Pride as Protest
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2024-05-27T19:02:07-07:00
We all know the first pride march was a riot. Here are some photos and materials related to pride marches in the collection.
West Hollywood Pride in the 1980s
Los Angeles Pride 1992
The Dyke March, 1993
Lesbian Rights Day
Los Angeles Pride 1994
San Diego Pride 1996
In 1996 the Pride festival in San Diego was held in late July and focused on protesting the Republican National Convention that would be held there in early August. Voters Organized In Coalition for the Elections (VOICES) held a voter registration drive and marched in the parade. San Diego Pride also launched a Rainbow Flag Campaign to show San Diego’s strong LGBTQ presence to RNC attendees. Protests were held to disrupt the convention in addition to the usual celebratory parade and festival.[1]
Die-ins were used by ACT UP activists to remind people of the bodies affected by HIV and AIDS when these deaths were largely being ignored by the media. It brought a physicality and gravity to these silent actions that grew out of a legacy of sit-ins, activists chaining themselves to buildings, and disrupting public and private infrastructure.[2] This die-in was held at San Diego Pride festival in 1996, and while it is not silent (one person holds a megaphone in the center right) it sends a message by disrupting space.
Citations
[1] “1996: ‘Spotlight on Freedom’ – OUT on the Left Coast,” January 25, 1996, https://sdpride.sdsu.edu/1996-spotlight-on-freedom/.
[2] David Montalvo, “How AIDS Activists Used ‘Die-Ins’ to Demand Attention to the Growing Epidemic,” HISTORY, June 2, 2021, https://www.history.com/news/aids-activism-protests-act-up-die-ins.
