A Look Back At Gay History: 1978

 

Jan 21, 1978 - 25-year-old French songwriter/record producer Cerrone's Eurodisco hit Supernature tops Billboard's Dance chart.

Feb 18, 1978 - Let's All Chant sits atop Billboard's dance chart.

 

 

 

June 24, 1978 - Australia's version of the Stonewall Riot erupts on Oxford Street in Sydney.

June 27, 1978 - The rainbow flag is flown for the first time, at San Francisco's Gay Pride parade.

July 7, 1978 - 21-year-old Martina Navratilova wins her first Women's Singles title at Wimbledon.

 

 

Sept 24, 1978 - Former California governor Ronald Reagan announces that he does not support the state's Briggs Initiative (aka Proposition 6), which, if approved by voters, would fire teachers who are gay, or those who speak favorably of homosexuality - in or out of the classroom.

Oct 24, 1978 - Diana Ross stars as Dorothy in the movie version of The Wiz, which opens in theaters. It's not nearly successful as the Broadway musical.

Nov 7, 1978 - California's Briggs Initiative, which would bar LGBT individuals from teaching in public schools, is defeated.

Nov 17, 1978 - Larry Kramer's best-selling novel Faggots is published.

 

 

Nov 26, 1978 - A Question of Love, starring Gena Rowlands & Jane Alexander, is the first lesbian-themed movie on network TV.

Nov 27, 1978 - Openly gay San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk (pictured, left) and mayor George Moscone (center) are shot to death inside City Hall by Dan White (right), a disgruntled former officeholder.

 

 

 

Dec 20, 1978 - The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the world's first openly gay chorus, holds its first concert.

 

(To read more milestones of LGBT history from other years, double click here.)