The Gay Pride March routes
changed over the years, for the most part the parade surrounded
Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill, Boston common, public
garden, and Boston Center for the Arts. We watched most years
from my father’s
Studio overlooking Tremont Street.
1970
A twenty-person contingent that marched from Cambridge Common
to a rally on Boston Common as part of Vietnam War Protest. Gay
Liberation Front carried signs that read Send The boys Home Now.
1971
Preceded by a full week of workshops. The march route encompassed
four major stops, Bay Village Bar, Jacques, Boston Police Headquarters
on Berkeley Street, State House on Beacon Hill and St. Paul’s
Cathedral on Tremont Street. At each stop a speaker listed a set
of demands at the State House a call was issued to include Homosexuals
in civil rights legislation and eliminate anti-sodomy statues
dating from Puritan times.
1977
Number of parade participants had swelled to 7000 mobilized in
responses to Anita Bryant’s hateful anti-gay rhetoric. Bryant,
singer, fundamentalist Christian, and former Miss America runner-up
had emerged as a spoke person for Florida orange juice industry.
Representatives from more than 20 gay and human rights organizations,
including Congressman Barney Frank and State Senator Elaine Noble
marched in the Boston parade in an effort to increase public awareness
and promote gay rights legislation in the state.
1978
Renamed Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade; in 1978 Pride observance
demonstrated a growing emphasis on Lesbianism as a distinct expression
of self-identification.
Instead of inviting politicians and religious leaders to speak
at the rally on Boston Common, organizers showcased grass roots
voices from the community.
1982
Teacher Eric Rofes emphasized the need for a citywide ordinance
that would protect all workers from discrimination based on sexual
orientation in both the public and private sectors. In general
however pride day seemed to be losing its political edge and many
participants seemed ambivalent about participating in a demonstration
for Civil Rights.
1983
The lead photograph in the Globe’s coverage of the 1983
Pride Parade featured the AIDS Action Committee’s banner.
Widespread shock over the health crisis caused attendance to grow
to 18,000 from 13,000 the previous year. There was much speculation
about the nature of AIDS and debate over how to fight the disease
and increase awareness of it. Several days before the march, more
than 600 people attended an open meeting at Faneuil Hall on the
effects of AIDS within Boston’s gay community.
1984
Featured Pride memorabilia, camel rides and a hot air balloon
that never got off the ground-indicated a shift in the focus of
the observance. “It’s a depoliticization of the whole
thing, making it into a gay trade fair.” According to Pride
Committee Coordinator Marsha Levine, organizers had polled participants
and found that “the criticism was leaning strongly toward
less speakers and more entertainment.”
1986
Groups as diverse as Black and White Men together, Gay Police
Officers and Dykes on Bikes were among the 34,000. Several political
developments that year helped to incite the community-in particular,
a policy initiated by Governor Michael Dukakis that required the
state to take down information on the sexual preference of prospective
foster parents in order to place children in “traditional
family settings.” This essentially prevented lesbians and
gays from becoming foster parents in Massachusetts. In response
the Gay and Lesbian Defense Committee urged protesters to place
stickers printed with the words “Foster Equality”
on the wall outside the State House.
1987
A flag emblazoned with lavender rhinoceros and pink triangle was
raised at City Hall the event was also the first to feature a
major business sponsor, Digital Corporation. The starting point
of the parade changed to city hall plaza, resulting in wide spread
confusion: Bay Windows stated that, “at times, the parade
seemed like two or three separate marches.” A crowd of 40000
participated in the march, led by Moving Violation (The Womens
Motorcycle Club), the Gay and Lesbian Defense Committee and Lesbians
Choosing Children, a coalition of women protesting the ban on
gay foster parents. Six hundred green balloons were released at
the rally in memory of the 600 residence of Massachusetts lost
to AIDS in the previous five years.
1993
The Parade route was altered significantly to wind through South
End, which had become the popular center of Boston’s gay
community. Estimated attendance preceded 100,000 for the first
time. The significance of the Pride Day was noted by Karen Lucas
of greater Boston business Council: “Because there’s
more publicity, it’s easier to come out. Not only are straight
people seeing our numbers, were seeing our numbers.”
1994
25th Anniversary of Stonewall uprising. The parade passed reviewing
stand in front of the Boston Center for the Arts on Tremont Street,
where local politicians awarded prizes for the best floats. News
coverage focused on the increasing corporate sponsorship of the
celebration and the growing numbers of groups marching under company
banners. As a globe reporter wrote: “The smattering of groups
marching under their company logos in yesterday’s Gay Pride
Parade signals a growing acceptance of gays in the corporate world.”
1995
The Pride Committee limited political speakers in 1995 to the
half-hour before the official noon start of the march, which drew
an estimated 130,000, co-chair explained, “People say they
want pride to be fun. They don’t want it to be political.”
Acting on the frustrations felt by many that pride had become
apolitical, The Lesbian Avengers organized the first Dyke March.
The march took place the morning of Pride, following a route from
Ruggles MBTA station in Roxbury to Copley Square, where it joined
the main parade. This was also the first year of the Youth Pride
March in May, which was a culmination of several positive developments
for local gay youth.
2000
One commentator wondered if the aura middle-class respectability
that characterized the whole affair was a sign of progress or
a step in the wrong direction. Attendance at the rally was affected
by the day’s heat and the competition from both the Grass
Roots Gay Rights Fund’s Chandler Street block party and
the women’s party at Esme. Pride Committee organizers, however,
felt that the day had been “successful, inclusive and fun.”
Source: The History Project
www.historyproject.org |
