BE SEEN: Celebrating the 1966 Sip-In

Name: BE SEEN: Celebrating the 1966 Sip-In
Start: 2026-04-21T17:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-04-21T18:30:00-05:00
Location: Fluid Bar

Schedule

Tue Apr 21 2026 at 05:30 pm to 06:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Fluid Bar | Milwaukee, WI

Join us as we come together for an "hour of power" and a toast to our elders on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 -- as we celebrate the battle for our rights to BE SEEN, be served, and assemble as an LGBTQ community.
Fluid and the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project are joining an Instagram Live national celebration connecting hundreds of queer spaces across America. Photographs and video clips will be collected for the Project.
Did you know? Until 1982, it was perfectly legal for any bar to refuse service to known or suspected homosexuals in Wisconsin.
Bartenders who served gay men or lesbians could lose their licenses; bars who allowed them to congregate were often declared "disorderly houses" and closed down. Gay bars were forced to operate under the radar, paying the police for protections, and customers were treated as second-class citizens.
Today, this may seem unthinkable. To our elders, it was just everyday life.
On April 21, 1966, the Mattachine Society organized a protest to challenge discrimination and assert our First Amendment rights to assemble. After announcing they were gay and requesting service, they were immediately refused -- and the moment was photographed and received widespread media attention.
The Sip-In had a domino effect that led to the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. This national event offers a chance for the community to come together and celebrate LGBTQ history, at a time when we are being censored, excluded, and erased.
The Sip-In Celebration is sponsored by the LGBTQ Heritage Alliance, of which the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project was a founding member in 2024.