About 150 people participated in the 1969 Annual Reminder Day march outside of Independence Hall — and among them was Ada Bello, who had waited several years for her opportunity to march in the history-making demonstration.

Philadelphia is honoring LGBT advocate Judy Shepard during the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Annual Reminder Day marches.

When the Annual Reminder Day demonstration came to Independence Hall in 1965, it was at a revolutionary time in our country’s history.

LGBT Philadelphia around the time of the first Annual Reminder Day in 1965 was a far cry from the rainbow crosswalks, Pride parades and general outness of the community today.

William Way LGBT Community Center archives curator Bob Skiba helped give PGN an idea of what life was like in the early ’60s and a timeline of important events that led up to the first demonstration in front of Independence Hall.

They came on buses from Washington, D.C., and New York City. They dressed in suits and ties and dresses. They readied cardboard signs that carried messages whose simplicity underscored the journey that lay ahead of them: “Homosexuals should be judged as individuals,” “Gay is good” and “Equal opportunity for all.”