workingclasshistory:

On this day, 15 August 1970, Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton delivered a speech in New York City where he criticised the previous attitude of the party, and other left groups towards women and LGBT+ people.
He criticised homophobia and sexism in revolutionary movements, commenting that “homosexuals… might be the most oppressed people in… society”, and called on the left to desist using homophobic language to describe “enemies of the people” like president Richard Nixon. He argued that all radical events should include “full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women’s liberation movement”.
The move came after the foundation of the Gay Liberation Front, which supported the Black liberation movement, and militantly raised issues such as homophobia within radical organisations.
We discuss that in our podcast episodes 25-26 about the GLF and the Stonewall rebellion: https://workingclasshistory.com/2019/05/13/e21-22-the-stonewall-riots-and-pride-at-50/ https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2058647807653692/?type=3