822. 1111. WELL, JUNE 24TH MARKS A GRIM BUT INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN NEW ORLEANS HISTORY. 50 YEARS AGO TODAY, A GAY BAR IN THE CITY’S FRENCH QUARTER WAS INTENTIONALLY SET ON FIRE, KILLING 32 PEOPLE. AND AS WE CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH, I RECENTLY TALKED TO A LOCAL AUTHOR ABOUT HOW FAR WE’VE COME SINCE THAT DAY IN THE WORK. WE STILL NEED TO DO EVERY NEGATIVE IN NEW ORLEANS IS A CITY KNOWN FOR CELEBRATING AUTHENTICITY. IT’S A TOWN WHERE BEING UNIQUELY YOU IS ALWAYS IN STYLE. BUT THE TRUTH IS, HISTORICALLY, IT WAS EXTREME, HOMOPHOBIC. AND I THINK THAT’S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT. FRANK PEREZ, A LOCAL AUTHOR AND RESEARCHER OF THE QUEER COMMUNITY, SAYS IN THE 1970S, HATRED FOR HOMOSEXUALITY RAN RAMPANT. BUT THIS BUILDING, NESTLED AT THE CORNER OF IBERVILLE AND CHARTER STREET, WAS A SAFE SPACE FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY. IT REALLY DIDN’T CARE WHAT YOUR ORIENTATION WAS. IT DIDN’T CARE WHAT COLOR OF YOUR SKIN WAS. SO IT WAS IT WAS UNIQUE. THESE PICTURES SHOW THE UPSTAIRS LOUNGE AT ITS BEST, BUSY, LIKELY BOISTEROUS AND A GREAT PLACE TO HAVE A BEER ON A SUNDAY NIGHT LIKE JUNE 24TH, 1973. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR NIGHTS OF THE WEEK FOR THE BAR AND THAT EVENING, ON JUNE 24TH, THERE WAS A PATRON WHO WAS REALLY DRUNK AND BEING OBNOXIOUS, BUT THAT MAN WAS EVENTUALLY KICKED OUT. HE GOT ANGRY AND HE SCREAMED, I’M GOING TO COME BACK AND BURN YOU ALL OUT OF HERE. IT’S A THREAT. NO ONE PAID MUCH ATTENTION TO UNTIL GRAPHIC. THEY ARE HORRIFYING IMAGES CAPTURED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE AND OTHER LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOW HOW SERIOUS THOSE WORDS WERE IN TOTAL, 29 PEOPLE PERISHED TRYING TO ESCAPE THE INFERNO. ANOTHER THREE DIED LATER AT THE HOSPITAL, PEREZ SAYS IN THE AFTERMATH, THE VICTIMS WERE NOT TREATED WITH CARE. SOMETHING CAPTURED BY A CAMERA’S LENS. YOU COULD SEE HIS HAIR BURNED OFF AND HIS FACE ALL DISTORTED. AND THE POLICE LEFT HIM HANGING OUT OF THAT WINDOW OVER CHARTER STREET FOR HOURS. THE SCARS FROM THAT NIGHT ARE STILL ALIVE 50 YEARS LATER. LUCKILY, LESS GUNS WERE LEARNED. NEW ORLEANS IS A MORE ACCEPTING, TOLERANT CITY IN 2023, BUT PEREZ STRESSES, UNLESS WE REMEMBER OUR PAST, WE WILL REPEAT IT. THE NICE THING ABOUT COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET IS THERE’S GREAT FREEDOM AND JUST NOT CARING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. AND YOU KNOW WHAT WE DECIDED AS A GROUP A LONG TIME AGO WAS WE’RE NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR ANYBODY TO TELL OUR STORY. WE’RE GOING TO TELL OUR STORY. AND NO ARRESTS WERE EVER MADE IN THE UPSTAIRS LOUNGE. ARSON. BUT PEREZ SAYS THE MAN BELIEVED TO BE RESPONSIBLE, COMMITTED SUICIDE NOT LONG AFTER THE FIRE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS MOMENT IN OUR CITY’S PAST, YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND LOOK FOR THIS STORY. YOU’LL FIND A LINK TO THE LGBT PLUS ARCHIVES PROJECT OF LOUISIANA’S RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT. AND WE WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT HAPPENING LATER TODAY, THERE WILL BE A MEMORIAL TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO DIED IN THE DEADLY FIRE. THAT’S AT 330 AT SAINT MARK’S CHURCH ON RAMPART STREET. AND THEN AFTER T