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The inception of Pride Month can be traced back to the Stonewall riots, a series of protests calling for gay liberation beginning on June 28, 1969. The catalyst for the riots was a violent police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Lower Manhattan, New York City. In the aftermath of the riots, the LGBTQ+ community organized numerous Pride marches and events in cities across the United States, with Boston holding their first official Gay Pride March in June 1971.
North of Boston, the North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance (NSGLA) was founded in September 1978 as the North Shore Gay Alliance when David Newton, a Salem State College faculty member, organized a group to evaluate political candidates' dedication to gay and lesbian rights.
The initial meeting occurred on October 23, 1978, on Ober Street in Beverly, Massachusetts. During this meeting, a survey for political candidates was developed. By the next month, approximately six students from Salem State College and several residents from the North Shore had joined the task force.
On December 11, 1978, at what was scheduled to be the group’s last meeting, members voted to continue their political work, formally creating the NSGLA. In addition to politics, the organization aimed to develop educational programs and organize social events to bring together the North Shore’s LGBTQ+ community. Members told the Salem Evening News “Every other minority group…have the support of their families. We don’t…So that’s why there’s a strong drive to relate to others and develop our own identity – for reinforcement, sharing, and politics, in particular.”
Over the next year, the NSGLA met frequently, often in board members’ homes, and within six months had a mailing list of more than 200. Some members were not comfortable being publicly identified and used P.O. boxes and false names to receive their monthly newsletter, The Alliance, due to fears of discrimination and violence. The group gradually moved their gatherings to public halls and community spaces as their numbers increased. In early publications chronicling the formation of the group, founding members provided only their first names: Joe, David, and Dave.
In October 1979, the NSGLA took part in the March on Washington to demand LGBTQ+ rights. That month, the Lynn Daily Item reported that "One member of the gay community claims that upwards of 10,000 persons in the Greater Lynn area are directly or indirectly involved in the cause. The local group, which once met in semi-secret, holds regular meetings…" The newspaper then documented the work of Dr. Patricia Babcock Hastings, who was then an Assistant Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University, as she "spent several weeks examining the lifestyles of gay men and women in the Greater Lynn Area." In December 1979, the Item published a four-part series sharing stories from Hasting’s research. The series began with an article by Hastings featuring an interview with Jay C. Gilbert, owner of Lynn Plant and Garden Center. Gilbert recounted his experience as a gay man living in Massachusetts. In the article, he said, “People are always afraid of something they don’t know. If they would only realize they have gay children, gay parents… the man who cuts their hair, the man who sells them shoes. I mean we are everywhere. If they only knew us, they would know we are no threat.” Hastings was later honored by the United Press International and Massachusetts Press Association in recognition of the series.
In February 1980, the North Shore Gay Alliance celebrated Gay History Week by organizing free events in downtown Salem and Beverly. The Item reported, "The alliance mentioned that, for the first time anywhere, several renowned archivists, historians, and lecturers were brought together to share their insights on their own contributions to the field of gay history."
The group celebrated its second anniversary on Sunday, November 2, 1980, at the Daniels House in Salem. They continued to hold public discussions around the North Shore including at Salem State College, where the events were co-sponsored by the college’s Gay Task Force and Women’s Studies Program. The group covered a variety of topics including: “Coming Out,” “Gays and Their Parents,” “Aging and the Gay Community,” and “Lesbian and Gay Ancestors in the Boston Area.”
By early 1981, the organization voted to add Lesbian to its name, officially becoming the North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance. They held their first public Annual Meeting at Old Town Hall in Salem in February.
During each election cycle, the NSGLA co-sponsored Candidate Nights. These forums helped determine which candidates would have their support. Frederick E. Berry, an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, was elected to the State Senate in 1982 and served until his retirement in 2013. Salem State’s library building now bears his name.
NSGLA’s group discussions increasingly focused on health as the AIDS epidemic continued to instill fear and stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community.
Isolated cases of HIV/AIDs in the U.S. have been identified going back to the 1960s, but the epidemic "officially" began on June 5, 1981, when the CDC first reported unusual symptoms in five gay men in Los Angeles. The Reagan administration neglected the epidemic; it took until 1985 before the president discussed AIDS publicly.
NSGLA held regular conversations with leading doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital to help protect and inform the community beginning in January 1984. They formed their first subcommittee in 1986. The founder, Doug Burritt, said upon its announcement that he received around "one call each week from people and their friends who are displaying characteristic symptoms of AIDS."
Entering the 1990s, the group continued to be vocal about political and cultural issues and members were frequently called upon to represent the LGBTQ+ community in the media. In 1993, members were surveyed about the United States military’s policy of excluding and terminating service personnel based on their sexual orientation. At that time, approximately 1,500 individuals were discharged annually. Then-president of NSGLA, Stephen Galante, told reporters, "I think it's an extremely important issue, not just for the gay community but for equality as a whole."
In December 1992, the North Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (NAGLY) was established in response to the high suicide rate among LGBTQ+ teens. The social group was open to individuals aged 13 to 22, and they met twice each month. Peg O’Neil, Executive Director of Samaritans of Boston, stated to the Lynn Daily Item in March 1993, “It provides young people with a safe place and adult role models who convey the message, ‘You can lead a fulfilling life, you can be accepted, and you can make a meaningful contribution.”
The North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance disbanded in 1998. However, NAGLY continues to support the North Shore and is recognized as one of the largest LGBTQ+ youth centers in the United States. June was federally recognized as Pride Month in 1999, in recogition of the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Salem celebrated its inaugural Pride Parade in June 2012.
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Digitized Archives
North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance Photographs and Ephemera
North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance Records
The Alliance Bulletin, 1981
Through A Rainbow Lens: A Reflection on Lynn’s LGBTQ+ History
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