From Resistance to Representation: How Institutions Evolve
- LPAC
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Forty years after the passage of the New York City Gay Rights Bill, LPAC was proud to partner with the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives to host Policing, Pews, and Firehouse Politics, a timely conversation examining the long fight for LGBTQ+ rights in New York City and the complicated relationship between those rights and the institutions that once resisted them.
Held at LPAC, the event brought together activists, civic leaders, historians, and community members to reflect on the 15-year struggle that led to the bill’s passage in 1986 and to consider what has changed in the decades since. The conversation explored the roles that institutions such as the NYPD, FDNY, and Catholic Church played in opposing LGBTQ+ protections, while also acknowledging the ways LGBTQ+ people have since entered and helped reshape those same systems.
Opening remarks by former New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm grounded the evening in lived political experience, while a poetry reading by LaGuardia alum Kayla Texidor added a personal and emotional dimension to the program. The Panel featured FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, NYPD Chief of Staff Ryan Merola, Executive Director of Dignity USA Marianne Duddy-Burke, and former City Council Member Sal Albanese. Moderated by historian Stephen Petrus, the panel invited the audience to reflect not only on how change happens, but on the ongoing work required to protect and expand hard-won rights.
“LPAC was honored to partner with the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives to host Policing, Pews, and Firehouse Politics,” said Andrew Ronan, Executive Director of the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. “The brave activists turned civic leaders on stage represented the thousands of people who fought and advocated for the rights and freedoms we have today. LPAC remains committed to inclusion and amplification of all voices in the ongoing fight to protect the rights won in 1986 and to continue building a city where dignity, safety, and belonging are not privileges, but promises.”
For LPAC, the program was an opportunity not only to look back at an important chapter in New York City history, but to create space for public dialogue about inclusion, civic change, and the role arts institutions can play in connecting past struggles to present realities.
As cultural institutions continue to think about how they serve their communities, events like this remind us that progress is never automatic. It is driven by people who organize, speak out, and insist on being seen. We were honored to help hold that conversation and to welcome these stories, reflections, and voices to our stage.
Photos courtesy of Jennifer Weiss and the LaGuardia & Wagner Archives
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