LGBTQ+ in Ithaca: Exploring lived experiences

Tompkins County is the setting for many important moments and milestones in the LGBTQ+ community. From a student-led protest at Morrie’s Bar in 1968 — potentially one of the first gay student sit-ins in the United States — to the formation of the Student Homophile League at Cornell University in 1969 — the second public gay student organization in the country, the LGBTQ+ community has made its presence known in Ithaca.

Downtown Ithaca Alliance Inclusive sticker / Source: Downtown Ithaca

There was also the Ithaca Statement on Bisexuality at the General Conference for Friends in 1972, which brought together 1,400 Quakers to Ithaca to develop what was the first formal statement about bisexuality. And the City of Ithaca was among the first municipalities to pass a law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 1984.

Tompkins County’s LGBTQ+ population has a strong presence within the community, which is why I am so excited to begin my work covering the community — the people, places and their stories — during my time at Ithaca Week. I am eager to highlight some of the well-known stories, as well as dig deeper into those that often go unspoken; to highlight what it means to be LGBTQ+ in Ithaca, New York.

If you have any tips for potential stories or just want to chat about your experience, please reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter @ElizabethKhar26, or send me an email at ekharabadze@ithaca.edu.