National Park After Dark - The Uprising ft. LGBTQ Outdoors: Stonewall National Monument

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

Today we are joined by the founder of LGBTQ Outdoors, Justin Yoder, as we recount the story of Marsha P. Johnson and the Stonewall Uprising.  In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn ignited a rebellion that would change history. The Stonewall Uprising became the catalyst to a nationwide LGBTQ rights movement.  At the heart of this moment was Marsha P. Johnson, a Black trans activist, drag queen, and revolutionary who became a symbol of resilience and joy in the face of injustice.If you are interested in becoming a member, an ambassador, or a trail Blazer, check out LGBTQ+ Outdoors!Grab some Merch! Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on InstagramFor a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners!Cash App: Download Cash App Today! Use our referral code NPAD10 for our exclusive offer #CashAppPodBetterHelp: National Park After Dark is sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off.Factor: Use our link and code npad50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping.Skylight: Go to SkylightCal.com/NPAD for $30 off your 15 inch Calendar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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In the early hours of June 28, 1969, the streets of Greenwich Village, New York City, normally alive with music and nightlife, crackled with tension. Outside the Stonewall Inn, a well-known refuge for the LGBTQ community, a routine police raid took an unexpected turn. These raids were common, often marked by harassment and humiliation, but this time, the community fought back. As police officers dragged patrons into the streets, swinging their batons and fists,

attempting to make arrests, the crowds pushed back. Trash cans and cars were set on fire, and bottles were hurled against the pavement. Some wielded their handbags as weapons to fight back. Others kissed in the streets in defiance. The usual quiet compliance that marked so many raids previously gave way to resistance. Bargoers, drag queens, transgender women, and unhoused LGBTQ people so often targeted and silenced, linked arms and raised their voices, shouting, Liberate this bar.

In the midst of the chaos, one trans woman stood out. Dressed in bright colors and sparkling rhinestones, she calmly bent down and picked up a shard of broken mirror. As she held it up, she looked back at her reflection and carefully touched up a smudge in her lipstick. Then, with a knowing smile, she said, thank God the revolution has begun, honey. Welcome to National Park After Dark. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to National Park After Dark and happy Pride Month. Happy Pride Month, everybody. I'm Cassie. And I'm Danielle. And today we are joined by Justin Yoder, the founder of LGBTQ Outdoors for

the second time on the podcast. Justin's a lifelong nature lover who grew up on his grandparents' farm in Missouri, exploring creeks and chasing adventures outdoors. That early passion stuck with him and eventually grew into something much larger. After years of nonprofit work focused on children's health in Africa, Justin came out in 2010 and began to notice a serious lack of representation for LGBTQIA plus folks in outdoor spaces. Inspired to change that in 2000, he founded LGBTQ outdoors, a growing national community that connects queer people through nature. What started in Texas has expanded across the U.S. with events every month and a thriving online presence. Justin's work has gained national attention, including features in USA Today, Bustle, The Dallas Voice, and even a Pride Month campaign alongside Laverne Cox.

He's collaborated with groups like the U.S. Forest Service and the Texas Travel Alliance. Justin now lives in Texas with his husband Patrick, where he continues to lead LGBTQ outdoors and inspires others to find belonging in the wild. Welcome back, Justin, to National Park After Dark. It is so nice to see you. Thank you. Happy Pride and thank you for invited me back. I mean, it's a dream to be on once, but now twice, like, pinch me. Yeah, well, you're doing great things and it's so good to see you. I mean, it's been two years. Two years. Yeah. Time flies. It does. Time flies so fast.

Yeah. And we know you're super busy for Pride Month, and we really appreciate you hopping on to celebrate with us on National Park After Dark. Absolutely. And today I have put together a story for us that actually has been requested very often and frequently, especially with some ongoing news that's been coming out in the the media. So I'm excited to dive into it because we're going to be talking about the Stonewall Uprising and Marsha P. Johnson. Yeah, definitely a story that needs to be told. So I'm excited that

you're sharing it and that I'm going to be a part of it as well. Yeah, we're excited to have you here and to be here to talk and listen of the story. And then, of course, we are excited to dive into LGBTQ outdoors and all of your fun events that are happening. What are you up to for Pride for Pride Month? I know you said you had 14 events that you're doing. Yeah, we are a little busy. June is our Super Bowl time of the year for sure. But we're going to be all over. Our biggest pride events that we are doing will be Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, and New York will probably be our biggest one.

So if anybody is going to those, be sure to find our booth and say hi. Cool. Well, that's very exciting. And to give a little bit of context, I know Danielle just talked about a little bit of LGBT. Outdoors, but can you talk to us a little bit about what it is and how you got started? Yeah, never really anticipated it turning into what it has. After I came out, I was really, you know, I always loved the outdoors, but I really wanted to find a group that was an LGBTQ group, outdoors group to get plugged into.

That was difficult to do, especially being in Texas. And so I ended up just starting an Instagram account, actually six years ago this month, I don't even think I planned it on Pride Month, but it turned out to be on Pride Month when started the Instagram account. The whole goal with that was just to show people that break down the stereotype that queer people don't like the outdoors and also to try to feature other queer people in the outdoors so that it would inspire our community to get outside as well. And then very soon after that, we just started receiving messages from people saying, I found my people and I've been looking for something like this. And I'm like, what are you talking about? It's just an Instagram account. But I started to let me know, like, there was a need for something that had to do with queer people in the outdoors and involved into being a nonprofit with chapters all across the U.S. now.

Amazing. That's incredible. I mean, to have social, social media is such a special place, right? Because you just have this opportunity. Social media, I mean, I guess it's a double-edged, sorry, because I can do that. But also you find people that you never would have known were out there and get to connect with people pretty much around the country, around the world. It just creates such a space to connect. So to see what you created blossom into such a amazing organization that started as an Instagram and is now a full community is really exciting.

It really is. And I like one aspect of it too that I tell people a lot, especially at the point where we are. now is that starting this out early on, even when it started to turn into something more than just an Instagram, it honestly, it kind of was more about something fun to do as a community and has now involved into really changing lives. I can't tell you how many people have emailed me or came up to me at one of our events and said, this has truly changed my life. We had one example. Transgender person came up to me at LGBTQ Outdoor Fest last year and said, I never really felt proud to be a trans person or really felt like I had community and belonging. And now because of this

event, I do. And I feel like I found my people. And at that point, you know, I'm in full tears and just like, uh, yeah, hit you right in the heart. Oh my God. Never, never expected that kind of result. So it is, it sounds on surface level. Oh, that's fun. and cool thing to do. But when you dive deep, like, it's changing lives and impacting people deeply. I mean, we've found even in our own podcast when people come up to us and they're like this says when you've created a community where people feel safe and respected and accepted, it is, it's a game changer.

And to be the facilitator of that is something that's really special. Yeah, it's the ultimate compliment, you know? It's just, it's the best. Yes. But, yeah, today, Cassie had, like she mentioned, she has had this story. on the back burner for so long. And not because she was avoiding doing it, she was waiting because she heard that there was a book that was being written.

And of course, there's a lot of material about this story, Stonewall and Marsha and all that. But just to have all of the materials together in the latest and greatest, she was just like, it's coming, it's coming. And now it's here. So I'm certainly excited to hear it just because it's. It's been a long time coming. And of course, it is such, it's a story that's really pertinent in today's day and age just as much as it was when it happened. So tell us, Cassie, please.

Yes. Thank you. I would love to tell you about it. And today, it's interesting because I feel like with a lot of our stories, we're like, we're heading off like deep into the wilderness for this. But the fun thing about national parks and the National Park Service itself is that they're kind of everything. And today we're actually going to be going to New York City, which you don't normally think National Park. But the National Park Service also is really special because they commemorate history.

And that is what this episode is today, is that we are going to be going to the Stonewall National Monument, which is now managed by the National Park Service, and is the site of a historic uprising that took place on June 28, 1969, for the first. fight for LGBTQ rights. And before we dive into what happened, those early morning hours, and of course the days following that, and the National Monument itself, I want to paint a picture of what New York City and the country was like for LGBTQ community people, but also for transgender people and the misinformation that was spread around this entire community. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime Originals have

everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. So first I want to mention that homosexuality was classified as a mental health disorder in the diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders in 1952, citing that being gay was a sociopathic personality disorder. In 1968, the classification shifted in the DSM2 to sexual deviation, and it wasn't until 1973 that scientific research discovered and recognized that being gay was not a mental disorder at all, and was removed entirely from the DSM. At the time,

Our story takes place in 1969. Being transgender was not part of the DSM, but it was later added in 1980 as a mental disorder labeled as transsexualism. Again, further scientific research led to the discovery that being transgender is absolutely not a psychiatric condition. And in 2013, it was renamed as gender dysphoria. And instead of focusing on it being a mental health condition, it now focuses on the distress that being transgender can cause individuals because of societal views,

lack of support, and medical care. And I just wanted to note this. I think it's really important because diagnoses like this led to widespread homophobia at the time of our story in 1969 and really added a lot of context to why a lot of families and people were treating the LGBTQ community so poorly. Members of the LGBTQ community face violence and criticism in public. but also in their own homes. Many families sent their loved ones and children to conversion therapy to try and cure homosexuality,

bisexuality, and gender non-conforming people. Treatment that people underwent were horrific. They were subject to electroconvulsive therapy in which patients were shocked with electrocurrents to their brains, which would induce seizures. In this, patients were poisoned with chemicals during moments deemed unacceptable, for example, looking at a photo of their lover. This was thought to train a person's brain. to associate that person or thought with a negative response.

Another version of aversion therapy, people were given electrical shocks to their genitals while they looked at gay pornography or cross-dressed. These were humiliating and dehumanizing practices. And while I talk about this in the past tense, it's also really important to note that aversion therapy still exists today. There are more than 1,320 conversion therapy practices across 48 states with Pennsylvania, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio with the largest number of them. The only two states that do not have them are Hawaii and Vermont. I did not know that. Yeah. When I was looking this up, I was just,

this is, it's horrific. It's awful. And I live in Vermont, so it was like a proud Vermont moment. I'm like, Vermont would never. Yeah, a proud Vermonter moment for sure. And I'll claim it because New England. Even if it's just one portion, it's a start. Yeah. And I just wanted to paint that picture because, one, this is some of the stuff I'm talking. The story takes place in the past, but a lot of these issues are very present day problems. And in the 1960s and unfortunately still today, children and family members who were gay,

often were faced with either being kicked out of their homes or attending. conversion therapy. And many of those children and people just chose to leave. In 1960s, New York City, the city streets became the homes of many queer children and adults who couldn't find jobs or places to live because of being ostracized from society. Specifically, the trans community and the Times Square area engaged in sex work to make ends meet. Their treatments from outsiders were often met with violence, humiliation, and ridicule, even from the New York City Police Department who were known for their brutality against the LGBT. community, a penal law nicknamed Walking While Trans Ban, which was originally aimed to address

loitering for prostitution, was used to specifically target and harass transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, particularly women of color. This often led to arrest of transgender people simply existing in the streets of New York City where walking in public became an arrestable offense. In addition to this, the three article rule, while not an official law, but was treated as one was a formal rule that people had to wear at least three pieces of clothing aligned with their gender they were assigned at birth to avoid being arrested. This made cross-dressing illegal, but also simply carrying false eyelashes on their person could make them subject to being arrested. You could open their purse or pocket in if they had eyelashes. It was like, you're going to jail.

Oh, God. Crazy. And these weren't the only laws targeting the LGBTQ community. In fact, in New York City until 1967, it was illegal to serve alcohol to the LGBTQ community under the guise of disorderly conduct. Many restaurants and bars complied with the orders, even posting signs that said things like, If you're gay, please go away. This period saw the NYPD conducting frequent raids on establishments known to serve the queer community in New York City. These operations often resulted in arrests and systematic targeting of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.

During such raids, it was not uncommon for police to forcibly strip individuals to compel them to, quote, like, prove their gender. It was a practice that amounted to both public humiliation and a profound violation of personal dignity. Reports from the time documented instances of physical and, in some cases, sexual assault at the hands of law enforcement. In addition, violent crimes against the queer communities often either went unreported or completely ignored by law enforcement. In the nightlife scene, openly gay bars had a hard time obtaining liquor licenses. However, there was a loophole around this, and this happened to be the mafia. At the time, New York City was largely run by what was known as the five families. That included people like Charles Lucky Luciano, who I did talk about in depth on one of our past episodes,

our Hot Springs episode, Frank Costello, Carlo, Gambino, and more. The mafia were a large crime syndicate who were known to run bars, gambling and drug trafficking rings, and even construction and transportation companies. When the government banned the LGBTQ communities from participating in nightlife, the mafia saw this as a massive business opportunity. The Genevese family, part of the five families, dominated the organized crime in Manhattan's Westside bar scene and Greenwich Village. One member, Tony Loria, aka Fat Tony, purchased the Stonewall Inn in the village on Christopher Street and converted it from a bar and restaurant into a gay nightclub.

Operating on a tight budget, the club became known for its poor conditions, no running water behind the bar, glasses wrenched in dirty tubs, frequently overflowing toilets, and no fire or emergency exits. However, despite these poor conditions, the Stonewall Inn quickly became a vital gathering place for the gay community. It was one of the few spots where people could dance openly and it welcomed drag queens, runaways, and even homeless LGBTQ youth who had nowhere else to go. And they had go-go dancers and jukeboxes and people could just drink and have like a great time. It was not a great bar. It seems like it wasn't a super great aesthetically and stuff, but it was a safe space for everyone. And the mafia was like, yep, come on in, like, have fun, have the night away.

They blocked the windows. They made it so police couldn't look in so people could do whatever they wanted without police engaging. It shows, like, even back then, how much people craved the community. Like, you, people want community to fit in with people that they belong to. And like so like it's interesting, you know, no matter what the conditions was of this bar, they crave that community so bad they were willing to put up with that just so that they could be authentically themselves for a night. That was my first thought when you were describing that. I'm like the sense of community trumps all of the negative aspects of that building from just like you said, aesthetic to cleanliness to safety, you know, all of that was kind of came second to being like, this is. one of the only places that we can gather and be ourselves and connect with one another, and that's

worth it to us. Yeah. And it was. It was this spot where people could be who they were with people who they, I mean, a lot of this community, they all knew each other because they all would go here. And they were all good friends. They all cared about each other. Some, like, they lived together outside of this. You know, it was really part of this big community that was there. To keep the bar running, the mafia paid off the NYPD reportedly around $1,200 a week to ignore what they deemed in decent conduct. Though the police still raided the bar, they would tip off that Tony ahead of time. And the police did agree that they would only raid the bar during hours that were less busy. So they're like, we still have to do it because it's technically against the law and we have to act like we're not corrupt and not like enforcing what we enforce and being paid off for it.

it, but we'll do it when there's less customers. And we'll let you know when we're about to do it. So before the raids, they would actually change the lights to signal the customers to stop dancing and would let them know if you're, it was kind of like a, if you're breaking the three articles rule, you have a quick moment to like hide whatever you're wearing to like, to avoid police targeting you when they arrived. Just a heads up. Yeah, it was a heads up.

It was like all these lights would start flashing in the bar to give a warning to everybody. And when police did arrive, they would check IDs and arrests were made for lacking IDs. Just if you were at a bar and didn't have an ID, they would arrest you. They would arrest people for cross-dressing and not wearing gender-appropriate clothing. And female officers sometimes brought people to the bathrooms to inspect their gender to make sure that they were wearing clothes deemed appropriate for their gender. So it was just like all, it was just a humiliating tactic that they would show up at these bars and do this. To avoid liquor laws, Stonewall operated as a bottle bar, claiming that patrons would bring their own alcohol. But of course, the mob actually supplied it.

Booze was hidden in cars or closets to avoid seizure when police came. And profits were maximized through watered down drinks, overpriced cigarettes, and alleged sex work managed by the bouncers. So even though, I do want to say, even though the mafia, you could look at it from an outside perspective and be like, wow, they're accepting the LGBTQ community. and they're giving this great space for them. They weren't. It was all about money. And there's a lot of stuff about them that they were actually kind of predatory towards the LGBTQ community and were really taking advantage of a really bad situation for them and giving

shitty drinks, bad places. You know, it was all about money for them. It wasn't like, they weren't like this savior. Yeah, I don't think that was happening. I don't think the mafia is really known for their compassion. No. No. No, and that's important to note here too.

But it goes back to like even the more and more you describe it, the more and more it's like, why would anybody want to go there, right? But like it reinforces what we were saying earlier about the desire to have that community. And I think that that's something that our community still faces today. I know when I came out, one of the first places I went to was a gay bar because it's like, where else do you find gay people to be able to relate to and do stuff with? And I'm glad that we're living in a time where there's becoming more and more options for that. But thinking about everything that these people went through.

And we are talking about here in the United States of America, not that long ago. Like, no, I mean, many of these people are still alive. Yeah. Yeah. It's just, it's crazy to think about what people had to go through. Yeah. And this is all thinking of all of the stuff that people are dealing with. this is all just leading up to this uprising that's going to happen. And I think is important to have context to these are the conditions people are living in. They are fighting to just have

the right to go to a really shitty bar and be with people who be with the community of people that they want to surround themselves with. And they can't even have that without being humiliated and ostracized and forced to strip naked to prove their gender. Like it's really awful what's happening. But also this community is like, you know what, we'll take it. We'll, we'll deal with it because we need this and we need this community. So sure, for years, it was just they were compliant and okay, do what you have to do. We'll get arrested. We'll leave. We'll come back. It doesn't matter. And we'll work around this. Like we will, you know, if we have to go by monitoring the lights and getting heads up and just being like,

just bending to all these rules and regulations. And no matter how outlandish they are, like, sure, if that's the price we have to pay. But, you know, uprisings don't come out of nowhere. It comes out of years and decades and centuries of being oppressed and beat down and taken advantage of. And you're doing a really good job of showing just how much they are putting up with, even in just this one, I don't want to say bubble, but this one point in time at this one location in New York in the 60s. You know, like, yes, it's the, it's kind of, you know, up until this

point, it's been a similar story. But you're just doing such a good job of being like, okay, I'm understanding where this is going and why. And I'm all for it. Like, I understand now. This isn't just there was a riot. Right. You're like kind of waiting for the moment where this uprising happens. And it's interesting that you use the word riot because I read when I was researching this, there was a lot of things as like, was this a riot or was this an uprising? And it's like, this was an uprising. It wasn't this riot that was out of nowhere where people were just off the handles for no reason and had to be, had, police had to intervene or whatever. That was actually, it was people finally speaking up for their rights that they had not really

spoken up for because of the violence and just humiliation that was geared their way. And we'll, well, we'll get into a uprising. It was enough is enough moment. Yeah. It's like you only can put so much pressure on a community until something happens. And I mean, we to a degree that we're seeing that right now. Mm-hmm. Very much so. Exactly. And like you said, it's a community. You can only put so much on, this isn't one person that you're bullying. You're bullying a whole community of people and in really horrific ways and trying to, I mean, there's this erasure that's happening where it's like, don't let this community out in publicly. we don't want people to know they exist. It's like they exist whether you let them out or not. And now we have these places that they are. Anyway, there's a huge uprising that's coming because of all of this oppression that's happening. Going back to the Stonewall Inn and what this bar was really like.

So to enter the Stonewall in, patrons passed a bouncer, paid a cover, which was $1 in weekdays and $3 on weekends, and signed a club register. often with joke names like Judy Garland or Donald Duck, and this was to conceal their real identities. Inside, the space was divided between two connected buildings. One held a long bar and dance floor with a jukebox. The other had a smaller bar, another dance floor, and two bathrooms. The main bar lacked running water. The interior was painted black and had boarded up windows to conceal specifically from the NYPD what was happening inside. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, one patron, Marcia P. Johnson, was enjoying all the Stonewall had to offer.

She was drinking and socializing, dressed in some of her favorite clothing, dancing to Marvin Gaze. I heard it through the grapevine on the jukebox when warning lights flashed through the bar that another police raid was about to take place. Marcia was a vibrant and unforgettable presence in New York City's Greenwich Village. Born Malcolm Michaels Jr. in 1945 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Marcia grew up in a working-class black family and faced relentless bullying and violence for expressing her femininity from a young age. At just 17 years old, with a bag of clothes and a dream of living freely, she moved to New York City, where she reinvented herself as Marcia P. Johnson. The P, she'd often say with a wink, stood for pay it no mind, in reference to her gender and lifestyle. Life in the city,

was far from easy for her. She faced homelessness, made a living as a sex worker, and was often harassed by police. But even in the harshest conditions, Marcia stood out. Decorated in flowers, sequins, and a radiant smile, she became a beloved figure in the drag and queer community, known for her kindness, resilience, and fierce authenticity. Marcia was known as the mother of the community because she became a nurturing force for countless queer youth who were either kicked out of their homes or fled and were left homeless in New York City. She often shared what little food, money, or shelter she had with them. When the warning lights flashed that night at the Stonewall in, it was not the first time Marcia was subject to a police raid. In fact, she had been arrested

countless times prior for clothing she wore in similar situations. As the lights flashed, people stopped dancing and scrambled to remove clothing deemed not acceptable for their gender at birth, wiped off makeup and any jewelry that they were wearing. Marcia, seasoned to this, had only dressed in half drag for this exact scenario so she could disguise herself quickly. When the police raided, they were searching for people breaking the three articles rules, and they could arrest anyone wearing or in possession of clothing that didn't fit their gender. The NYPD ran through the bar yelling, get in line.

And one by one, each person conformed and quietly followed police instructions, knowing exactly what would happen next. Like I mentioned, this was an extremely routine occurrence. The officers would go down the line, insulting and humiliating the people who stood in it, while aggressively and forcefully patting each person down often in very violating ways. When they suspected someone of breaking the three articles law, they would be pulled aside by a police officer and forced into a nearby bathroom to expose their genitals to prove their gender. Exactly what happened next that night isn't clear whether Marcia was the subject to a search or if after years of humiliation and mistreatment by law enforcement, this had been the final straw for her. But instead of conforming

like she had always done in the past, she fought back. Marcia yelled at police officers, I've got my civil rights as she threw a shot glass, shattering it on a wall nearby. This lit a fire in the other people around the bar. And they also began to stand up to the police officers as well and protest their violating searches. Because they were speaking up, the police decided that they were going to arrest almost every person in the bar, where usually they would just grab one or two people to make an example and prove that the bar was acting unlawfully and also just as a... They came out blatantly and said that it was a humiliation tactic a lot of times that they just came in to make a scene and leave. But this time, because for the first time, people were fighting back

and arguing, they announced that they were going to arrest everyone. And a paddy wagon was ordered to come take everyone away. And everyone who wasn't being subject to this, if they didn't have a reason, was ordered to leave the bar. But for the first time, people were not having it. They were yelling at officers to stop touching them and leave them alone, that they were violating their rights. Instead of leaving, patrons stood outside the bar,

yelling in opposition, and it wasn't long before news spread about what was happening at the Stonewall Inn. Within minutes, crowds of people arrived to also protest the police. As police officers handcuffed and led drag queens and transgender individuals out of the bar, onlookers began to shout in protest. Tensions quickly escalated. When one officer violently shoved a trans woman, she fought back, grabbing her purse and striking him over the head with it. The crowd erupted, chanting, burn it down, and gay power as they attempted to overturn the paddy wagon they brought in.

One trans woman being manhandled by police for allegedly violating the three-artes, article rule cried out to the crowd, why don't you guys do something? And that was the spark. Marsha was the first to throw a rock at police and then chaos broke out. Bottles were thrown, cars were set on fire, police tires were sliced with knives and fists flew as the crowd clashed with police. Decades of abuse, discrimination, and indignity suffered by the LGBTQ community had reached a boiling point and this was the moment it all exploded. Of course, sometime in the moment of chaos, Marcia has famously been noted to have taken a moment to pause, fix her lipstick in a broken mirror, while Christopher Street burned around her. Overwhelmed by the crowd, police officers

escaped in the paddy wagon, and the ones who couldn't barricaded themselves inside the stonewall in. The crowd was energized by the unusual sight of police officers forced to take cover inside the stonewall in that was usually their safe haven. People began throwing objects at the building, including bottles filled with lighter fluid. A few individuals removed a parking meter and used it as a makeshift battering ram, attempting to break down the door where officers were now barricaded and hiding inside. Marcia joined the crowd, in some moments even leading the riots in chance. She threw bottles at the stonewall, cheered with her friends,

and climbed up a lamp post dropping bricks on a cop car. That night, her cheering and protests caught the eyes of reporters, and she was featured on the 6 o'clock news. Eventually, backup was called in, and the officers hiding in the Stonewall were safely brought out. The night resulted in arrests of 13 individuals and a massive protest, but it wasn't over. The following evening, June 29th, word of the uprising had spread rapidly through the neighborhood. Hundreds of people returned to Christopher Street. Demonstrators gathered outside Stonewall, chanting slogans like gay power, singing and confronting police.

Riot control units arrived again and a second night of protests took place. Tensions ran high, but the community held its ground. On June 30th, the atmosphere shifted. The street outside Stonewall was relatively quiet, but the groundwork for organized resistance was already taking shape. Flyers were distributed, condemning police brutality and calling for LGBTQ rights. Activist groups began engaging more directly with newly radicalized members of the community. The day's relative calm allowed for.

for reflection and planning. By July 1st, tensions flared once more. That morning, the village voice had published articles that ridiculed the previous day's events and used derogatory language to describe the protesters. That evening, another crowd assembled, this time in part to protest the newspaper's coverage of them. Some attempted to enter the voices nearby offices. Once again, clashes between protesters and police erupted in the streets, leading to more arrests and further unrest. Smaller gatherings and demonstrations continued into July 2nd and 3rd. Though the crowd size diminished, the persistence of protesters underscored a significant shift. For the first time, large numbers of LGBTQ individuals were standing together publicly

and refusing to be intimidated or backed into silence. The Stonewall Uprising represents a critical turning point. It galvanized a broader movement leading to the formation of new organizations, including the Gay Liberation Front and Gay Activist Alliance that demanded equality, visibility, and an end to police harassment. Marcia, who was front and center of this movement, was called the Rosa Parks of the LGBTQ movement because of all the initiatives that were put forth

because of her bravery to be the first to speak up. Though the LGBTQ people in America had long resisted government persecution, the Stonewall riots ignited a powerful new chapter. sparking a bold and unstoppable movement for gay rights that would inspire change across the United States and around the world. And I wanted to stop here just for a moment, just to say, like, these riots, they took place for six full days and all of this is going on. And this was not just, this was, there were smaller movements and there was one that happened. I think it was a year before. This were people, the LGBTQ community staged sit-ins at bars where they were like, you need to serve us.

and there was like these small things that were happening. But this was the first time that collectively, hundreds of people. And it wasn't even just people within the queer community. There were people outside that were like, enough's enough. We're also going to jump into it. Like it was this whole collective where the queer community really came forward and was like, hey, and then other people were coming in and being like, hey, wait, what's going on? And it created this visual of the queer community that was kind of silenced before.

and was the beginning of real, real activism that was happening. Yeah. I mean, think about this too, though. Back then there was like not the social media. There was no internet. There was no way to get the word out like there is today as quickly as there is. But yet they were still able to be able to create that movement in a matter of hours and get the word out about what was happening to be able to help this movement grow and become something.

And I can't even imagine, you know, I can't imagine what it would be like living in a time where you're so oppressed. And all you have is your community because you don't have, you don't have the visuals of what social media can provide now. And yet they just want to take the one bar away from you that you want to go to, you know, for New York. It's just, it's incredible to think of what they accomplished and what they did with the resources that they had at that time. Yeah, and when I was researching this, one of the things that I found really incredible is right after everything at Stonewall was happening and they were trying to arrest people and people were protesting and voicing against them was they were like, we don't know how or where, like the word spread like wildfire. They were suddenly, and again, there's no social media. This isn't being posted anywhere. Just flocks of people started arriving and the queer community was just like, what's going down on Stonewall?

Like finally, like let's let's have. everyone's back, our friends, our family, our loved ones, let's have their back, we're in it, and everyone just stopped what they were doing and they ran straight to the stone wall. And then it just from there, it just kept growing from there every single day. It wasn't just one night. It was like, we're back the next day. We're back the next day. We're back the next day. We're back.

And it was one of the things that I read is, I forget who said it, but it was something along the lines of, we knew in that moment that we were either in and we had to fight and we could never stop or if we back down, we could never fight again. And it was in that moment where we said, okay, collectively as a whole community, we said, we're in it and we're never going to stop fighting now. It was just such a pivotal, pivotal moment for sure. This wasn't just like it was just not, I don't want to say all or nothing, but it kind of feels like that. It's like we're either doing this or we're like we're taking a few steps back. And now is the time to push forward. For sure. And like, you know, like one of the most frustrating, if not the most frustrating thing to me about all of this and still the fight that we have today is we aren't hurting anybody. We aren't doing anything to anybody else other than just wanting to live our authentic lives and just be ourselves. You know, so it's it's just the most frustrating thing to me that why do we have to still be fighting even today, which I know we're going to get into a little bit more later. But why are we still having to fight today when we're

We aren't doing any harm to anybody else. Yeah. It reminds me, and I'm going to butcher this quote too, but Pedro Pascal, he recently said, he's like, it's horrific that we're demonizing a community that is literally just asking for the right to live and be here. And it's so true. It's like, why? And it stems back.

I mean, for, and one day, people are going to, there's going to be the right side of history and the wrong side of history. And throughout time, we've seen that of. certain groups of people, you're always on the wrong side. Yeah. It's never the right side. And one day, we're going to be past that because, I mean, this fight is not going to stop. People are not going to give up.

We're in it. Just like Stonewall, it was like, we're starting, we're not stopping. Even though it has been several decades since then, that doesn't mean the fight's over. And it's not going to, just because there is this push that's happening to try and further oppress these communities doesn't mean that the fight has ended or will end. Right. Everyone deserves the right

equal rights. Yeah. No matter. And I think... End of story. Period. Like, everyone deserves people of rights. Period. It's like, I think we're in another huge pivotal moment. Even though it's not a, you know, a rate of a bar, it's taken a different shape. And that's in

legislative actions. and erasure of certain language and history in different, you know, sources and just throughout just different moves by the government, like that we are in another pivotal time and we're seeing a similar response as to I don't fucking think so. And that's like, it's awful that we're here again a handful of decades later in just a different way. But it's also encouraging to see the immediate response of no, no, no. And what can we all do to fight back against that and make sure that it doesn't spiral and happen

again and where we're regressing back into, like, it's awful to say this. And I hope to God it doesn't happen. But I can see a world in which we're starting to have this, like, what was it the three articles thing or whatever? Like, prove to me. The three articles rule. Show me. Like this, this and this.

It's like if certain people get their way with certain laws and what. rules and regulations, I don't see that being such a far-fetched idea. And I mean, it's already not when we're looking, some people are being targeted in bathrooms already. Right. And asked to expose themselves to prove. Yeah. So we're here.

Yeah. We're going back. And with the LGBTQ history, like, there's always ups and downs has been. And for me, like, we're tired of being in political pawns and just being a political talking point, you know, especially the trans community. Like, I have a lot of trans friends and I will fight for their rights till the day that I die. But it's incredibly, there's no words for it other than, there's no words for it. But it's incredibly and frustrating to see all these laws coming out against trans rights and trans athletes when there's so, they make up so few of the population. But that's not

the point how much of the population they make up. But like, they're focusing on something that's not an issue when why don't we focus on how many children are in foster care right now and need homes and actually being they want to be pro life be pro life like take care of take care of kids living people take care of the unhouse population like actually do something that actually makes a different and is a cause that needs to be addressed right as trans people are not the reason that egg prices are high or not the reason that our gas prices are high that our economy is the way that it is. It's like the government is using this scapego. It's there's so much more important things. What about like focus on communities, small business, like you said, people in foster

care, the wildfires, people losing their homes. The fact that prices are so high that the unhouse population is skyrocketing. You know, there are so many things to focus on and we've geared our focus towards something that isn't going to help Americans as a whole or the community as a whole. It's actually detrimental. And there's so many other important things to focus on that it's very disheartening to see. Like one of the scariest things about it all to me is like they're starting in areas where they think they can make the biggest ground. So like with the trans population, erasing the transgender, erasing queer. And then how far are they going to start going with this?

And they're starting to deport people that they're even here legally, you know? And so like they're wanting to create what America looks like to them. They're wanting to make America white and straight pretty much. And it's terrifying to think about how much they are getting away with. Like a lot of federal judges are shooting down a lot of laws and things that they are trying to do, which is great. But they are still getting away with a lot at the same time. And it's, if we think they aren't going to come for the whole LGBTQIA community, we're wrong because they will. Yeah, it's the very beginning of a long fight.

And it's the beginning of, I feel like right now it's like pushing buttons. How far? How far can we push? What can we get away with? And where are we going to go with it? And it's scary. But there's also this other, I think what's important about stories like Stonewall is the power of the people. the power of coming together and power of community.

And just going back a little bit into this story with Marsha, Marcia was on the front lines during the entirety of this six-day protest, alongside a fellow activist, Sylvia Rivera, who I haven't spoken about much on this episode, but she's also a really important transfigure in this movement as well. Sylvia was a known activist who tirelessly fought for the rights and visibility of transgender people, especially transgender people of color,

who were often excluded from the early gay rights movements. The uprising helped catalyze a new era of LGBTQ activism. And both Marcia and Sylvia were frustrated by the exclusion of trans and non-white voices from early gay rights groups that Marcia and Sylvia co-founded Street Trans Fight Action Revolutionaries, which they nicknamed Star, in 1970 to support homeless trans youth. Marcia continued her activism through the 1970s and 80s, performing drag. appearing in Andy Warhol's art and speaking openly about living with HIV. In a devastating change of events, on July 6, 1992,

Marcia P. Johnson's body was discovered in the Hudson River. She was just 46 years old. Her death was initially ruled a suicide, but many of her friends doubted this and suspected foul play. That year, 1992 was recorded as the worst for anti-LGBQ violence by the New York Anti-Volence Project. The police later reclassified the case as a drowning with an undetermined cause, sparking outrage in the LGBTQ plus communities over the lack of proper investigation and minimal media coverage. Hundreds attended her funeral, filling the church and spilling out onto the streets.

It wasn't until 2012, the New York Police Department reopened the investigation into her death, but no answers have been found. But it's been officially not deemed a suicide. And recently a documentary called The Life and Death of Marsha P. Johnson aired on Netflix and shows friends and loved ones investigating her death on their own because of the lack of help from police. And I think we've all seen that movie. Yeah. Yeah. I think we all just watched it within the last couple weeks. Yeah.

And prep for this. Yeah. Highly recommend it to anybody that hasn't seen it, especially during Pride Month. Yeah. And it's a good follow up for this episode because most of the information that Cassie has shared, thus far was not included. Like it was alluded to a little bit, Stonewall and things like that. It was kind of, you know, incorporated a little bit just to give some context. But the majority of it was about the investigation into her death and things like that. So it's good to have this foundational

knowledge of the episode before watching it because it is a good standalone. And I think you'll get a lot out of it regardless or somebody would. But watching it after this especially, I think would be a lot more hard hitting and like I don't know. I just feel like I knew a bit about the stonewall ahead of time. So that was good. But for anyone who this information is new for, I think that's a good follow up the Netflix doc. Agreed. Especially laying the foundation of who Marsha P. Johnson is before diving into the documentary on her life. Like agreed. Yeah. Yeah. And I think really knowing who she is gives context to also why it seems very outlandish that she would. complete suicide by drowning in the Hudson River. And it really opens your eyes to the lack of

investigation that was done by police officers into her death, but also witnesses, and they talk about in the documentary witnesses come forward and say that she was concerned about her safety. And she thought that actually people within the mafia might be after her. And someone reported having seeing her being chased by someone not long before she went missing and then was ultimately found deceased. So there's a lot, and especially for Pride Month, I think it's, I agree, it's really important to watch and see. I mean, this is an ongoing investigation. This is an old news. This is current, current news. Today, there is now a national monument that commemorates the Stonewall uprising of June 28, 1969, which of course has been widely recognized as the catalyst for the modern

LGBTQ rights movement in the United States. Stonewall National Monument includes Christopher Park, originally created in 1837, along with Christopher Street and the Stonewall Inn. Stonewall was originally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2000, and became the very first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ History when President Obama created it in 2016. In 2024, the Stonewall National Monument opened the world's first, official LGBTQ Visitor Center at 51 Christopher Street offering educational exhibits and community programming.

Despite the Stonewall Uprising being led by transgender people, the National Park Service has recently removed references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website, now recognizing only lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in its language. Where the site once honored the full LGBTQ plus community, it now refers simply to to LGBT, omitting the T entirely. The updated site states, the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969 is a milestone in the quest for LGBT civil rights. I can't even say it.

I can't even say LGBT. It feels wrong. It feels wrong. It looks wrong. It feels wrong. You're ignoring a whole group of people. Group of people. Yeah, it's awful.

A vision that activists say erases the pivotal role transgender people played in that history itself. The co-owner of Stonewall Inn, Stacey Lentz, said, quote, this isn't just a small change, it's a calculated erasure. Trans women of color like Marcia P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were on the front lines of Stonewall uprising. To remove them is to rewrite history. Glad, the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation, which advocates for fair and accurate representation of queer people in media, called the change, quote, another example of the Trump's administration's blatant attempts to discriminate against and erase the legacies of transgender and queer Americans. In a statement, they added, you can try to erase our history, but we will never forget those

who came before us, and we will continue to fight for those who come after us. The Park Service claimed the language shift was in response to executive orders, originally signed from President Trump, defining gender as strictly male or female. While some historical references to transfigure remain deeper within the site, public-facing mentions have largely disappeared. Leaders from the Stonewall Inn gives back initiative says efforts to try to rewrite who is part of the movement is deeply harmful, saying, quote, we would not have pride as we know it today without trans people. New York City Governor Kathy Huckle condemned the move as cruel and petty, affirming that New York will never allow transgender

contributions to be erased. LGBTQ history isn't the only erasure happening in our national parks. The National Park Service recently scrubbed mentions of Harriet Tubman, enslaved people, and the Fugitive Slave Act from its Underground Railroad page. It also removed LGBTQ history from several other sites. In May, Interior Secretary Doug Bergam ordered all 400-plus federally managed sites to post signs encouraging visitors to report any exhibits or language that presents Americans negatively or fails to emphasize the beauty and grandeur of the nation. Critics say this effectively invites the public to police history and suppress uncomfortable truths. So they're literally asking people to say, if you see a sign in a national park that

you think doesn't portray America well to inform, to tattletail and say, like, this makes America not seem great and have it removed. It's a racing history. should be such a scary indicator. No. Like a very frightening indicator of what, like if you had any question as to motivation behind any of these policies or laws or changes, like that's your answer. Yeah. It's like how far are they going to go with this too? Like there's so much of our history that is negative.

And so like eventually are they just going to want to stop teaching history in school? Like, which sounds crazy to say. but like, you know, you can't put limits on how far they'll go. Yeah, and you're looking at this too. If you're asking the public to come in and be like, I don't like what that says. Where does that line go?

But also, these signs and this stuff that you're seeing in national parks, they're written by historians. They're written by people who are commemorating and remembering history. Whether it's ugly, whether it's bad, it's important. I mean, you're looking. One Stonewall, great example. We're taking the tea out of a uprising that was led by transgender people. And then it's like you're erasing the major part of the story.

And you look at Harriet Tubman in the Underground Railroad, you're not going to mention Harriet Tubman in the Underground Railroad. And then they also use words like white cooperation. Yeah. It's just maddening. It's very maddening. And especially for us as people who love to tell history. and the dark side of it is our entire podcast,

we know and recognize how important it is to know history, right? Because if you don't know it, you're doomed to repeat it. Yeah. Sites at risk for this, of course, include the Manzanar National Historic Site in California, which documents the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, which commemorates the 1965 Civil Rights Marches

for voting rights and the San Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado, where U.S. soldiers brutally killed hundreds of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in 1864. And of course, Stonewall, who was already subject to this erasure, the National Park Service has long been trusted for preserving and teaching U.S. history, and it's now being forced to choose to erase that. Alan Spears of the National Parks Conservation Association called the effort, quote, unprecedented unraveling of our nation's heritage, warning it threatens both historical integrity and public trust. And I mean, that kind of just goes into everything we just said, you know,

this is our history. It's not, it's not an opinion. It's not, it's not something that we can just pick and choose what we like and don't like. It's our history. And some of it's really important. You can't say, I don't like this community of people. So I don't want to recognize the strides that they've made in history. It's just who gets to pick and choose what we remember and what we learn. It's not right.

Yeah. I mean, what a time we're living in, unfortunately. It's just, you know, it's hard to believe that this is the reality that we're facing in the United States. But I know one thing.

I know just like at Stonewall, you know, when people rise up, we can make a difference and we can make our voices heard. So I know, none of these communities are going to be erased and we just got to make sure that we keep them a part of our history. Mm-hmm.

And that we keep telling these stories and we keep educating ourselves and making sure that these voices aren't forgotten or unheard. And like you said, people are going to stand up to this. This is the beginning of the community of everyone coming together and be like, hey, this is not, this is not, this is not, we're not going to stand for this and we're not going to accept this and part of doing that is telling these stories and continuing to inform people of this history that is trying to be erased. But of course, like I mentioned before, ignoring history lets us repeat past mistakes and it blocks progress for the future. So I wanted to go in to a little bit of

statistics of why it's important to be remembering this because overlooking specifically contributions of the trans and LGBTQ people fuels misinformation, prejudice, and violence. And I wanted to go into just some statistics to give people some context of what that means and what the transgender communities and just the LGBTQ communities have been facing already without this current erasure that's trying to happen. So I have a statistic here since 2013, 372 transgender and gender expansive individuals in the U.S. have been victims of fatal violence. As of November, 24, so seven months ago, there have already been 30 deaths that have been recorded. And I think a keyword there is reported.

Yeah. Yeah. Especially when it comes to transgender people, because a lot of times they're getting misgendered in the police reports as well. So it's so hard to know what the exact numbers are. That's a really good point, too. because misgendering is also this huge issue that's happening with police. And then just in general in the public and in health records and now with identifications, passports, things like that.

The majority of victims are people of color with black transgender women disproportionately affected, making up over 60% of all the victims. Most victims are under 35 years old, including several minors. The youngest recorded victim this year was only 4.000. 14 years old. A child? Yeah. A child. Fatal violence occurs nationwide across urban and rural areas with the highest numbers in Texas, Florida, and California. Cities such as Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta have reported some of the most cases as well. In nearly 40% of cases since 2013, no arrests have been made. However, arrests have been made in over half of the cases and nearly

half of those resulted in convictions. So even when arrests are made, only half of them or less than half are even being convicted. And 40% of them arrests aren't even made. And in that documentary that we were all talking about, you know, they do weave in together Marsha's story, but also the stories of other people, current day, you know, unfolding right now and the fight for justice. and there was one particular case that did end up in a conviction so that it would be in that statistic, but knowing that the family and loved ones of that person were so disappointed because the conviction resulted in a sentence that was far less than was expected. 10 and a half years.

For the perpetrator. Yeah. So it's like, yeah, in numbers that are already probably not representative of the truth, there's even more complexity to them that we need to keep in mind that just because they're a part of that percentage of convictions, it's not always like a slam dunk home run of, okay, justice has been served because in many cases, it's not. It's not. Yeah. I think of that case, it was 10 and a half years that you were mentioning that he was found guilty. He literally beat a transgender woman to death and found guilty.

And got 10 and a half years, that's it. For murder. For murder. Yeah. So, like, I can say these numbers and it doesn't even represent the atrocities that are truly happening and the injustices that the trans communities facing, especially with this heightened of violence that is that they're facing. I do have some more numbers here, though, gun violence is involved in approximately 70% of

deaths additionally, 18 people have died due to police action or while in police custody. So there's also these deaths that even once you're arrested and supposed to be like, you're arrested, but you're supposed to be safe. You're still not, you're not safe. Yeah. Yeah. It's scary when you count on a group of people to protect you and they're supposed to protect you and it's their job to protect you. And then they're the ones that end up causing your death. Yeah. It's. It's horrific and it's awful and it shouldn't be. There has to be a huge shift. I don't know like what the answer to that is, but there clearly needs to be a huge shift in how things are being handled. And I do think part of that is definitely advocacy and telling the stories and getting people to, I think a lot of people don't even know this is happening, which is a big problem in itself because how are you supposed to advocate or reach out to your representatives or know? if one, it's not in the news.

Yeah. And you're not hearing it. It's not in social, you're not seeing it on social media. It's getting way less attention than other things. And the first, I think one of the first steps and something that we can all do is just talk about it. Talk about it in our homes. Talk about it with our loved ones that this is happening and that it's not okay. Absolutely.

And I would encourage like anybody that's listening, you know, like our allies are, you two, are a huge voice for for our community and i think it's easy for you know a lot of straight communities to to maybe not know what's going on because maybe they don't have um anybody that's in the ljcccc community that's a friend of theirs or in an area where the community is vibrant and active and and so they just don't hear about it again it's not in the news like you said a lot of times and so it's hard to know that this isn't going that this is going on unless you are actively researching it. So I greatly applaud you two for for putting a spotlight on this. And to your followers so that they can know about what's going on. And I hope that that just

becomes an ongoing thing where other other podcasts and other media sources can get the stories out as well since our main news isn't doing a very good job at it. Yeah. And I think one of the really great things about our community with National Park After Dark is everyone's loving and great and supportive of queer communities and all communities. But especially, you know, I think that when, especially when our community hears stuff like this, they're like, wait, what? Either I didn't know that or thank you for talking about it. I have more information and we have, we've built such a strong community that we're really proud of. And I think that's part of why bringing these stories. We know we're bringing them to the right people who are going to

advocate as well. Yeah, I think I told you this before, but last, not last year, two years ago when I was on and you made the Instagram post about the episode. For several weeks, I was going back and reading the comments on it. And I never saw one negative comment. And I was just blown away that out of all of your listeners, like not one person felt like they needed to go over and troll and make a negative comment on it. And that's huge for the community that you to our community. That's huge for any type of post. It is. But especially, especially this. And like Cassie said, we're really proud of our listeners and our community. And I think another part of it about them specifically is they're so hungry and thirsty for knowledge and learning. And a lot of the things that we talk about,

a lot of people have never known or been aware of before. And sometimes it's something silly like a legend that they didn't know of before. And sometimes it's heavy and important like this. And no matter what it is, people are, our community is just really their appetite for knowing more so they can do better is just so high. And that's what we're so like, we feel an obligation to speak up and add our voices into causes that are important no matter what they are. And this is just such a big one that we would be remiss if we didn't speak on things like this, especially when there's so much happening in that's affecting people and members of our own community, you know, like a lot of. We have a huge LGBTQ community and trans. We've had so many people from the trans community

reach out and be like, please tell Marcia's story, you know, please highlight trans people in national parks, especially when Stonewall happened. And for us to ignore that, it would feel like we were doing a disservice, one, just with our voice, but also to the people who listen and in our part of our community. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, going into that, you have a really wonderful organization that incorporates the outdoors

and the queer community in a safe and very supportive, exciting way. Can you tell us one, I'd love to know some upcoming things that people can join because I know last time we had you on, a lot of people were really excited, but also where people can get involved and kind of help out and if they want to be part of it as well. Yeah, absolutely. Like, of course, this is a huge passion of mine and has turned from just like this, like we talked about at the beginning, this fun Instagram account into this movement. And there's a couple aspects of us that really stand out, I think. One of them is our ambassador program. And so we have, I think right now, I think we have around 40, in between 40 and 50 ambassadors across the U.S. who lead local chapters in their community.

So these are people that believe in the mission that we have of creating safe and diverse places for the queer community to explore outdoors. And they're actively getting people outdoors on a regular basis in a group setting so that they can feel safe and enjoy that community. And so that's been amazing. We've had so many people that have become ambassadors from the last time I was on two years ago. So now we actually have a whole ambassador team for people on the ambassador team. And I've already told them I'm like, be ready. Because last time it was just me and I was overwhelmed with how many applications we got. That's so, that's so fun to hear for us, just knowing that we can facilitate and just connect people to you.

I do you happen to know off the top of your head like any areas that are severely lacking ambassadors that you wish had because we can call them out right now yeah probably more surprise surprise probably more the Bible belt okay we definitely um and then part of the south we just got Alabama an ambassador in Alabama so that's cool but a lot of the Midwest we still could use Missouri Kansas Dakota's up in that area. It seems the areas that are going really strong are out west and out east. New Hampshire, like, I'll just say, like, I know you're up in New Hampshire. Like, our New Hampshire chapter is just amazing. And we have a ton of transgender people that are part of our chapter up there. And it's just amazing to see. Our home state. Our home state. Proud. You should be. I've made a lot of great friends and connections with people up in New Hampshire. So it's awesome. And I know on your website there is a ton of information about the ambassador program and what that entails and the application and things like that.

But just like super briefly, what does that look like for people who are like, oh, I'm in the Dakotas or I'm in the South. And I would love to be what is an ambassador? Like is that something I can take on just to give a brief. Yeah. And up front, when you go through the process, it can be a little bit overwhelming at first because there's a lot of like training and onboarding. and we do a video application interview with you. And so there's a lot that goes into it at the beginning. But once you get rolling with it, we ask for a year commitment.

We ask that for each chapter that we have and by chapters, for the most part, it's a state, but like New England is a chapter. Okay. And DMV, D.C., Virginia, Maryland is a chapter. So once in a while, we'll combine them. But generally, it's a state. We'll have a Facebook group. And I know that Facebook isn't the greatest place, but it's a great place and the best place

that we found to be able to create that community online. So we ask that you help keep an eye on that and run your states or your chapters Facebook group. And then we ask that you do an event at least one every other month. And we have some people that will do one or two events a month. But at the minimum, at least one every other month. And it can be as simple as getting some people together and going on a picnic or it might be a three or four day backpacking trip through the mountains. Our Colorado group is amazing and they've done where they've got up at like 2 a.m. in the morning and gone hiked 14ers. And I'm like, okay. That's very Colorado. That's very Colorado. Yeah. So it's it's all about your level. But we handle all of the backside of it and make it easy. So

our ambassadors submit the events. Our ambassador program event coordinators, they create graphics for it and get it up on registration up on our website and make sure people are getting their release forms in. So we handle a lot of the not-so-fun side so the ambassadors can handle more of the fun side. And so that's a big part of it. And it's all about really getting our community together and making them feel safe, seeing heard and getting representation out there. So it's not overly difficult, but it can be very rewarding for sure. Love it.

And for people who are listening that are like, that ambassador program sounds amazing. But I just want to join how to. Yeah. How do people just join it for a local event? Yeah. If you go to our website, which is just LGBTQoutdoors.com and go to the local chapters, you can see all of our ambassadors and where we have chapters as well as links to the

Facebook groups if you want to join. So I know a lot of people have ditched Facebook and that's totally fine. So if you can't join that way and you want to get connected, you can contact us through our website. We'll be sure to let you know how to get connected to your ambassador or the events. you can check out as well, but you will be able to see where we do have chapters currently. And so that's a good way too. You brought up where we might need people.

You can definitely check out the website and see where we do have chapters. And just because we do have an ambassador in that area does not mean that you can't apply as well because it is great to have several ambassadors in an area because when one time is up, then there's somebody there that's still going. Also, if you are only doing an event every other month, then that gives you guys an opportunity to rotate and have more and at least one event every month. So the website's a good place to get that information. Perfect. Fantastic. Yeah. Definitely want to shout out two other aspects of ways for people to get involved if they want. This year it's getting a little bit tight,

but we have started a new thing called the adventure trips. And these are just trips that we're doing to national parks and cool areas. And they have been selling out like crazy. So we only have one that still has space available, which is in October. And that's going to be to the Great Smoky Mountains. Oh, we were just talking about the Great Smoky Mountains and how. Nice. Yeah, we're like for one of the, you know, the most visited park, we've never been. Oh, wow.

Really? Okay. Yeah. Well, maybe you need to come on the trip with us. I guess so. But we're excited for it. The other ones that we've done this year are at Grand Canyon. We're doing Alaska in July.

We are doing Glacier in August. But again, those have sold out. It was just, it's, it's been amazing to see how fast these, these trips have been starting to fill up and the need that people want. It's so exciting. Yeah, you're speaking to the, I mean, everyone listening is already looking up the website. Like, wait, where can I sign up for this? Yeah, wait, great's with bounce trip.

It's funny because one of the leaders on it was like, I'm working so hard to get people signed up and I'm like, you know, I'm going to be on a podcast coming up with like, and I think it's probably going to help us out a lot to finish filling up that trip. Like, I think there's going to be some people. Yeah, yeah. How many spaces are available? So Great Smoky Mountains has the most out of any of our trips. I think there are 24 spots that were available and I think it's getting close to about half full now. Oh, and October there is going to be so beautiful. Yeah, it's starting on my birthday actually. So October 11th. Oh, nice. start. So it's going to be great. It's a little bit longer trip than we usually do. Our adventure

trips are typically about four days. This one's a little bit longer and it is going to be packed with wildlife viewing and hiking and white water rafting and zip lining and just like all of this stuff that we're going to pack into it. Yeah. So it's nice. It's going to be amazing. And then in September we have kind of our flagship event, which is called LGBTQ Outdoor And this is kind of became such a powerful event. It is four days. It's almost like a queer summer camp for adults. And we have four days of outdoor workshops where we bring in these great instructors from all

across the U.S. They do workshops. We do all these activities and just an incredible time of community. This year, it's actually going to be in New York, which is fun since we're talking about New York today. But it's going to be in the cat skills. And it's just going to be an amazing. time. So whether you like the outdoors or not, you know, and you're part of the queer community and you're

just wanting to explore more of what we're doing. Like, you're welcome to come to this. And all of the information, again, is on our website. But it is a time where people come thinking, I think that they're going to get some new information, new education and have this fun time. And they walk away, like, at the end of it, crying as they're saying their goodby is just being like, I had no idea this was going to impact me and transform my life the way that it did. Um, so, We're definitely making a difference. And I would love for any of your listeners to get connected with us. One other thing that I would really like to mention just because it's the time that we're living in is with the rollback of DEI initiatives and giving, our corporate donors and partners have been way down.

The ones that we have are amazing and incredible and I'm so thankful for them. But one, if there are any corporate donors out there that want to partner with us, we'd love to connect with you. but also we're really counting on our community to step up as well. We have this new program called the Trailblazer Society and people can join it for a monthly level, starting at 15 bucks, and there's different perks that you can get for different levels that they join up. But we're really asking our community that if what we're doing is meaningful to you, or you see the purpose and the mission behind it and you want to be a part of it, this is a great way that you can really help us go and do great things because,

unfortunately, it takes money to run a nonprofit in the organization. And as we grow, there is more and more need, which means more and more finances that we're needing. And so it's a great cause, especially in 2025, to put money into a great cause. Yeah. What's better than to, if you're able to give to something that you feel really strongly about. And if people are wanting to be part of the trailblazing community, how do they, how do they sign up for this? Exactly. Going to our website, LGBTQoutdoors.com. It's just backslash trailblazers dash society, I believe.

But it's in the menu as well. So as soon as you go to the website, you can see Trailblazers Society in the menu and you can check it out. Perfect. And of course, we're going to be linking your website directly in this episode description. So people can click on that and browse around whether they're interested in being an embedding. going on one of your trips or being a trailblazer or giving any sort of information you want, it's all there. You also have a podcast.

We do. There's also that. We have our podcast as well. And people can check it out pretty much wherever you listen. Spotify, Apple Pie Podcast, just search LGBTQ Outdoors podcast and it'll come up. But it's kind of our way of trying to provide free education and stories directly to the queer outdoor community. And it's been, it's one of those things, too, that I never expected to hear some of the stories that we have heard. But it's not uncommon for us to get an email from somebody

in a very rural area who is older in life and like, I will tell us they've never come out. They don't feel like they can ever come out because of their family and work and all, all that. And they get to live vicariously through our podcast and the guests that we have on our podcast. And so it is encouraging. As you know, doing a podcast is a lot of work on top of everything else in life. But we are trying to, we try hard to try to get episodes out every other week when we can and would love to eventually turn it into weekly. But it's, it's definitely a resource that people can check out as well. Yeah. And if people haven't listened yet, we were on your podcast. You were. Yeah. Two years ago.

We did trivia, right? What's the trick? I think we did, did two different episodes. I'd have to go back and look. I know we did trivia, which was fun. I think we did do too. Yeah. The trivia one I definitely remember and it was interesting and fun. And you started doing some trivia too, right? We always do trivia here and there. We sprinkle it in here and there. Yeah. Cool. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. We know you're very busy with Pride Month and everything and we're excited to see all of your events and things that you'll be up to for the remainder of the month. But thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you. It's always an honor. I know that I've said it in the past, but this is my favorite podcast by far, not just because I'm on it, but I got from the first time I started listening to it.

And I think what you are doing is incredible and definitely goes so much deeper than just providing entertainment for people. Like, you're creating community, you're making sure history stays alive, you're educating people. And, you know, like the community that you have created speaks volume to who you two are as people. I just, it's just amazing. So well done. Thank you so much,

Justin, for the kind words and everyone listening, go overwhelm him and please go flood the website. You know where to find everything. We'll link it in the episode description. And we will see you next time.

In the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch you're back. Bye, everyone. Bye. Thank you for joining us again. this week. If you love National Park After Dark and want to hear exclusive bonus stories,

join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Patreon subscribers have access to our National Park After Dark Book Club, live streams, Discord, and much more. If you prefer to watch our episodes, video episodes are now available on YouTube. If you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite listening platform. And to follow along with all our adventures, you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X, at National Park After Dark. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind.

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