About this Event
The Washington Blade, the nation's oldest and most acclaimed LGBTQ newspaper, today announced that tickets are now available for its commemoration of the 50th anniversary of John Fryer’s groundbreaking speech to the American Psychiatric Association urging the group to remove homosexuality from its list of mental health disorders.
The event will be held Thursday, May 12 at The Corner at Whitman-Walker (1701 14th St., N.W.) beginning with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. followed by a panel discussion at 7 p.m. The American Psychiatric Association is the presenting sponsor. Tickets are FREE and available now at washingtonblade.com/panel.
The panel discussion will feature four experts on the topic: Dr. Saul Levin, CEO and Medical Director of the APA; Dr. Karen Kelly, a friend and mentee of Dr. Fryer; Katherine Ott, Ph.D., a curator in the history of medicine at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History where she documents LGBTQ+ history; and Dr. Amir Ahuja, president of the Association of LGBTQ Psychiatrists (AGLP).
The panel will be moderated by award-winning filmmaker Patrick Sammon, who directed “Cured,” a documentary about the activists who fought to convince the APA to remove the diagnosis of homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses.
Fryer, a closeted gay psychiatrist, addressed the 1972 APA national convention in disguise with his voice altered and urged the organization to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which it subsequently did, marking a major turning point in the fight for LGBTQ equality.
“We’re excited to partner with the APA on this event marking 50 years since Dr. Fryer’s immensely important speech that took away the right’s most potent weapon it used against us — that we were mentally ill and unfit for jobs in the government, military, and elsewhere. The importance of this moment in our community’s history cannot be overstated.
“John Fryer’s courageous actions were a watershed moment for psychiatry, the APA, and the LGBTQ community,” said Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., CEO & Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association. “Every day we work to honor the legacy of Dr. Fryer and the activists who fought alongside him to achieve freedom, equality and acceptance for LGBTQ people in America.”
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Washington Blade
Since 1969, the Washington Blade has covered the LGBTQ community of the metro D.C. area, nationally and internationally. It has expanded over the past five decades to include coverage of political news and is currently the only LGBTQ source in the White House press pool and is the only LGBTQ outlet in the White House Correspondents’ Association. For more information go to: https://www.washingtonblade.com
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,000 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information, please visit www.psychiatry.org.
Photo by Kay Tobin Lahusen.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Corner at Whitman-Walker, 1701 14th Street Northwest, Washington, United States
USD 0.00