With Lambda Pride and Parade Fest now dissolved, San Diego Lesbian and Gay Men’s Pride formed anew with Tim Williams as the first executive director. After years of controversy surrounding finances and a surviving debt, SDLGP sought to improve transparency with their accounting practices by releasing a financial report to the community following Pride weekend.… Continue reading 1989: “A Generation of Pride”
Tag: Jess Jessop
1978: “No More Lies, Never Again!”
As with the previous year, defending homosexuality in education took the spotlight of the 1978 Pride event, which was held on June 25th. California voters faced Proposition 6, which would prohibit gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools and prohibit the use of curricula that presented homosexuality positively. Prop 6 was fueled by Anita… Continue reading 1978: “No More Lies, Never Again!”
1977: “Unity (A Day With Human Rights Is Like A Day Without Sunshine) / No More Miamis”
Despite the infighting and dispersion of niche interest groups that occurred the previous year, participation in the 1977 Pride march increased. That year, former Miss America runner-up Anita Bryant began crusading against gay rights and was involved in overturning a Florida ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Bryant then pushed a Christian fundamentalist-backed national… Continue reading 1977: “Unity (A Day With Human Rights Is Like A Day Without Sunshine) / No More Miamis”
1972-73: The Center is Born and the Final “Gay-In”
In 1972, Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) continued to hold services and events and the Catholic support group Dignity returned to San Diego. The Monday Night Lesbians also formed in the early 1970s. Significantly, Stephen Bell and Jess Jessop of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) attended a national conference in Chicago organized by the Gay Activists… Continue reading 1972-73: The Center is Born and the Final “Gay-In”
1971: A Hotline, a Protest, and “Gay-In 2”
In spring of 1971, Gay Liberation Front (GLF) came back to campus. On-campus status still officially revoked, the group began to operate meetings through a course called “The Homosexual and Society,” which was sponsored by the Experimental College. This loophole allowed GLF to use campus facilities and advertise to students, and Morris Kight, pioneer of… Continue reading 1971: A Hotline, a Protest, and “Gay-In 2”
Pre-1969: Before Stonewall
To truly appreciate the significance of the Pride phenomenon in San Diego and all over the world, it is essential to understand the historical and social contexts from which it has emerged. Prior to the Stonewall Riots and the birth of the modern gay rights movement in the 1970s, LGBTQ+ people in San Diego had… Continue reading Pre-1969: Before Stonewall