LGBT activists and fund-raisers from all over Canada, Mexico and the United States will be in San Diego this weekend for the 39th annual “Coronation Ball” of the Imperial Court de San Diego, Inc. The event will be held Saturday night, January 22 at the LGBT Center.
This year’s Coronation Ball, A Military Affair, will honor five San Diego LGBT veterans for their important roles in helping lift the ban against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” (DADT). The five local veteran honorees are: Navy veteran Ben Gomez, president of the American Veterans for Equal Rights; Vietnam veteran Colonel Stewart Bornhoft, a graduate of West Point and past chair of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Military Advisory Council; FCI Navy veteran Autumn Sandeen, a transgender community leader who chained herself to the White House fence in peaceful protest against DADT; Joseph Rocha, a 24 year old Navy veteran who became a national advocate against DADT; and Evelyn Thomas, a veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, and the executive director of the Sanctuary Project and board member of GetEqual.
Each of these five outstanding Americans is a guest of honor and will receive the Court System’s highest award at the “Coronation Ball.” To celebrate this year’s military theme, everyone is encouraged to wear uniforms. Most in attendance for the annual “Royal Gala” will wear tuxedoes, evening gowns, crown suits and other formal attire.
The Imperial Court de San Diego will also elect and crown its 39th “monarchs,” as well as celebrate the yearlong “reign” of current Emperor Brian Johnson and Empress Regina Styles.
In addition, the international governing body of the Imperial Court System will also be meeting in San Diego at the Park Manor Suites. The Imperial Court Council is headed by Empress Nicole Murray Ramirez, who said, “The best way to describe the Court System is to say it’s the gay Shriners or Elks of the Americas.”
Among those attending the Imperial Court Council meeting this weekend will be former Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett; Thomas Barrios, the national president of GLAAD; and Charles Robbins, the National Executive Director and CEO of the Trevor Project. The Trevor Project will be the beneficiary of a yearlong fundraising campaign by the Imperial Court to honor the proclamation of the “Queen Mother of the Americas” making 2011 “The Year of Our LGBT Youth.”
History of the Imperial Court
The International Court System was founded in 1965 by War World II veteran and gay icon, Jose Julio Sarria. In 1961, Sarria became the first openly gay candidate for public office in North Ameri-ca. The first Imperial Court Chap-ter was es-tablished in San Fran-cisco and now there are chapters in 68 cities within the United States, Canada and Mexico. Sarria was the leader of the world’s largest LGBT organization until 2007, when he named and crowned Nicole Murray Ramirez (Empress Nicole the Great de San Diego) as his successor, with the title and position of “Queen Mother I of the Americas.”
In the 1980’s, the courts of Canada, Mexico and the United States played a major role in establishing AIDS agencies across those countries. The Inter-national Rodeo Association was also founded by “gay royalty,” the first Emperor of Reno, Nevada.
With chapters in 68 cities in three nations, the International Court System has begun to flex its huge financial fundraising clout, particularly in the last four years with the change in leadership.
The courts of Canada and the United States have raised over $200,000 for the Tijuana AIDS Fund, established by the Imperial Court de San Diego in 1983. Over 30 court chapters have LGBT student scholarship programs, which have awarded over $250,000 in student scholarships.
Last year, “Queen Mother Nicole” called upon all the courts to raise money for the Matthew Shepard Foundation and over $100,000 came pouring in. Judy Shepard stated that this major financial gift kept the doors of the foundation open.
The International Court Council will play a major part in this year’s worldwide celebration of Harvey Milk’s birthday on May 22.
The Imperial Court’s influence and activism is not limited to fundraising. The Imperial Court Council has been given major credit for the leadership role it played in launching a nationwide letter writing campaign to ask the U.S. Postal Service to issue a stamp honoring Harvey Milk. Late last year, the U.S. Postal Service Stamp Devel-op-ment Com-mit-tee told the International Court System that they were “pleased to inform you Harvey Milk is under consideration for a future U.S. stamp issuance.”
During the 2009 “National LGBT Equality March on Washington,” the court held a gala event where Empress Nicole honored Lady Gaga with the royal title, “First Lady of Enter-tain–ment.” Other LGBT leaders attending the Washington D.C. royal event were presidential advisor David Mixner; Metro-po-litan Commu-ni-ty Church foun-der Troy Perry; Cleve Jones; Rea Carey, Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Lieutenant Dan Choi; GetEqual Executive Director, Robin Mc-Gee; and many others.
Next year, the Imperial Court de San Diego will be celebrating its 40th anniversary with a huge ‘royal gala’ at the Town & Coun-try Convention Center, closely followed by the International Court System’s 50th anniversary in 2015. “The LGBT community and its organizations have been able to count on the Imperial Court System since the 1960s,” stated Empress Lalo Two, Presi-dent of the San Diego Court Board of Directors. “And we will continue to be of service in this ever changing 21st century.”
Local Hero
The Imperial Court de San Diego was established in 1972, which makes it one of oldest LGBT organizations in the region.
The first Imperial Court “Coronation Ball” was held at what is now the Holiday Inn at the Embarcadero and drew over 1,000 people, which made it the first “homosexual event” ever held in a public hotel in San Diego. The first monarchs of San Diego elected were Emperor I Omar, who currently is the owner of #1 Fifth Ave., and legendary entertainer Empress Tawny Tann, who died of AIDS in the 1980s.
The Imperial Court of San Diego has established itself as one of the most successful fundraising organizations in the country, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars over these past three decades. The Imperial Court played a major part in helping establish the LGBT Center, San Diego Pride, Stepping Stone, AIDS Walk, Mama’s Kitchen and many other organizations with their critically needed fundraisers in the 1970s that occurred almost weekly. In 1979, the Court of San Diego established one of the first LGBT student scholarships in the nation, now called the Harvey Milk/Nicole Murray Ramirez Student Scholarship Fund. The Imperial Court de San Diego also founded the first AIDS food bank and hospice, Truax House.
