By Supervisor Rafael Mandelman–
(Editor’s Note: Former San Francisco Bay Times columnist, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, presented the following In Memoriam for longtime former Bay Times publisher Kim Corsaro (1953–2022) at the February 1 San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting. He requested that the meeting be adjourned in memory of Corsaro, who died in San Francisco on January 29.)
Kim took the helm of the San Francisco Bay Times in 1981—just three years after its founding and would remain the editor and publisher of the LGBTQ+ newspaper for the next three decades. In our internet age, it is easy to forget just how important gay newspapers were.
They were the connective fabric of our community that was still discovering itself and the Bay Times provided important news but also ways for people to connect through personals and event listings. Kim and the Bay Times also provided in-depth coverage of the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis, including critical and timely updates to readers about breakthrough treatments and care.
Some may be familiar with [the] role that Kim and the Bay Times played in the removal of San Francisco Police Department Chief Richard Hongisto in 1992. Protests erupting in response to the Rodney King verdicts in early May of 1992 resulting in a significant crackdown by Hongisto, leading to hundreds of arrests, and an outcry from activists across the city.
In response, the Bay Times ran a controversial cover with a doctored photo of Hongisto holding a baton in a suggestive manner and an all-caps headline proclaiming “Dick’s Cool New Tool: Martial Law.” An outraged Hongisto then allegedly instigated the removal of more than 2,000 copies of the Bay Times from the street, an act that caused the San Francisco Police Commission to remove him from his position only five months into his tenure.
Kim would go on to file a lawsuit against Hongisto which ultimately resulted in a Federal District Court jury awarding $5,600 to the paper for economic losses and $30,000 to its editor and publisher for emotional distress.
In 2011, Kim transitioned ownership of the Bay Times to Betty Sullivan and Jennifer Viegas, who still operate the paper today.
In 2012, Kim was hired by the Obama campaign to serve as a field organizer in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thanks to Kim’s work and the work of many other staff, Obama won Ohio and went on to easily win reelection.
Following the 2012 election, Kim’s health deteriorated and she remained in Ohio to receive care. She would stay in Ohio until last year when friends and supporters helped raise more than $12,000 to fund her return to San Francisco. This generosity, and the hard work of Brian Basinger who made sure she had a home to return to, allowed Kim to live out the last months of her life in the city that she loved.
Rest in power, Kim Corsaro. May her memory be a blessing.
Published on February 10, 2022
Recent Comments