By Dr. Marcy Adelman–
I marched in my first Pride in 1972, 47 years ago. That was the year I arrived in San Francisco. I remember feeling that I’d had the good luck to drop into a little bit of heaven. I soon joined Gay Women’s Liberation, where we shared our coming out stories; our personal histories of oppression from homophobia, racism and misogyny; challenged each other over class differences; and shared our hopes, dreams and plans to continue the fight for our right to live with dignity and respect. I am proud and grateful for a lifetime of living an out life and the opportunities to contribute to building a safe and welcoming LGBTQ community.
This Pride month, let’s take a moment to celebrate San Franciscans who have made a difference in our struggle to live out and proud lives: José Sarria, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, Harvey Milk, Sally Gearhart, Sylvester, Pat Norman, Leonard Matlovich, Cleve Jones, Roma Guy, Cecilia Chung, Gilbert Baker, Mark Leno, Carol Midgen, Roberta Achtenburg, Susan Leal, Kate Kendell, Teresa Sparks and Jewelle Gomez.
This is just a partial list of all of the folks who deserve recognition. You will have your own list of people to honor and acknowledge.
Pride month is a time to reflect on where we have been, where we are and where we are going. It is a time to give thanks and to celebrate our victories and how far we have come. Pride is a time to support the LGBTQ organizations that work every day to ensure our rights and to improve our quality of life. Consider donating to one or all of the following San Francisco organizations:
Horizons Foundation https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/
NCLR http://www.nclrights.org/
LYRIC http://lyric.org/
Openhouse https://www.openhouse-sf.org/
Postive Resource Center https://prcsf.org/
Transgender Law Center https://transgenderlawcenter.org/
Dr. Marcy Adelman, Co-Founder of the nonprofit Openhouse, oversees the Aging in Community column. She is a psychologist and LGBTQI longevity advocate and policy advisor. She serves on the California Commission on Aging, the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada and the San Francisco Dignity Fund Oversight and Advisory Committee.
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