Cleveland Will Have Two Major Gay Pri Events This June | Iastream Public Media

Contents:

• TWO FLAG-WAVERS - CLEVELAND GAY PRI 2017
• CLEVELAND WILL HAVE TWO MAJOR GAY PRI EVENTS THIS JUNE
• LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND
• NEWS OF THE COLUMB GAY AND LBIAN COMMUNY
• MR. CLEVELAND GAY PRI
• MISS CLEVELAND GAY PRI
• MISS METROPOLAN GAY PRI
• MR. OH GAY PRI

TWO FLAG-WAVERS - CLEVELAND GAY PRI 2017

The gay muny Cleveland the 1970s was nnected to the larger gay liberatn movement growg the Uned Stat, which was propelled by the Stonewall Rt New York Cy 1969. 1970 to memorate the gay, lbian, and transgenr people who risted their ntued harassment and discrimatn by the police at Stonewall.

Cleveland’s gay muny the 1970s anized self orr to do the same. After the early years of Pri Cleveland the 1970s sponsored by numero anizatns, gay muny members and anizers Cleveland elected to jo the larger Pri celebratns Columb, Oh through the 1980s. The ncellatn led to the anizatn of Pri the CLE by the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND which anized celebratns 2016 and 2017 before the anizatns rned 2018.

The gay muny publitn HIGH GEAR claimed that the first Gay Pri March Cleveland took place July 1972 wh 70 atten. However, the stunt newspaper at CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, The Observer, claimed that the Gay Pri March that took place on September 15, 1973 was the first event of s kd Cleveland. On September 15, the Gay Activists Alliance sponsored a Gay Pri March that began outsi of a gay bar lled “The Change” and moved along Euclid Avenue to a rally Public Square.

CLEVELAND WILL HAVE TWO MAJOR GAY PRI EVENTS THIS JUNE

There was a hope that around two-hundred people would be attendance, but only forty attend the march, which anizers attributed to fear by many the gay muny that they would be regnized and ostracized.

LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND

The Pri events 1973 took place over Gay Pri Weekend.

Sandy Block (left) and Tony Rogers, members of Cleveland’s Gay Activists Alliance 1972. After the 1973 Gay Pri Weekend, the next documented Gay Pri event appears to have occurred 1975. On June 22, GEAR (THE GAY EDUCATION AWARENESS AND RESOURCES FOUNDATION) sponsored a Gay Pri Piic at EDGEWATER PARK that had an attendance of around 100 people.

In 1976, the sponsorship of the year’s Gay Pri events shifted aga. In July, Dan Richmond, the worship ordator of the Cleveland Metropolan Church, led a Gay Pri March om Gypsy’s Rtrant at 2418 St. In 1977, Cleveland held two Gay Pri March.

NEWS OF THE COLUMB GAY AND LBIAN COMMUNY

The Cleveland Gay Polil Unn and the Gay Cc of the Youth Agast War and Fascism origally planned a March on June 25, but the anizers failed to secure a street perm time. Annual Pri events Cleveland ntued 1978 when GEAR sponsored what appears to have been the fifth annual Gay Pri March Cleveland on June 25.

However, between 1979 and 1989, Pri events for Cleveland’s gay muny appear to have moved out of the cy and to statewi events.

In 1983, members of Cleveland’s gay muny elected to jo the Oh Gay Pri Para on Sunday, June 26 Columb, Oh. A total of 31 gay anizatns endorsed, supported, or participated the event, cludg Cleveland’s GEAR Foundatn, the Case Wtern Rerve Gay Stunt Unn, and STONEWALL CLEVELAND. From 1985 to 1987, anizatns and members of Cleveland’s gay muny ntued to celebrate Pri Columb wh the Midwt Gay Pri Para.

MR. CLEVELAND GAY PRI

In 1987, the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND worked wh anizers Columb to advertise the Midwt Gay Pri Para on June 21 to the Cleveland muny. The first event, “Lbian and Gay Pri ‘89: An Out of the Closet Experience, ” took place on a block of Wt 29th Street where mil groups and booths sellg food, ice cream, shirts, books, and balloons were set up.

The AIDS epimic shaped the event signifint ways as anizers sought to brg the gay muny together durg a time of signifint loss and to promote safer sex.

That year, there was no Gay Pri March, the attendance of several hundred people led anizers to plan a march for Pri 1990, which ntued for the next 25 years.

MISS CLEVELAND GAY PRI

While Cleveland Pri was a place for celebratn and muny gatherg, also served as a fom for mands for the rights of gay, lbian, and bisexual people. In 1991, STONEWALL CLEVELAND put together a list of five mands for Pri that year, which clud fundg to fight AIDS rather than war, full civil rights for lbians, gays, and bisexuals, endg racism wh and outsi the gay, lbian, and bisexual muny, keepg abortn safe and legal, and fally, the right to live openly whout harassment and vlence.

In 1997, the first official Black Gay Pri Cleveland took place, although there were rmal events years prr.

The Black Gay Pri events took place om Augt 15 to Augt 17. In 2016, Black Gay Pri took place om Thursday, June 23 to Saturday, June 26.

MISS METROPOLAN GAY PRI

The events clud the “Rooftop Kick Off Party” on Thursday night, “The Big Bang” celebratn on Friday night, the Gay Gala at the Masonic Audorium Saturday afternoon, and the Gay Gala afterparty Saturday night. ” That year, Pri the CLE ma s but as the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND stepped to anize the annual Pri celebratns. The LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND was the ma sponsor for the event, but planng took the efforts of a total of eighteen anizatns, as well as fundg om the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION and the AIDS Fundg Collaborative.

MR. OH GAY PRI

In 2018, Pri the CLE and Cleveland Pri uned to anize one event managed by the LESBIAN/GAY COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER OF GREATER CLEVELAND. Cleveland’s gay muny succsfully anized Pri events and march the early 1970s, ntributg to the broar gay liberatn movement takg place the Uned Stat at the time. In the 1980s, members of Cleveland’s gay muny ed their nnectns wh other gay activist groups Oh and worked together to anize large monstratns for Gay Pri Columb.