Sun Destined To Shine On Pride’s Celebration

It was cloudy in June 1984, when the first Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride Parade stepped off, on its way to the first festival.

The weather reflected the atmosphere. Long Beach’s large lesbian and gay population had to fight every inch of the way to create a public celebration of their lifestyle. City reluctance, verging on obstruction, mirrored the attitude of much of the population.

But the event, in the form of Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride, Inc., persisted. No, it did not just persist — it grew, and matured.

The early parades were, to a large degree, events of confrontation and excess. The excesses were deliberate statements of being — a sort of in your face declaration of independence.

Those excesses exacerbated the confrontation — but not as much as the radical opponents, who promised damnation if not worse to the entire gay and lesbian population.

Thankfully, the climate in Long Beach changed, if perhaps too slowly. By the late 1990s, groups such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were seen as mostly as the clowns they were trying to be instead of a slap to the face of “straight” society.

A key was a change in emphasis away from sexual preference and toward the good done by members of the community. LBLGP, Inc., led the way, constantly increasing its charitable endeavors and pioneering a unique volunteer approach, allowing festival and parade workers to “earn” $6 an hour for their favorite charity.

On this, the 25th anniversary of Long Beach Pride, the confrontation is virtually gone and the celebration is essentially universal. Long Beach has had, and still has, openly gay elected officials and city employees. The community contributions of the Center, AIDS Walk and other gay-focused groups are valued, and the gay and lesbian community has become an important political constituency.

Today, the type of individual a person is counts for far more than whether they are gay, straight or indifferent. The real measure of that change is the fact that members of the gay and lesbian community now can be deemed failures as well as be celebrated as successes.

In other words, they are just like the rest of society. Which is, after all, the ultimate definition of equality.

We should never forget, or forget to thank, the hard and often scary work done by the gay and lesbian activists who began the Pride movement. If it weren’t for people like Bob Crow, Marilyn Barlow, Judith Doyle, J.C. Cree, Fran Williams, Vanessa Romain, Mary Martinez and John Fox, there wouldn’t be as much to celebrate as there is today, and the forum wouldn’t be so open and public. The same can be said for the many who followed, supported and expanded the vision of those founders.

This year’s Long Beach Pride theme is “I Am What I Am.” It is a celebration of self. It also is a celebration of what the lesbian and gay community in Long Beach has become — a full and welcome partner in all facets of our city’s life.

If the clouds on the day of that first Pride event were a reflection of the time, we can confidently offer the weather forecast coming weekend — warm and welcoming sunshine.

Happy silver anniversary, Long Beach Pride. Here’s wishing you many more.