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A Seat at the Table: LGBTQ Representation in New York Politics examines the personal lives and political experiences of New York City LGBTQ elected officials in the City Council and State Legislature from the 1990s to the present. The passage of the Gay Rights Bill in City Council in 1986 and the formation of the activist organizations ACT UP in 1987 and Queer Nation in 1990 facilitated the election of several LGBTQ community organizers into political office, including Deborah Glick in the State Assembly in 1990, Thomas Duane in City Council in 1991, and Margarita Lopez in City Council in 1997. As the city’s queer population became increasingly organized, other LGBTQ individuals won elections in the 2000s and beyond. Though they focused on multiple issues to address the needs of their constituents, they aimed in particular to advance the rights of New York’s LGBTQ community through education, legislation, and advocacy. Some legislative accomplishments in the state include the passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) in 2002, the Marriage Equality Act in 2011, and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) in 2019.

A Seat at the Table provides intimate glimpses of these elected officials through oral history, video, and photography. It chronicles their personal challenges and struggles as well as their triumphs and achievements. Some topics include coming out, family relationships, and intersectional identity. The exhibit illuminates their grassroots level work, their entry into electoral politics, and their mentor relationships. Above all, A Seat at the Table explores the connection between their queer identities and political involvements. These elected officials helped transform New York politics by expanding civil rights, regulating the workplace, challenging traditional cultural norms, and funding social and educational organizations and institutions. They all shared faith in the value of civic engagement and understood that political representation was necessary to foster change. As former City Councilman and State Senator Thomas Duane observed, “There’s no substitute for a seat at the table.”

Three curricula units for high school teachers and college professors accompany this exhibit. The topics are 1) the exclusion and inclusion of LGBTQ groups from the St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2) LGBTQ homeless youth in New York City, and 3) the displacement of the sex industry from Times Square in the 1990s. Each unit includes a background essay and primary source documents and questions, meant to be used in the classroom to spark discussion and to generate writing assignments.


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    Exhibition Team:
  • Thierry Gourjon-Bieltvedt, Co-Curator, Professor, Photography
  • Stephen Petrus, Co-Curator, Director of Public History Programs, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Brandon Calva, Videographer, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Mike Schuwerk, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Art Director and Designer
  • Oleg Kleban, Information Systems Associate, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Isadora Martinez, Front-End Developer, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
    Curriculum Team:
  • Stephen Petrus, Director of Public History Programs, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Tara Jean Hickman, Adjunct Professor, Social Sciences/Educational Associate
  • Juline Koken, Professor, Department of Health Sciences
    Advisory Team:
  • Allie Brashears, Director of LGBTQ+ Programs, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Chelsea Del Rio, Co-chair, Associate Professor of History
  • Richard K. Lieberman, Co-chair, Director, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • André Ford, High School Equivalency Program Specialist for the CUNY Fatherhood Academy
  • Steven Hitt, Artistic Producing Director, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, LPAC
  • David Housel, Director of the CUNY Language Immersion Program
  • Nathan Tosh, Program Coordinator, Women’s Center and LGBTQIA Safe Zone Hub
  • Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez, Associate Professor of English
  • Liena Vayzman, Associate Professor of Fine Arts
    LaGuardia Student Photographers:
  • Christian Garcia
  • Makoto Kato
  • Veronica Luz
  • Luisa Madrid
    LaGuardia Student Research Assistants:
  • Caitlin Caporal
  • Franci Medrano
  • Scottie Norton
  • Jessica Ortiz
  • Valerie Pires
    LaGuardia and Wagner Archives Staff:
  • Soraya Ciego-Lemur, Deputy Director
  • Douglas Di Carlo, Archivist
  • Stephen Weinstein, Assistant to the Director
  • Molly Rosner, Director of Education Programs
  • David Mezick, Archivist
  • Riley Owens, Graphic Designer
  • Andrew Tripp, Assistant Archivist
  • Carol Vogel, Assistant Archivist
    Special Thanks:
  • Kenneth Adams, President, LaGuardia Community College
  • Paul Arcario, Provost, LaGuardia Community College

This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the New York City Council, in particular, former Speaker Corey Johnson and former Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm.


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In the wake of racist murders in Queens in 1986 and Brooklyn in 1989, the New York City Board of Education created a curriculum for first grade teachers in 1991 to promote racial and ethnic harmony and decrease prejudice and bigotry. Called the Children of the Rainbow Curriculum, the resource guide contained 443 pages of suggested lessons and readings for educators to help their students develop academic and social skills. Amid debates about multicultural education, advocates argued it was essential for students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to see themselves represented in the classroom. It also included references to same-sex headed couples in the “Families” section. Opponents seized on the mentions of same-sex couples as well as the recommended books Heather Has Two Mommies, Daddy's Roommate, and Gloria Goes to Gay Pride. Queens Community School District 24, headed by President Mary Cummins, refused to adopt the curriculum. “We will not accept two people of the same sex engaged in deviant sex practices as ‘family’,” remarked Cummins. The Christian Coalition of America mobilized to oppose the curriculum in New York City and multicultural education nationwide.

Following the disputes, Children of the Rainbow was defeated in 1992, and the contract of Schools Chancellor Joseph Fernandez was not renewed in 1993 due to his backing of the curriculum as well as his support of AIDS education and condom distribution in public high schools. In response to the tumult, Matt Foreman of the Anti-Violence Project and Ed Sedarbaum of Queens Gays and Lesbians United organized the “March for Truth” in Ridgewood, Queens in District 24 to protest the rejection of the curriculum and counter the lies, myths, and distortions of the opponents. Danny Dromm, a fourth grade teacher in P.S. 199 in Sunnyside, Queens in District 24 came out in public as a gay man and became a champion of the curriculum. He also began to plan a parade with activist Maritza Martinez in Jackson Heights to increase the visibility of the local LGBTQ population in a borough often associated with bigotry. The inaugural Queens Lesbian and Gay Parade and Block Party Festival took place on June 6, 1993. Some 1,000 marchers participated, and thousands of spectators attended.

First Grade Culture Wars: The Children of the Rainbow Curriculum Controversy of 1992 provides insight into the conflict through oral history, video, and photography. Firsthand participants, including educators, journalists, activists, students, parents, and politicians, reflect about educational curriculum, LGBTQ families, multiculturalism, challenged books, gay rights, the conservative opposition, and more. Documentary filmmaker and photographer Richard Shpuntoff conducted some of the oral history interviews with LaGuardia Community College Sociologist Michelle Payne and her students. In this essay, he reflects about his experience. LaGuardia Community College student Billy Cannon wrote an essay based on his research in the Daniel Dromm Collection at LaGuardia and Wagner Archives under the supervision of Associate Professor of Communication Studies Poppy Slocum.


The below individuals were not photographed by LaGuardia Community College students.


    Exhibition Team:
  • Thierry Gourjon-Bieltvedt, Co-Curator, Professor, Photography
  • Stephen Petrus, Co-Curator, Director of Public History Programs, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Richard Shpuntoff, Oral Historian
  • Poppy Slocum, Faculty Mentor, Associate Professor of Communication Studies
  • Michelle Payne, Faculty Mentor, Lecturer in Sociology
  • Riley Owens, Video Editor, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Mike Schuwerk, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Art Director and Designer
  • Oleg Kleban, Information Systems Associate, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
    LaGuardia Student Photographers:
  • Christian Garcia
  • Veronica Luz
    LaGuardia and Wagner Archives Staff:
  • Richard K. Lieberman, Director
  • Soraya Ciego-Lemur, Deputy Director
  • Allie Brashears, Director of LGBTQ+ Programs
  • Douglas Di Carlo, Archivist
  • Stephen Weinstein, Assistant to the Director
  • Molly Rosner, Director of Education Programs
  • David Mezick, Archivist
  • Brandon Calva, Videographer
  • Andrew Tripp, Assistant Archivist
  • Carol Vogel, Assistant Archivist
  • Tara Jean Hickman, Adjunct Professor, Social Sciences
  • Isadora Martinez, Front-End Developer
    Special Thanks:
  • Kenneth Adams, President, LaGuardia Community College
  • Paul Arcario, Provost, LaGuardia Community College

This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the New York City Council, in particular, former Speaker Corey Johnson and former Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm.


The Battle for Intro. 2:
The New York City Gay Civil Rights Bill, 1971 - 1986

This exhibit chronicles the struggle in New York City to pass the Gay Rights Bill, a local law known as Intro. 2 in the City Council. Initially proposed in 1971, the Gay Rights Bill was the first of its kind in the nation. It was meant to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, and public accommodations, amending the city’s existing Human Rights Law. After fifteen years of grassroots activism and reactionary opposition, the Gay Rights Bill passed in City Council in 1986 by a vote of 21 to 14, making New York the 51st city in the country to pass such a civil rights measure.

What took so long? The opposition was fierce. This exhibit introduces viewers to advocates and opponents of the Gay Rights Bill. Early on, the strongest supporters were from the Gay Activists Alliance, formed in 1969 by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front. Powerful opponents included the Catholic Church, the Police Department, and the Fire Department, though there were dissenting voices in each. In the City Council, Majority Leader Thomas Cuite prevented the bill from passing in the General Welfare Committee to allow for a full floor vote. Ed Koch, Mayor of New York from 1978 to 1989, himself a closeted gay man, supported the bill but frustrated activists by not speaking forcefully for it and for respecting council members opposed to it for religious reasons. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic hit New York in the 1980s, the movement to pass the bill intensified, fueled by the efforts of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights, the New York City Human Rights Commission, Men of All Colors Together, and other groups. And when Intro. 2 finally passed in 1986, advocates feared the law would not be effectively enforced. The struggle continued, and new battles emerged.

Organized by theme, this exhibit invites visitors to engage with the recollections of figures in the gay and lesbian rights movement in New York in the 1970s and 80s. These individuals reflect about their personal experiences from various perspectives. Some pressured City Council to pass the bill while others worked as community organizers. Their remembrances often reinforce each other, though sometimes they differ in emphasis. On some issues, they disagree altogether. In all cases, their accounts illuminate not just a legislative matter but a civil rights movement surprisingly neglected by historians and mostly unknown to the citizens of New York City.

  • Gay Activists Alliance
  • Gay New York, Homophobic New York
  • Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights
  • Advocacy for the Gay Rights Bill in New York City Council
  • Anita Bryant
  • Tom Cuite
  • New York City Human Rights Commission
  • National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979
  • Religion
  • Race
  • AIDS
  • Ed Koch
  • Passage of the Gay Rights Bill of 1986
  • Legal Enforcement of the Gay Rights Bill

Spokesperson, Coalition of Lesbian and Gay Rights Joyce Hunter
Photo: Alexis Gines

Legal Counsel, Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights Christopher Lynn
Photo: John Puga

City Council Member, 4th District, Manhattan, 1978 - 1988 Ruth Messinger
Photo: Sead Cena

President, Gay Activists Alliance, 1972 Richard Wandel
Photo: Sead Cena

Spokesperson, Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights  Andy Humm
Photo: Yakira Nunez

Special Assistant to Mayor John Lindsay Ronnie Eldridge
Photo: Yakira Nunez

Staff Attorney, New York City Commission on Human Rights AIDS Discrimination Unit Mitchell Karp
Photo: Sead Cena

Executive Director of the Division of Real Property in the Administration of Mayor Ed Koch Rick Landman
Photo: Yakira Nunez

9 Title Firstname Lastname
Photo: name of photographer

Chair of the Municipal Committee, Gay Activists Alliance Allen Roskoff
Photo: Alexis Gines

Investigator, New York City Commission on Human Rights Lesbian and Gay Discrimination Project/AIDS Discrimination Unit Charles Brack
Photo: Alexis Gines

Metropolitan Community Church Representative to the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights Tom Smith
Photo: Sead Cena

Director, New York City Commission on Human Rights Lesbian and Gay Discrimination Project Katy Taylor
Photo: Alexis Gines

Founder, AIDS Ministry with Dignity NY Bernárd Lynch
Photo: Sead Cena

Public School Teacher, P.S. 199 in Sunnyside, Queens Daniel Dromm
Photo: Christian Garcia

Democratic District Leader, 64th Assembly District, 1982 - 1989 Thomas Duane
Photo: Veronica Luz

National Coordinator of the March on Washington in 1979 Steven Ault
Photo: Sutiam Kruawan


    Exhibition Team:
  • Stephen Petrus, Co-Curator, Historian, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Brandon Calva, Videographer, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Mike Schuwerk, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Art Director and Designer
  • Oleg Kleban, Information Systems Associate, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
    LaGuardia Student Photographers:
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
  • Name
    Special Thanks:
  • Kenneth Adams, President, LaGuardia Community College
  • Paul Arcario, Provost, LaGuardia Community College
    LaGuardia and Wagner Archives Staff:
  • Soraya Ciego-Lemur, Deputy Director
  • Douglas Di Carlo, Archivist
  • Andrew Tripp, Assistant Archivist
  • Stephen Weinstein, Assistant to the Director
    Advisory Team:
  • Chelsea Del Rio, Co-chair, Associate Professor of History
  • Richard K. Lieberman, Co-chair, Director, LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
  • Allie Brashears, Associate Professor of Biology
  • Steven Hitt, Artistic Producing Director, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, LPAC
  • David Housel, Associate Director, CUNY Language Immersion Program
  • Nathan Tosh, Program Coordinator, Women's Center and LGBTQIA Safe Zone Hub
  • Sonia Alejandra Rodriguez, Associate Professor of English
  • Liena Vayzman, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts

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