In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with filmmaker Kristen Lovell about the historic Stonewall Riots Reenactment that takes place on June 29th at the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The reenactment is part of a floor to ceiling interactive Stonewall Inn Bar installation that runs now through September 2nd 2024 before kicking off a national tour. Lovell of HBO's “The Stroll" will portray Gay Liberation Activist Marsha P. Johnson for the reenactment. Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of June 28th 1969 when police raided the establishment resulting in arrests, riots and fire sparking the global LGBTQ human rights movement. Johnson was a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and co-founded the radical activist group Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) alongside close friend Sylvia Rivera. For the first time NYC’s iconic Stonewall Inn will become a nationwide traveling time machine and the set of the historic Stonewall New York Experience reenactment on Saturday June 29th from 4:30P to 7P with local police and other community members playing a role in the reenactment. Visitors are also asked to dress in their 1960s best and consider wearing gender bending clothing which was illegal in 1969. The Stonewall New York Experience was created to remind us all how important bars like the Stonewall Inn and bar culture are to our LGBTQ community. Many of these establishments were a safe haven, others a place to forge friendships, find love and enjoy the freedom of acceptance. As the beloved Stonewall Inn burned to the ground the Stonewall Riots ignited a united front to ban together, to fight together for the indelible human rights that unfortunately many take for granted. We talked to Kristen about what she hopes to accomplish with this historic Stonewall Riots reenactment and give us her spin on our LGBTQ issues.
Kristen Lovell is a trans rights activist, filmmaker and former sex worker. After experiencing homelessness as a teenager in NYC during the late 1990s and early 2000s she went on to work for various organizations advocating for the rights of trans people and sex workers. After studying filmmaking at Lincoln Center she went on to co-direct the documentary film “The Stroll” currently streaming on MAX based in part on her experiences. For over 50 years the Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library in Fort Lauderdale has tirelessly fought to tell the stories of our LGBTQ community ensuring it holds its place in the historic record. For More Info…
Kristen’s “The Stroll” is a captivating depiction of the Trans world in the 60’s and her work on The Reenactment will be both stunning and illuminating.
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