“I do not equate my oppression with the oppression of Blacks and Latinos. You can’t. It is not the same struggle, but it is one struggle.” Bob Kohler
We’re currently in production on a documentary film about Bob Kohler (1926 – 2007), a New York City activist who was involved in the movements for civil rights, feminism, transgender rights, anti-war protests, police brutality, gay rights, and help for people living with HIV/AIDS. This page gathers links, videos, and other material about Bob and his activism. Some outlets, such as the New York Times, may require registration or a subscription.
Click here for a timeline of major events in Bob’s life.
- Bob’s Queers: information and photos compiled by Emmaia Gelman
- Benjamin Shepard: Bob Kohler Recalling: Collecting Oral Histories with a West Village Legend
- Bob’s page on Wikipedia
- Notes From A Neighbor: The First Pride Was A Riot
Stonewall
“I don’t know if the Stonewall riots will ever be recorded in history books, but I do know that my world — my safe, smug, little world has not been the same since.” From Bob’s essay, “Where Have All The Flowers Gone” in Come Out, the newspaper of the Gay Liberation Front (Vol. 1, No. 2, Jan. 10, 1970)
- New York Times: From a Night of Rage, the Seeds of Liberation (1994)
- New York Times: Making It Work: Stonewall Veterans Recall the Outlaw Days (1999)
- Gay City News: Movement Legends Lead the Parade (2004)
- Gay City News: A Top Cop from 1969 Speaks (2004)
- National Park Service: Christopher Park: In 1969, a Refuge for LGB Youth
- New York Times: The Night the Stonewall Inn Became A Proud Shrine (2019)
- Village Voice: The Great Gay Way (2004)
Gay Liberation Front (GLF)
- Gay Liberation Front Foundation
- Come Out! GLF newspaper, article on Wikipedia (Bob wrote for the newspaper after Volume 1, Issue 1)
- Out History: Gay Liberation Front page
- “Gay and Proud,” 30-minute film by Lilli Vincenz of the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade on June 28, 1970. Bob is seen briefly at 05:15 and 06:38.
- New York Times: The “Gay” People Demand Their Rights (July 5, 1970, covering the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, forerunner of today’s Gay Pride parades)
- Philadelphia Gay News: Black Panthers and the Gay Liberation Front: Did Black Lives Matter Then, Too? (2016)
Gay Activism
The Loft clothing store
- New York Times: Strictly Business: Christopher St. Rebounds As Thriving “Gay Mecca” (1993)
- New York Times: A Tale of Two Christopher Streets (1995)
Police Brutality
Housing for People with HIV/AIDS
Gay Youth
- New York Times: Street Fight (2002)
- Gay City News: Youths Demand Safe Space on Pier (2004)
- New York Times: The Kids of Christopher Street (2006)
- Washington Post: Race, Class and Sex Breed Contempt in Greenwich Village (2006)
- Los Angeles Times: For Gays, A Generation Gap Grows (2007)
- Joe.My.God.: Homoquotable: Bob Kohler (2007)
80th Birthday (2006)
- Gay City New: Activist Bob Kohler Celebrates 80 Years
- amNY: At 80, activist recalls a lifetime on the front lines
- Mishmoshkeleh: 80th Birthday of Bob Kohler, Queer Activist Extraordinaire
Obituaries (2007)
- Video by Randy Wicker: Bob Kohler Political Funeral
- New York Times: On West Village Streets, Tears for a Gay Activist
- amNY: Bob Kohler, 81, a gay activist for the underdogs
- Advocate: New York Activist Bob Kohler Dies at 81
- Joe.My.God.: Legendary Gay Rights Activist Bob Kohler, Dead of Cancer at 81
- Village Voice: Bob Kohler, Gay Rights Pioneer, 1926-2007
- Village Voice: “Political Funeral” for Bob Kohler Sunday
- Village Voice: Friends Bid Farewell to Bob Kohler, “A Grand Old Fag”
- Workers World: Bob Kohler: Stonewall vet, AIDS activist, anti-racist fighter
- Solidarity: Out of the Closets, Into the Streets! The Many Lives of Bob Kohler
- Bay Area Reporter: Stonewall Veteran Bob Kohler Dies
- Another Queer Jewish Buddhist: Celebrating the Activism of Bob Kohler
- Fire Island Q News
- Blabbeando: Saddest News in Awhile: Bob Kohler Has Died
- abovegroundpool
“Listen to the crazies.” Quoted in amNewYork on his 80th birthday
Organizations Bob was involved with, among others:
