Here’s what happened…

Martha Shelley:

The panelists on stage had been selected to discuss the problems facing women in different positions in society — one was a union member, another represented a Black women’s association, and so on. Just as the moderator was about to open the conference, the lights went out. GLF members Jessie Falstein and Michela Griffo, who had cased the joint the day before, had flipped the switches. They waited a few moments and then turned the lights back on.

Undercover of darkness, we had taken off our outer shirts to display hand-stenciled t-shirts that read Lavender Menace. We had taped signs on the auditorium walls, with slogans like “Take a Lesbian to Lunch,” and “Lavender Jane Loves You.” We then handed out copies of a manifesto that a group of us had written collectively, The Woman-Identified Woman. In the decades since then, it has become a classic, reprinted and distributed worldwide.

My job was to jump up on the stage and grab the mic. I explained that we were here because lesbians had been excluded, and we wanted to talk about our issues. Then I put it to the audience. “Let’s take a vote — how many want to continue with the panel discussion? How many want to hear what we have to say?” The women voted overwhelmingly to hear from us.

At their next annual conference NOW revised their platform to include lesbian rights.