Watch the documentary chronicling Anita Bryant’s role in Miami’s fight for LGBTQ rights

In January 1977, two important things happened in Miami. The city saw its first snowfall in modern memory and lawmakers passed legislation to prohibit discrimination in housing, public accommodations or employment on the basis of “sexual preference.” The latter placed Miami at the forefront of the gay rights movement as a groundswell of conservatives led by former beauty queen turned orange juice pitch woman Anita Bryant fought successfully to overturn the ordinance.

“The Day It Snowed In Miami” is a documentary produced by the Miami Herald and WPBT2 that explores a Miami before it became the gay-friendly destination it is today— when teachers were fired for their sexual orientation and “morals” squads would raid gay bars and publicly humiliate patrons. Speakers would visit public schools warning children of the dangers of homosexuality.

Eventually, Bryant and her supporters would successfully petition to put the new ordinance to a referendum, which voters overwhelmingly repealed. But the battle that took place in Miami after the city’s only snowfall galvanized the gay population.