Black Gays Celebrate Pride/WW Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit -------------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the June 10, 1999 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------------- BLACK GAYS CELEBRATE PRIDE By Imani Henry Washington May 28 kicked off the ninth annual Black Pride weekend in Washington. Organizers estimate that 15,000 lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people attended this year's four-day festival-- making it the biggest Black gay pride event in the world. Participants came from every major city in the United States--as well as from Canada, the Caribbean, Germany and the Netherlands. Black Pride is one of the oldest and most prominent of all the annual Black lesbian and gay festivals. Many see Black Pride, held in Washington on Memorial Day weekend, as the official start of the lesbian/gay/bi/trans pride celebrations that take place in cities across the country in June. Organizers started Black Pride in 1991 as a one-day fundraiser for local AIDS organizations that serve the African American community. Now incorporated as a non-profit group--Black Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, Inc.--Black Pride is led and organized by a volunteer executive board. "Our focus from the beginning was AIDS," said Board President Kevin Fowlkes. "Later we expanded our mission to raise money for women's health organizations as well." Over the last nine years BLGPD has distributed $50,000 to AIDS groups and other health-service organizations in the Washington area. Part of Black Pride this year was a day-long health exposition geared toward Black lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. LGBPD has paved the way for other Black lesbian and gay events across the country. Sixteen cities across the United States now have similar events. These include San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Oakland, Calif., Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Phoenix. This year, Minneapolis held its first event. "It is always political anytime Black lesbian, gay, bi and trans people come together," said Fowlkes. "Black Pride serves as a source of empowerment, socially, culturally and politically, reinforcing our strength and diversity." HIGHLIGHT: DR. RUTH ELLIS The Washington Blade gay newspaper listed over 50 Black Pride events for participants to enjoy over the course of the four-day weekend. One of the highlights included a 100th birthday party for Dr. Ruth Ellis. Adored by many in the Black gay community, Dr. Ellis' presence at Black Pride served as a powerful reminder of the struggles against racism and gay oppression- -particularly before the modern lesbian/gay/ bi/trans movement began with the June 1969 Stonewall Rebellion. Referred to by many as "the oldest living lesbian," Dr. Ellis was born on July 23, 1899 in Tennessee. "Things were very quiet when I was coming up," said Dr. Ellis. "There were no gay bars. But I didn't need to come out--I was never in the closet." In 1937 in Detroit, Dr. Ellis met and began her 36-year relationship with Cicilene "Babe" Franklin. Dr. Ellis has been single since her lover died in 1973. In Detroit--where Dr. Ellis lives--the Black gay community holds "Ruth Ellis Day" celebrations during Black History Month. The Detroit-based group African American Lesbians Organized to Renew Dignity and Empowerment (A. LORDE) is planning to create a shelter for gay youths and name it the "Ruth Ellis Center." This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, when Black, Latino and white drag queens and other gay men and lesbians fought New York cops for the right to live and love. Black Pride is a legacy of that struggle for civil rights and the ongoing fight for liberation. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://www.workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrc-06.04.99-00:18:39-19345