Thirty years ago, America's lesbians and gays — a largely closeted, fragmented and shunned community — experienced a profound turning point.

On June 27, 1969, in what is considered the birth of the modern gay civil rights movement, the homosexual, bisexual and transgendered patrons of the Stonewall Bar in New York City spontaneously united and fought back against chronic police harassment, jeers and arrests.

AFTER STONEWALL, a 90-minute special airing on PBS Wednesday, June 23, 1999, 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings), chronicles the gay and lesbian experience since the Stonewall riots.

From the emergence of the 70's Gay Liberation Movement and Womyn's music festivals to the onslaught of AIDS, the vibrant Gay Games movement and Ellen DeGeneres' highly publicized coming out performance, AFTER STONEWALL presents a story as compelling, rewarding and provocative as the individual lesbians and gays who defined the era.

Narrated by celebrated musical artist Melissa Etheridge, AFTER STONEWALL captures the struggles, defeats and triumphs of a proud, though still stigmatized, community. The film records the personal accounts of gays and lesbians who have transformed not only their own lives, but also American society and the world community.

According to program producer John Scagliotti, "These are the stories that prompted the public to question its own fundamental values with regard to family, work, religion and relationships.... Through this film, viewers will be educated about the profound influence gays and lesbians have had on the shaping of the 20th century."

Archival and never-before-released footage from the gay and lesbian community, including personal videos and 8mm home movies, provides the centerpiece of AFTER STONEWALL.

Filmmakers interviewed more than 200 people for the film, including author Armistead Maupin; early activists Frank Kameny, Jewelle Gomez and Barbara Gittings; Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.); novelist Dorothy Allison; presidential advisor David Mixner; drag entertainer Charles Ching; best-selling author Rita Mae Brown; gay community leader Elizabeth Birch; and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals from all walks of life.

'After Stonewall' is the sequel to the Emmy Award-winning documentary 'Before Stonewall', which succeeded in bringing gay and lesbian issues to national attention with its PBS release in 1986.

'Before Stonewall', and 'After Stonewall' remain popular educational documentaries repeatedly shown on public television and in homes, schools and workplaces as an honest depiction of the earliest, yet neglected, history of gay life in America.

If you are gay you should know the gay history. A lot of people have fought and suffered so we can nowadays be who we are in freedom.

I know that it isn't perfect everywhere but it is better than it was a couple of decades ago let alone a century ago.

In my country (The Netherlands) we can legally get married with all the rights and privileges that straight married couples have. This wouldn't have been possible if others hadn't fought for us. We must honour them and at least know about it.

See also: Gay Movie History.

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