From Chalk to a lifetime

from Mark Segal of Philadelphia Gay News: It was Gov. Josh Shapiro who reminded me that this past weekend marked a powerful triple anniversary.

I had just spent two full days greeting visitors at the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, sharing my firsthand account of that first night of the riots and the birth of the Gay Liberation Front. I stood in a place that itself was marking its first anniversary, while telling people that this year's march would be the 55th anniversary of Pride. And personally - for me - it was 56 years since I stood on that street, writing in chalk under the direction of Marty Robinson: "Tomorrow Night Stonewall."

Funny thing about that moment. On June 27, to kick off Pride weekend in New York, Ann Marie Gothard - one of the founders of the Visitor Center - along with her wife Diana Rodriguez, suggested I recreate that moment and write the same message in chalk at the Center's entrance. So I bent over (a little more slowly than I did at 18!) and began to write "Tomorrow Night Stonewall."

Then we all noticed - I had misspelled "tomorrow."

Ann Marie laughed and said, "Well, it's been 56 years - you get a pass!"

So of course, we fixed it.

Greeting and hugging hundreds of visitors from around the world was deeply emotional. I heard stories filled with gratitude, pain and pride - some visitors holding back tears, others crying openly in my arms. The Center brings those emotions to the surface. It connects the past to the present in a way few places can.

And just when I thought the weekend had reached its emotional peak, I got a text from Gov. Shapiro reminding me that it was also the anniversary of Gov. Milton Shapp's signing of the nation's first statewide executive order banning discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in state government. That moment, too, is part of our legacy.

It was a weekend filled with memory, meaning and momentum. And while my body may have been tired, my heart was full.

About the Author

Mark Segal Mark Segal is an American journalist. He is the founder and publisher of Philadelphia Gay News and has won numerous journalism awards for his column "Mark My Words," including best column by The National Newspaper Association, Suburban Newspaper Association and The Society of Professional Journalists.