1985-10-30 GLAAD Founded in New York

Several writers and activists, including Vito Russo and Darrell Yates Rist, meet in New York City and found GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in response to the increasingly homophobic media coverage of the AIDS epidemic. Its first public meeting, held a few days later, draws over 700 people eager to take action. Over the decades, GLAAD has been a watchdog group monitoring the portrayal of LGBT people in movies, television, and other media.