an upbeat Glee number pops up.)

HughE Dillon joined us at yesterday’s preview, and snapped a few photos of the folks who were there—mostly key players in getting the exhibit together, like NCC President Jeffrey Rosen, William Way’s Christopher Bartlett (who was grinning from ear to ear with pride) and Bob Skiba, the historian who watches over and organizes the immense LGBT archives at William Way. Check out the photos below, and be sure to stop by the exhibit. You’ve got plenty of time: It’s open from Friday, June 4th through January 3, 2016. More info here.