A four-part docuseries, HBO Max’s “Equal” pays tribute to some of the unsung heroes who helped lead the charge for queer liberation, and revisits the untold events leading up to the Stonewall Uprising. A trailer for the project just dropped.
“In 1952, admitting to being gay could get you 15 years to life,” a character in the docuseries explains. “Cops would contact our employers, [and] publish our names and addresses in the paper.”
“Tired of being victims,” trailblazers decided “we should be standing up on our hind legs and demanding equality.” As one interviewee emphasizes, “You can be proud of being gay, you can be proud of being yourself — that in itself was radical.”
“Equal” will “introduce viewers to a wide range of LGBTQ+ visionaries portrayed by the cast, many of whom identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community,” the project’s official synopsis details. “Each part offers a distinct and connected chapter within the historical timeline: part one, ‘The Birth of a Movement,’ explores the rise of early organizations, The Mattachine Society, and the Daughters of Bilitis in Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively; part two, ‘Transgender Pioneers,’ chronicles the 20th century trans experience, bookended by the 1966 Compton Cafeteria riots in San Francisco; part three, ‘Black is Beautiful, Gay is Good!’ examines the contributions from the Black community on the growing LGBTQ+ civil rights movement; and part four, ‘Stonewall: From Rebellion to Liberation,’ ties in the decades long struggles with the culminated Stonewall uprising – the beginning of the Pride movement.”
“Equal” premieres October 22. Its cast includes “Orange Is the New Black’s” Samira Wiley and “Stranger Things'” Shannon Purser. Kimberly Reed (“Prodigal Sons”) directed part two, “Transgender Pioneers.”
