san diego pride
SAN DIEGO CELEBRATES 2016 PRIDE
UNITES THE WORLD
by joel martens
We in the LGBT community, have a long history of finding unique ways to
come together in the face of adversity. To socialize, connect and to find a sense of community as a way to fight the isolation of the closet. Fear and violence often made us retreat into those dark recesses in the begin-
ning, but we soon learned to fight our way out. Once we did, nothing would ever force us back in. Even the recent violence in Orlando, though a crushing blow, especially for family and friends who have lost a loved one, the larger community has used the tragedy as a rallying point, as a reason to stand together and to unify the world. Another seminal event, Stonewall, has come to represent the beginning of the
LGBT movement for many; though there are several moments that predate it. California possesses a rich part of that history of coming together and defiantly standing for our right to exist as individuals and as groups. 1966’s riots at Comp- ton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco actually happened before Stonewall and Mona’s 440 Club became the city’s first male impersonation venue in the early ‘40s. Our sister city to the north also has one of the oldest gay bars still in operation, Twin Peaks, which opened in 1972. Los Angeles has many distinctions as well: Pershing Square offered a group of
gay-friendly establishments and cruising spots in Downtown Los Angeles that flourished from the 1920s through the 1960s. Harry Hay’s house played host to the first meetings of “Bachelors Anonymous,” later known as the Mattachine Society, the earliest known “homophile” organization. Inspired by the protests that followed and in reaction to a 1968 brutal police raid of the Black Cat Tavern in Silverlake—that also predates Stonewall—Reverend Troy Perry created Metropolitan Community Church, which today ministers to upwards of 43,000 members. San Diego has its milestones, as well. Jess Jessop, Bernie Michaels and Fred
Scholl (among others) were co-founders of the first Gay Center for Social Servic- es, opening in 1973. Considered to be the second oldest and third largest LGBT
38
RAGE monthly | JULY 2016 RAGE monthly
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88