As Philadelphia celebrates Pride Month in June, the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (APT) has invited Mark Segal – Stonewall pioneer, journalist, author, and founder of Philadelphia Gay News – to present at our next monthly meeting on June 11. Mark will speak on the LGBT civil rights movement; diversity and inclusion; of course STONEWALL; and that first PRIDE one year later. In his memoir, And Then I Danced: Traveling the World to LGBT Equality, he writes, “As an 18 year old at the Stonewall Riots, and after a lifetime of organizing and creating visibility, never would I expect that, that 18 year old boy standing outside Stonewall in 1969 would ever dream that one day he would take his husband to dance at the White House.”

From pioneering history as a participant at the Stonewall Riots, to being a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front NY 1969-71 and founder of Gay Youth (the nation’s first organization to deal with bullying and suicide of LGBT youth), to being a marshal and member of the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day Committee which created the world’s first Gay Pride in 1970, Mark Segal has been involved in LGBT civil rights since he moved to New York in May 1969.

His campaign to end the invisibility of the LGBT community in media had him create the campaign against the TV networks to disrupt live TV shows, including The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and the Today Show with Barbara Walters. Those disruptions changed the media and forced them to start covering the LGBT community fairly. As 5-time Emmy award winner Bruce Vilanch states, “Before Will and Grace and Ellen, there was Mark Segal.” Almost 50 years after he disrupted NBC live broadcasts, today Mark serves on the Joint Diversity Council of Comcast NBC/Universal to continue to educate the network on LGBT issues.

Mark Segal is the founder of the Philadelphia Gay News and past president of both The National LGBT Press Association and The National Gay Newspaper Guild. His memoir was named best book by The National LGBT Journalists Association. His weekly syndicated column, “Mark My Words” has won numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalist and the National Newspaper Association.

In 2018, Mark’s personal papers and artifacts from the last 53 years were added to the collections of the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. In June 2021 a selection of his artifacts from the first Gay Pride in 1970 were part of the Gay Pride exhibit at the White House.

Check out the detailed timeline of his activism work – he’s got some fascinating stories to share! He is an absolute legend in Philadelphia and nationally. We are thrilled and honored that he will be joining us!

The meeting is held in-person at 114 Market Street on the 2nd floor of Philly’s Gourmet Steaks. Come early for dinner and drinks! The meeting will be in-person and livestreamed on Zoom.

The Zoom link will be shared in the APT Tour Talk newsletter the week of the meeting. Non-members should email Marianne Ruane at president@phillyguides.org no later than 5 pm the day of the meeting to receive the Zoom link. A recording will be available on the APT YouTube page for a month following the talk.

APT meetings are open to aspiring and working tour guides as well as anyone with an interest in Philadelphia-focused history. Attend one meeting for free and then it is $60 to join the association for the year or $10 per monthly meeting in-person event. Zoom meetings are free. Please join us for convivial company, good food, fascinating presentations, and lively discussions.