The first Pride march in San Francisco in 1970 was a child of these bold, raging acts of civil disobedience.Īs the years went by - and “Will and Grace,” Ellen Degeneres, RuPaul and “Schitt’s Creek” acclimated the cisgender masses to a palatable and quirky queer life - the city’s predominately heterosexual power players slowly and carefully co-opted the annual bacchanalia.
It rose from the Compton Cafeteria riots in 1966, when a group of trans women in the Tenderloin fought back against police abuse inside Gene Compton’s Cafeteria the Los Angeles’ Black Cat Tavern raid in 1967, which erupted in protest after police beat and charged patrons with lewd conduct for same-sex kissing and most notably, the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. Pride began as a rally against anti-gay laws and societal prejudice. If you think these are the bitter musings of a forlorn 40-something gay man, you’re only half right: It wasn’t long ago that the annual march celebrating queerdom was primarily attended by those within our community.
