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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1995)
ju s t o u t ▼ ju n o 2 , 1 0 0 5 ▼ 17 F rom silence to celebration T wo decades ago it was The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name. Today, it’s more like The Love That Won’t Shut Up. The Love we’re talking about is, of course, the love between men and men, women and women. Gay love. Lesbian love. Queer love. Twenty-six years ago in New York City, a bunch of queers refused to go on being silent. They traded demure for furor, and their passion spawned a movement that continues to grow and get even louder. That Fiery event in late June 1969, as you know by now, was the uprising at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Queers con tinue to share the seemingly mythical tale because it gives us a sense of rebellious pride and the historical grounding that all oppressed peoples need to continue their march forward. Queers the ha Inn stood up to at police rassment, which led to a few nights of rioting. f / They helped shatter the _ silence which for gen- |L erations had suffo- cated gay men and les bians, bisexuals and ~ transgendered people. Because we are, in fact, everywhere, it was not surprising that lesbian and gay pride events commemorating the liberating riots began spring ing up across the nation each June thereafter. Portland was no different. This June 17, sup porters of gay and lesbian rights will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Portland Lesbian and Gay Pride. “The first public, outdoor Portland Gay and Lesbian Pride Fair was held in 1975 at the South Park Blocks. The Northwest Gay Review, an early ▼ A History of Lesbian & Gay Pride in Portland gay publication, re ported that about 200 people showed up, and the only problem they encountered involved a small group of fun dam entalists who u> » u s t ■ says Tom Cook, presi- ^ dent of the Gay and Lesbian Archives of \ the Pacific Northwest, an organization that re searches information about gay and lesbian history in the region. r A According toCook, there were earlier gay and lesbian pride events in Portland prior to the 1975 fair. In 1971, for instance, the Second Foundation of Oregon, an early gay and lesbian social services group, held what is believed to be the first Gay Pride celebra tion designed to commemorate Stonewall. The group sponsored a dance at the Pythian Hall in downtown Portland, which attracted about 200 people. The following year about 150 people re portedly attended a drag show and dance. “In the very early 1970s, doing anything col lectively was a feat. It was still a bit too early for gays and lesbians to really go public with a parade or outdoor fair, so instead they held dances and dinners and conferences where gay issues were discussed,” he says. “These gatherings were more of a ‘coming out’ celebration rather than a political event.” In 1973, Gay Pride began to go public (and become more political) after the Portland State University Gay People’s Alliance held a press conference to announce an equal rights demonstra had reportedly been asked to do the same in 1974 but refused because it was "too political ”) tion at the Pioneer Court £ house. GPA also spon S r sored a Gay Pride Picnic at the Washington Park archery range. “Things began to change in the mid-to-late t 1970s due in large part to the involvement of the Portland Town Council [an early gay political group which led to the founding of the present- day organizations Right To Privacy, Cascade AIDS Project and Phoe nix Rising Foundation.] PTC’s members were forming relationships with local politicians like Neil Goldschmidt, Frank Roberts and Gretchcn Kafoury. Their members were very politically involved and connected.” Cook says Portland Town Council sponsored the 1976 Pride event in the form of a fair at Waterf ront Park, which attracted about 250 people. “But 1 think the real turning point occurred in 1977,” he says. “That’s when gays held their first march through the city. I believe it was a spontane ous march that was probably prompted by Anita Bryant’s anti-gay campaign in Dade County, Florida, that same year.” He continues: “I think that attack really ener gized a lot of people across the country. It was also the year that The Oregonian covered Gay Pride for the first time, with a front-page article whose headline read: ‘Gays join ranks in support of rights.’ ” According toCook, 1977 also marked the year that then-Portland Mayor Neil Goldschmidt read the city’s first proclamation of Gay Pride Day. (He « « ii Here is a rundown of other Portland Pride highlights and lowlights: 1978 Another Pride March is held. San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the following rally, but cancels due to an eme rgency relat i ng to Cal ifom i a’s Propo- sition 13, an anti-gay-rights initiative. 1979 Local politician Gretchen Kafoury and Flo Kennedy, a well-known feminist attorney and civil rights activist, speak before a crowd of 6(X) at Waterfront Park. 1980 An estimated 1 ,(XX) marchers turn out for Gay Pride, the theme of which is "In Celebra tion of Oregon Les- bian/Gay Ar t i s t s ” >v The newly formed ‘* i Gay Men’s Chorus U gives its first concert during the celcbra- tion, which is again held at Waterfront Park. 1981 Discord erupts. An early gay newspaper re ports that Portland Town Council let the Gay Pride Activities Committee organize the event. Cook describes GPAC as group of “gay businessmen, primarily bar owners.” “Some folks started to say that they felt GPAC Continued on next page Acupuncture «Chiropractic «Massage Counseling • Naturopathic Medicine An Outrageous Celebration! (503) 2 3 0 - 0 8 1 2 CIRCLE HEALTHCARE CLINIC V7/ : Brooke Winter, L.Ac. Jan Corwin, DC Kip M. Hard, DC Valerie M. 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