As San Diego Pride celebrates 40 years, it is time to reflect upon what has been accomplished in the last four decades. The first San Diego Pride March, which really was a protest, was marred by shame as a few who marched put paper bags over their heads to hide their identity. Fear; fear that they might lose their job, social status or privilege because they were a member of the then GLBT community.
I have a true sense of sadness for those who felt that they had so much to lose that they could not step forward and say this is who I am. The ability of some in the LGBT community to hide is often what separates us from the disparate communities seeking civil rights in America; women can’t hide and most ethnic minorities can’t hide.
The sense of shame exhibited in the 1974 San Diego Pride March was a harbinger of what the overall LGBT movement would be about for decades. Many will say, “You don’t know what it was like.” Not true, I attended my first Gay Pride parade in 1975 in Chicago. I came out at 17 when I matriculated at Stanford University in 1978. I do understand the time period. The question is whether marching with a bag over your head showed pride and pushed the LGBT movement forward? The definition of pride is a high opinion of one’s own dignity, importance and merit displayed in bearing and conduct. I would love to get the perspective of a 1974 marcher who concealed their identity, but to this point I have not been able to locate anyone.
Some say the bags were a homage to the Laugh-In Unknown Comic. The Unknown Comic was created because the comedian was embarrassed to appear on The Gong Show and therefore wanted to hide his identity. His bit was a hit and the rest is history. I am sure those who marched in the 1974 protest thought, “At least I’m being counted,” but I think the perception by the broader community was something completely different.
There was a lot going on in San Diego in the early 1970s. Proud LGBT San Diegans protested against police harassment, established the first gay publication in the city, hotlines to help LGBT people were created, the first lesbian group was founded, the Imperial Court emerged with its first coronation, the pre-cursor to The Center was opened and political clubs were springing up all over. This was the city cultural backdrop in 1974 when the first San Diego Pride March took place. We should celebrate those who were visible and put our country on the track toward LGBT equality. When the San Diego leaders marched with their identities exposed, they were trailblazers who personified the lyrics of the LGBT anthem “I am what I am:”
http://youtu.be/uj8C43r4zm0
“I am what I am
I am my own special creation.
So come take a look,
Give me the hook or the ovation.
It’s my world that I want to take a little pride in,
My world, and it’s not a place I have to hide in.
Life’s not worth a damn,
‘Til you can say, ‘Hey world, I am what I am.’
I am what I am,
I don’t want praise, I don’t want pity.
I bang my own drum,
Some think it’s noise, I think it’s pretty.
And so what, if I love each feather and each spangle,
Why not try to see things from a diff’rent angle?
Your life is a sham ‘til you can shout out loud
I am what I am!
I am what I am
And what I am needs no excuses.
I deal my own deck
Sometimes the ace, sometimes the deuces.
There’s one life, and there’s no return and no deposit;
One life, so it’s time to open up your closet.
Life’s not worth a damn ‘til you can say,
‘Hey world, I am what I am!’”
The song is not only inspiring, it really captures the journey that the LGBT community has been on for its entire life. As the San Diego community moved through the rest of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, the LGBT community both nationally and locally began to galvanize. In 1978, the Rainbow Flag was introduced, Harvey Milk was assassinated creating unrest in San Francisco, the first March on Washington occurred in 1979. In the late 1970s, San Diego saw the LGBT Greater San Diego Business Association created, gay and lesbian police officers hired and the first openly LGBT person run for city political office.
The ’80s brought the establishment of the Human Rights Campaign, the first national group dedicated to political advocacy for LGBT people in Washington and beyond. Also, the second LGBT March on Washington. Here in San Diego, the ’80s brought more activism including openly LGBT clubs, political organizations and unfortunately activism associated with the AIDS crisis. Lesbians in San Diego stepped forward, donated blood and took care of their infirmed gay brothers. The AIDS Quilt came to our city. The first San Diego mayor marched in the Pride parade. Also, 14 LGBT leaders from San Diego were recognized by The Advocate.
The ’90s were characterized by the LGBT community becoming even more visible. Whether it was diver Greg Louganis coming out, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the movies Philadelphia and Boys Don’t Cry, Pedro Zamora on the Real World, Ellen DeGeneres saying, “I’m Gay” on Time magazine, the debut of Will and Grace, the first openly lesbian person elected to the House of Representatives or Matthew Shepard’s brutal murder; LGBT people seemed to be all over the media.
In San Diego, the ’90s were characterized by more political advocacy and openness. Police officers, fire fighters and political candidates came out. The Center is opened smack dab on Normal Street. Chris Kehoe becomes the first openly LGBT elected official in San Diego. The first gay and lesbian advisory board is appointed by a mayor. Qualcomm bans discrimination in its workplace based upon sexual orientation and extends same-sex partnership benefits; later Domestic Partnership becomes the law across the state. Gay San Diegan Andrew Cunanan goes on a murder spree ending with the killing of Gianni Versace. The ’90s were an active time in the media for the San Diego LGBT community.
The new millennium ushered in the decade of marriage equality and increased transgender activism. Same-sex marriage was outlawed in 2000 by a vote of California voters, sodomy laws were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court leading Justice Scalia to predict it would lead to same-sex marriage. It did. Same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts in 2004. By 2008, almost 150,000 same-sex couples were married throughout the U.S. California recognized same-sex marriages from other states. The decade ended on a really high note with the repeal of DADT in 2010.
Transgender people became much more visible within our community and on the national political stage during the millennium decade. Transgender activists stepped forward and took their rightful place at the table. The Transgender Day of Remembrance came into its own with over 185 cities throughout the world participating in 2010. Whether it was seeking health care, fair housing and employment, or proper legal identification, transgender voices were heard more in the millennium decade than any other.
Things were also happening during the millennium decade in our lovely city. We elected the first openly LGBT district attorney in the country, Bonnie Dumanis. San Diego had its first openly LGBT interim mayor, Toni Atkins. The mayor of Chula Vista came out the same week Atkins was sworn in. The Union Tribune published the first same-sex anniversary announcement. San Diego appoints the first LGBT fire chief, Tracy Jarman. Carl DeMaio is the first openly gay man elected to City Council. The first same-sex couples are married in California after the ban on marriages is ruled unconstitutional. Mayor Jerry Sanders announces his support for same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 is introduced to take the issue of same-sex marriage back to the voter; marriages are halted. Prop. 8 passes with San Diego voters agreeing with the majority.
Now here we are in the tens, 19 states have same-sex marriage, with an additional nine states where same-sex marriage bans have been overturned by the courts but are in the appeals process. San Diego has an unprecedented number of gay elected officials and political appointees. San Diego Pride predicts that over 300,000 people will attend the celebration, many of whom are married and many will exhibit public displays of affection and will march proudly through the streets of Hillcrest into Balboa Park. All because some LGBT people in New York said enough June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn.
San Diego has a lot to take pride in. Go out this Pride and take to heart the line, “Life’s not worth a damn, ‘til you shout out, ‘I am what I am.’”
Look what visibility and coming out has done for our community so far.
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
