A look back at a major turng pot the stggle for gay rights
Contents:
- INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
- THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
- HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
- LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
New York Cy was the se of the natn’s first gay pri para on June 28, 1970. A few other ci also held march that year. * pride parade 1970 *
Amid the flurry of rabow-lan rporate logos, sponsored events and news ems about gay pengus, is difficult to turn on a televisn or set foot public durg June whout the remr that is Pri Month for LGBT and queer people.
THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
* pride parade 1970 *
Gee Dudley, a photographer and artist who also served as the first director of New York Cy’s Llie-Lohman Mm of Gay and Lbian Art, documented scen om pri paras New York Cy om the late 1970s through the early ‘90s. The years saw Ana Bryant’s homophobic csa through the “Save Our Children” mpaign 1977, the electn and assassatn of Harvey Milk 1978, and the Whe Night rts the followg summer after the lenient sentencg of Milk’s murrer, Dan Whe.
“It was, a sense, the year we buted on the larger public stage, ” says Jim Saslow, a profsor of art history at the Cy Universy of New York and an early gay activist. “We were beg acceptable enough that a gay person uld have a signifint polil reer, but we also beme very aware of how much of a nerve that was touchg for nservative people. But as the number of out gay people grew, says Saslow, the paras transned om timate gathergs of like-md people to events attend by a broar array of participants.
“The guy a drs wh a beard, nng ont of the task force banner, ptur a lot of the atmosphere of the early gay liberatn muny, bee so much of me out of the hippie movement, ” says Saslow. Partners Charl Llie and Frz Lohman began to exhib art by gay artists their SoHo loft 1969, the same year the Stonewall uprisg took place.
HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
The banner om the begng of the first Christopher Street Liberatn Day March, 1970. The CSLD March took place exactly one year after the Stonewall Rts, on June 28, 1970, but wasn't the first LGBTQ rights march the U.S. That distctn belongs to Chigo, who hosted their first Gay Pri Para on June 27, 1970, one day before New York Cy. Photograph om the Leonard Fk Photography Collectn, the LGBT Communy Center Natnal History Archiv. * pride parade 1970 *
” Wh the visibily afford to LGBT people today, and particularly to gay men, is easy to fet that embracg on the street was a bold actn to make. ”When John D’E heard a group of LGBTQ activists would be marchg the streets of New York June 1970, he told his boyiend and several of his gay iends. “Comg out” me wh threats of vlence and social that changed the aftermath of the 1969 Stonewall uprisg—when a group of LGBTQ people rted rponse to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar New York Cy.
In 1965, for example, members of the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) began picketg each year on July 4 outsi Philalphia’s Inpennce Hall.
“The homosexual who wants to live a life of self-fulfillment our current society has all the rds stacked agast them, ” read one 1970 article about the upg march the Gay Liberatn Front News. ” The same day, a small group of San Francisns marched down Polk Street, then had a “gay-” piic that was broken up by equtrian and other New York groups had spent months planng the Manhattan event wh the help of anizers like Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist who had cut her anizg teeth durg the anti-Vietnam movement of the late 1960s. LAPD chief Edward Davis had a history of bashg LA’s gay muny, pared activists to bank robbers, and said the group would have to pay $1, 500 and post a $1.
LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: THE ROAD TO AMERI'S FIRST GAY PRI MARCH
Gay Pri Paras are a hallmark the fight for LGBT equaly and visibily—and there’s much more to them than feather boas and guys jockstraps! * pride parade 1970 *
Leonard Fk Photographs, The LGBT Communy Center Natnal History ArchiveMark SegalEarly member of the Gay Liberatn Front and marshal of the first Pri marchThe Christopher Street Gay Liberatn Day March was as revolutnary and chaotic as everythg we did that first year after the Stonewall rts. ” Today, my origal marshal’s badge is on display the JayEarly member of the Gay Liberatn Front and Radilbians and -anizer of the first march New York and Los AngelIt was a near miracle that the first Christopher Street Wt Para Los Angel kicked off at all on June 28, 1970. For one day, we were victor agast the Ed Davis of the world, and no one seemed “dismod” the FkelsteJohn KyperEarly member of Boston’s Gay Liberatn Front and an anizer of Boston’s first Pri ParaWe held our first march Boston 1971 — a year after New York.
The march began at a baret bar lled Jacqu — which is still there and still gay — and ma three addnal stops along the route where we read a seri of mands.
Jam GreenProfsor of morn Lat Amerin history at Brown Universy and -anizer of Brazil’s first Gay Pri marchI lived São Plo durg the dictatorship of the late 1970s. Groups hosted the 17th ternatnal nference of ILGA (The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn), and the energy of the ternatnal legat who attend and the excement of hostg the gatherg only add to the drama of the untry’s first actual succsful para. The event was held on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall rts, when members of the gay muny clashed wh police who had raid the Stonewall Inn Manhattan.