SAN DIEGO — For five decades, San Diego has been celebrating Pride.
CBS 8 archives show it has evolved from a handful of people to hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ+ Community members and allies supporting gay and transgender rights.
“It was a handful of folks who had gone down. The city asked for a permit, been told no, and they got together there. The records really vary between a couple dozen to a couple 100,” said Jen LeBarbera, Pride Interim Co-Executive Director.
Today there are 300 contingents in the San Diego Pride parade and 10,000 or more people who are marching in the parade on Saturday, July 20 in Hillcrest.
This year’s theme is “Making History Now.”
“I think the thing that sticks out the most when I look back at our history is how similar it is to what we’re going through now,” said LaBarbera.
They talk about how in the 70’s there was the fight against singer and Christian crusader, Anita Bryant, who organized an anti-gay movement and LGBTQ educator rights.
“We were fighting against the Briggs Initiative in California which was a state ballot measure that would have barred gay teachers from being able to work in schools,” said LaBarbera.
In 1993 the first LGBTQ+ teachers and educators at San Diego Unified and around the area marched in Pride.
“We were very brave to show up there. If we were out in public prior to that, we looked over our shoulder all the time,” said Bob Carney, retired SDUSD teacher.
That same year President Clinton enacted “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military. In 2010 the military order was repealed, and the following year service members could march in uniform without fear.
“It brought tears to your eyes to be able to proudly march with active duty in the parade,” said Sgt, Bob Lehman, U.S. Marine veteran.
Pride was birthed from the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York to liberate the gay movement.
In 2022, the late Jeri Dilno talked to CBS 8 about helping to organize San Diego’s first officially permitted parade in 1975.
“People with handmade signs, some people wore masks,” said Dilno.
Or some wore bags over their head for fear of retaliation because in 1974 a person could be fired because they were LGBTQ+.
Today, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies have made San Diego Pride one of the largest in the nation and the biggest civic event in the city.
“One of my favorite things is just walking down the street and somebody will just be honking their horn and screaming happy Pride as they’re driving down the street,” said LaBarbera.
As LaBarbera reflects on Pride’s history, they look forward to continuing to pave the way for the challenges ahead.
“We’ve been here before. We have fought, we have won, and that gives me a lot of hope too,” said LaBarbera.
This is the thirtieth anniversary that San Diego Pride became a 501(c)(3) and the tenth year that She Fest kicks of Pride.
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