Los Angeles Pride :: Owning Our Pride

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47 years ago, members of the Los Angeles LGBT community decided it was time to start something. It had been almost a year after the Stonewall Inn riots had taken place in 1970s New York City and nearly three since a local protest at Los Angeles' Black Cat bar, which had taken place in 1967.

Morris Kight (Gay Liberation Front founder) Reverend Bob Humphries (United States Mission founder) and Reverend Troy Perry (Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches founder) decided that a commemoration for Stonewall was the demarcation date. To mark the event, they settled on a Gay Liberation Parade down Hollywood Boulevard, starting by most accounts in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Turned out that 1970 was a good year for the LGBT movement, with processions planned and executed within days of each other in Chicago, New York and San Francisco, during June, now know as Pride month.

Homosexuality was still illegal, and the process of getting a permit nearly sidelined the entire event in California. Police Chief Edward M. Davis was quoted as saying, "As far as I'm concerned, granting a permit to a group of homosexuals to parade down Hollywood Boulevard would be the same as giving a permit to a group of thieves and robbers." Fees for the event reportedly exceeded $1.5 million, requiring the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union. Several California Superior Court decisions later, they ordered the police commissioner to issue a parade permit, citing the "constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression."

Several years later and after a one-year hiatus, the parade returned in 1974 and the idea of adding a festival as a culmination to it was added. Thus, the first Pride Festival was born, featuring rides, games, food and beverages with information booths, all set in a Hollywood parking lot at Sunset and Cherokee.

Fast forward now, to 2017, and the world looks very different for the LGBTQ+ community. There have been many powerful changes and yet, if we have learned anything during the passage of time, especially on the heels of last year's election and the assault gathering on such milestones, is that our work is in no way complete. We can take nothing for granted and thus, even our celebrations must evolve to address those changing moments.

This year's Los Angeles Pride parade will reflect that change, as will similar marches planned across the country on the same date. Billed under the name #ResistMarch, it's a perfect time to come out and join your brothers and sisters -- and to send a message to those in power that we "Do

not go quietly into that good night."

A Discourse with Alexei Romanoff

History stands as the greatest teacher, in that it offers lessons on how to move forward without carrying forward the mistakes of the past. Everything we experience helps to make up who we become individually and as a community.

That's why it's vital to treasure our stories, especially from those who helped to create the world we live in now. It wasn't so long ago that being LGBT wasn't something you could even discuss, let alone being able to live "Out and Proud" in the manner we do today. Alexei Romanoff, Grand Marshal for Los Angeles' #ResistMarch is one of our treasured elders. He was one of the city's early activists, and his stories are ripe with powerful stories from which we can glean valuable lessons. Cataloging those histories is a part of what we hope to do here at The Rage Monthly, and Alexei has a wealth of information to pull from.

Below is a small sampling of what he has to share.

Please tell us a little about what got you started as an activist.

I've told the story many times about the man who inspired me to do the things I have done in my life, and to this day I don't know his real name. I was about 14 and we hung out on 6th Avenue and 42nd Street at Bryant Park in New York. We were called the "trunkers" because our parents were in show business, and while they were performing we would go up there and hang out. We came in contact with this older gentleman, he was 86 at the time, and he would tell us what it was like to be gay in 1890, when he was

20 years old.

To this day, I know him only by the name "Mother Bryan," and he would sit and tell us about life and about things he'd experienced. We were young and not all of us got it, but some of us did. He told us, "When you're my age and you're ready to leave this earth - if you haven't left your community and the world as a whole in a better place - you haven't really lived." That's his direct quote. I sat there and got chills and went on to live my life according to what he said.

Please tell us a little about what Pride means to you.

I have been doing this for more than 50 years, and was a part of it before it was called Pride. The word comes from P.R.I.D.E., [Personal Rights In Defense Education], which we started just before the raids at the Black Cat occurred. Out of that, our newsletter became the Pride Advocate, which is now the magazine The Advocate, and the publisher of the Advocate was in the group. Nobody would let us meet, there was a lot of us who came together, but we couldn't find a place to meet that would handle everyone involved. There was a place on Santa Monica Boulevard, I forget the name, and the owner let us meet there, but only after the bar was closed because it was dangerous for him, too.

I think it's amazing that so few people know about the Black Cat event, or that it predates the Stonewall riots. It was two and a half years before Stonewall. The difference was that this was an organized rally, a demonstration and not a riot. I don't mean to take anything away from Stonewall, but there's a little bit of difference in that. Both point to the same thing about what we wanted, just to be accepted as human beings. Bars were really the only place for us to gather together. I'll mention too, that

at none of the bars could you see inside, they had their windows painted out or heavily draped. What happened on New Year's Eve'66 to '67 proved why we needed it to be that way.

I loved seeing the photos of you at the recently reopened Black Cat. What was that like for you?

It was elevating to realize that first of all, I'm still here after 50 years. (Laughs) One of the big- gest joys seeing the turnout to recreate that early demonstration and that I was able to lead it again. To actually have the mayor there this time and City Councilman O'Farrell as we marched and said, "What do we want? Equal rights. When do we want them? Right now!" it was so powerful.

There was a young man there, he was around 14 or so, who was going to play a song with his guitar and he said, "I dedicate this song to Alexei, because without him, I couldn't be what I am today, transgender." I choked up and went on stage to thank him and give him a hug. We were walking offstage and I looked up, standing next to him was this big, six-foot man who said, "I'm his father." I told him, "Thank you so much for being so supportive of your son." It was very touching.

L.A. PRIDE HIGHLIGHTS

#ResistMarch SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 8 A.M.

Hollywood and Highland

Gather at Hollywood at Highland, the site of the very first L.A. Pride Parade in 1970. After an opening ceremony, march peacefully together to West Hollywood for an epic rally and then move on to Hollywood Park for the festival!

The L.A. Pride Festival

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, JUNE 10 AND 11

West Hollywood Park

Two days of live entertainment and community programming on the Park Stage Presented by Blue Shield. The newly-titled mainstage will feature headliners Chromeo and Brandy with a weekend lineup that includes: Young M.A, Erika Jayne, Brooke Candy, Kat Dahlia, Aaron Carter, ILOVEMAKONNEN, Spencer Ludwig, Starley, Tish Hyman, Leon Else, Connell Cruise and Jesse M�ntana.

Pride at Universal Studios

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, JUNE 9 AND 10 (Enjoy exclusive park access from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday June 9. Available with "Pride Is Universal" tickets only, available at ushtix.com/Home.aspx.)

Tour behind-the-scenes at the world-famous Universal Studios and explore the actual film sets where many of Hollywood's favorite

movies are made. Enjoy DJs and dance venues, cash bars, character meet and greets, as well

as all the heart-pounding rides, shows and attractions.

LGBT Out Night

Dodger Stadium

FRIDAY, JUNE 9, STARTING AT 5:30 P.M.

The Los Angeles Dodgers plays host again to their fifth annual LGBT Night at Dodger Stadium and for the first time ever, the Dodgers have partnered with LA Pride (lapride.org) to host the official 2017 LA Pride kickoff party beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Right Field Plaza Bar. For more information, go to dodgers.com/LGBT.

For more information about other Los Angeles Pride events, go to lapride.org