New York State Office of General Services Commissioner Jeanette Moy today announced “PRIDE in PRINT,” the 2024 LGBTQ+ Pride Month exhibit, is now on view in the Governor’s Reception Room on the Capitol’s second floor.

 “The Office of General Services team is proud to celebrate the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community in New York with a Pride Month exhibit in our state’s Capitol,” Commissioner Moy said. “‘PRIDE in PRINT tells the story of the publications created by activists fighting for LGBTQ+ rights across our state at a crucial time in the movement. These publications were instrumental in the LGBTQ+ community’s efforts to spread their message on the great need for political and societal change.”

“PRIDE in PRINT” highlights the explosion of small press LGBTQ+ pamphlets and newsletters in communities across New York State following the coverage by mainstream newspapers of the 1969 police raid at the Stonewall Inn in New York City and the three days of violence that followed. Activists seized the moment and began circulating the publications to take back their story— not to ask for tolerance and acceptance but to demand equality and celebrate diversity.

These typewritten, Xeroxed, and collaged newsletters connected, educated, raised awareness, expressed dissent, and were platforms for a range of opinions.

Publications explored in the exhibit, include:

• “Come Out!,” was first published in June 1969 in New York City by those on the front lines of the Stonewall uprising. It celebrated the confidence and pride of LGBTQ+ culture and also served as a manifesto for revolutionary change.
• “The Empty Closet,” was based in Rochester and is one of the oldest continuously published LGBTQ+ papers in the nation, running for almost 50 years before pausing printing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• “Fifth Freedom” was published from 1970 to 1983 by one of Buffalo’s most prominent gay rights organizations of its time, the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier.
• “CommUNITY,” was produced by the Pride Center of the Capital Region in Albany, the oldest continually operating pride center in the nation.
• “Gay Light” was first published in 1976 by the Gay Light Collective of Syracuse, and its editors used their final edition in 1980 to emphasize the importance of outreach to rural areas of New York State, where LGBTQ+ communities felt isolated from the rights movement.

For more information and to view an online version of the exhibit, visit empirestateplaza.ny.gov/pride-print.