The San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Celebration (formerly "International Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day", "Gay Freedom Day", and "Christopher Street West"), usually known as San Francisco Pride, is a pride parade and festival held at the end of June most years in San Francisco, California, to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
Parade
2016 parade
The San Francisco Pride parade is an LGBT pride parade that is held on a Sunday morning as part of a two-day Festival. The route is usually west along San Francisco's Market Street, from Steuart Street to 8th Street[2] and it runs from 10:30 am until almost 4:00 pm. Participants line up off the parade route in advance of the start of the parade.
Contingents
The parade consists of hundreds of contingents from various groups and organizations. Some of the more well-known contingents are:
Dykes on Bikes leading the 2005 San Francisco Pride parade. The contingent has hundreds of motorized bikes, many of which are decorated for the event.
Dykes on Bikes, formerly known as "Women's Motorcycle Contingent" for legal purposes[citation needed], has several hundred motorcycle riders, almost all women-identified although they welcome all gender-variant people.[3][failed verification] Some of the women are topless, some wear leather or fanciful costumes. The sound of hundreds of motorcycle engines gives this contingent a big impact. They are traditionally the first contingent in the parade; one reason for this is that it is difficult for motorcycles to run reliably at the walking pace of the rest of the parade, so as the first contingent they can move at an easier pace. On November 13, 2006, they won a battle to trademark the name "Dykes on Bikes", having struggled since 2003 to persuade the United States Patent and Trademark Office that "dyke" was not an offensive word.[4][5] Founding member and activist, Soni Wolf was selected to serve as a Community Grand Marshal at the San Francisco Pride parade in 2018. Wolf died in April 2018 before she was able to serve as Community Grand Marshal.[6] Her close friends represented her in the parade by carrying the custom-painted motorcycle tank from the bike she rode during the inaugural ride in 1976.
PFLAG is usually one of the largest contingents, featuring several hundred people. These are typically the parents or family members of LGBT people, mostly straight, sometimes marching together with their LGBT relatives. Many carry signs indicating where their PFLAG chapter comes from. This contingent is notable for the emotion it generates along the route.
Politicians frequently participate in the parade, as a way of making themselves visible to LGBT prospective voters.
Nonprofit community groups and LGBT-oriented local businesses contribute more than half of the contingents. It is common for them to decorate a flatbed truck or float, along with loud dance music, or create a colorful contingent that carries a visual message out to the bystanders.
The leather contingent consists of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and pansexualleather and BDSM groups. Robert Davolt, editor of Bound & Gagged, was an organizer of the leather contingent.[7][8]
Many San Francisco companies have a contingent, sometimes chaptered by LGBT employees of the company, sometimes chaptered by the company as a community outreach or public relations effort to show support of LGBT causes.
During the 1990s it was common to see anti-gay protestors in the spectator area along the parade route, holding large signs condemning homosexuality, often with biblical passages.[citation needed] In the 2000s such protestors have become less common.
Drag queens on a float at San Francisco Pride 2005
Hundreds of thousands of spectators line the parade route along Market Street. Some arrive hours in advance to claim a prime spot on the curb with a clear view of the street. Others climb onto bus shelters, the walls of subway station stairs, or scaffolding on buildings to get a clear view. As the parade ends, the spectators are able to pass through the barriers and march down Market street behind the parade. The end of the parade route is near the Festival location at the Civic Center.
Festival
San Francisco Pride
A two-day (Saturday and Sunday) festival has grown up around the Sunday morning parade. It is a collection of booths, dance stages, and vendors around the Civic Center area near San Francisco City Hall. On the Sunday of the parade, an area of the festival called Leather Alley features fetish and BDSM oriented booths and demonstrations.[9]
The festival is traditionally held in the last full weekend in June. This commemorates the Stonewall riots.[10]
The festival is run by a non-profit organization, the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee. According to their web site, their mission is "to educate the World, commemorate our heritage, celebrate our culture, and liberate our people."[13] The current Executive Director is Suzanne Ford, who in 2023 was announced as the first openly transgender person paid to be Executive Director of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee.[14][15]
The event is funded by a combination of community fundraising both by the pride committee and on their behalf, corporate sponsorships, San Francisco city grants, and donations collected from the participants at the festival.[citation needed]
Several veteran contractors are employed to take on specific roles for the event.
Also involved in the running of the festival and parade are hundreds of volunteers. Of particular note are:
Safety monitors, crews of volunteers who help maintain order on the parade route and in the festival, particularly with respect to crowd control, and participant actions that might be harmful to themselves or others. Created in 1982, the Safety Committee philosophy and training has served as the model for many other LGBT events both local and international.
Hospitality, a team of volunteers led annually by Davace Chin and Michael Fullam and charged with feeding the other volunteers, keeps hundreds coming back year after year.
Medical volunteers, who provide first aid and medical assistance to participants. These volunteers are typically doctors, nurses, or other trained emergency response staff.
Contingent monitors, members of the various contingents who maintain cohesion and safety in a their contingent. They are recruited and trained by the Parade leadership.
Pioneering LGBT activist Harvey Milk took this image on Gay Freedom Day in 1976.
The first events resembling the modern San Francisco Pride parade and celebration were held on the last weekend of June 1970: Organized by the San Francisco Gay Liberation Front, a "Gay Liberation March" saw 20 to 30 people walk from Aquatic Park to Civic Center on Polk Street on Saturday, June 27.[16][17] The following afternoon, a "Christopher Street Liberation Day Gay-In" brought some 200 people to Golden Gate Park; the gathering was raided by officers from the San Francisco Police Department on Hondas and on horseback, with seven people taken into custody at Park Station, then released without charges.[18][17]
From 1972 until 2019, the event was held each year. The name of the festival has changed over the years. The event organizers each year select a theme for the event, which is reflected in the logo and the event's publicity.
The original rainbow flags flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade (as it was called then) on June 25, 1978.[19][20]
In 1986 Autumn Courtney was elected co-chair of San Francisco's Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Pride Parade Committee; she was the first openly bisexual person to hold this sort of position in the United States.[21]
Freedom Rings, designed by David Spada in 1991,[22] were originally sold as a fundraiser for the 1991 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade (as it was called then) and quickly became a national trend.[23][24]
In October 2009, LGBT activist Amy Andre[25] was appointed as Executive Director of the San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee, making her San Francisco Pride's first openly bisexual woman of color Executive Director.[26][27]
Also in 2009, Asexual Visibility and Education Network members participated in the first asexual entry into an American pride parade when they walked in the San Francisco Pride Parade.[28] They have entered subsequent parades since.
George Ridgely was hired to the position of Executive Director on January 7, 2014, and served in that position until July 11, 2019.[29][30][31]
In 2022, Executive Director Fred Lopez stepped down, and Suzanne Ford, previously the Board Treasurer, became Interim Executive Director.[41] Ford was announced as Executive Director (no longer Interim) in 2023.[42] This made her the first openly transgender person paid to be Executive Director of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee.[14][15]
In 2022, the parade's concluding event at Civic Center was cut short by the organizers after a person was spraying mace near the stage, causing a panic, followed by multiple street brawls.[43]
In 2023, for the first time, the San Francisco Pride parade organizers began requesting donations to keep the parade financially afloat.[44]
San Francisco Pride History
Year
Dates
Festival name
Theme
Estimated attendance
Notes
1970
June 27–28
San Francisco Gay Liberation March and Christopher Street Riots and Free the Park Gay Liberation Front Gay-In
On Saturday, June 27, an estimated 30 gay men and women and hair fairies (some of whom would now be characterized as transgender or transsexuals)[45] marched down Polk Street through what was then one of San Francisco's primary gay neighborhoods; the following day, several hundred people attended a "gay-in" at Speedway Meadows at Golden Gate Park.[46]
1971
No Pride festival
Although there was no gay parade per se in 1971, there was a one time event called the Age of Aquarius Parade on a Sunday in August 1971 that marched down Folsom Street from the Embarcadero to 11th St. that functioned very much like a gay parade and was attended by many gay people and had some gay floats. There were mostly floats from spiritual groups and yoga groups. The parade had several thousand attendees.
Note: Several facts in this section are taken from "San Francisco LGBT Historical Timeline" by KQED (see External links). The themes of Pride festivals from 1970 to 2015 may be seen at San Francisco Pride website.[63]
2013 Chelsea Manning controversy
On April 24, 2013, Pride announced that its electoral college had chosen U.S. Army Private First ClassChelsea (then known as Bradley) Manning, at the time imprisoned for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, as Community Grand Marshal in absentia for the 43rd annual Gay Pride Parade. Two days later, Pride's board president vetoed the election, declaring it "an error" due to a "systemic failure that now has become apparent and will be rectified."[64] The board subsequently explained that the category in which Manning was elected is restricted to "a local hero (individual) not being a celebrity"—neither of which befit Manning.[65]
Both the election and its nullification proved contentious.[66] On April 29, an estimated 200 protesters disrupted the board's meeting, demanding that PFC Manning be reinstated.[67] Supporters of Manning filed a complaint with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.[68] On May 12, the board said it would meet "in a larger venue after the 2013 Celebration and Parade [to] allow people from all sides of that issue and others to fully air and hear one another's viewpoints", but that it would not "let one issue, as important as it is to some, overshadow the concerns and interests of the hundreds of thousands who attend SF Pride."[69] On May 18, SF Pride selected Bebe Sweetbriar as Community Grand Marshal.[70] On June 7, 2013, the board announced that since none of the alternatives submitted at a May 31 community forum garnered a consensus majority, the board's decision to rescind PFC Manning's grand marshalship would stand. The board also reported that the San Francisco Human Rights Commission had declined to investigate the discrimination claims filed against SF Pride.[71]
^The 1972 gay parade started from Montgomery and Pine down Montgomery to Post, then up Post to Polk Street. There was a celebration afterward at the Civic Center.
^The 1973 gay parade started from Montgomery and Post, down Post to Larkin, up Larkin to Sacramento, and west on Sacramento to Lafayette Park, then a major cruising area, where Mr. Marcus, the first gay emperor of the Imperial Court, presided over a preliminary celebration prior to the main celebration afterward at Marx Meadow in Golden Gate Park.
^The 1974 gay parade started from Grant and Bush, down Grant to O'Farrell, then down O'Farrell to Polk Street. There was a celebration afterward at the Civic Center.
^The 1975 gay parade started at Pine and Montgomery, went down Montgomery to Post, then down Post to Polk Street. There was a celebration afterward at the Civic Center.
^The 1976 gay parade started at Pine and Montgomery, down Montgomery to Market, then down Market to Noe, then up Noe to Duboce Park. There was a celebration afterward at Marx Meadows in Golden Gate Park--since the temperature was 94 F. that day, there was a lot of nudity at this celebration, which was filmed by agents of Anita Bryant to use in her anti-gay campaign.
^In 1977 the gay parade for the first time adopted its present route from Spear Street near the Ferry Building down Market Street to City Hall, with a celebration afterward at the Civic Center.
^National Center for Lesbian Rights (2006). "What's in a Name?". NCLR Newsletter. 2006 (Winter): 1. 'On November 13th, the Women's Motorcycle Contingent formally won the legal right to trademark "DYKES ON BIKES."
^Levine, Marsha (February 17, 2022). "Community Relations Manager". San Francisco Pride. No. Datebook. San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco Pride. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
^John Ferrannini. "Cash-strapped Pride to accept donations on parade route". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved June 24, 2023. San Francisco Pride will be taking donations on the parade route for the first time because the committee that runs the annual event is strapped for cash.
^"Gay Parade draws 300,000:1984" Johnny Miller, June 21, 2009, Sunday Datebook (San Francisco Chronicle).
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2001). "SF Pride 2001". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2002). "SF Pride 2002". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2003). "SF Pride 2003". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2004). "SF Pride 2004". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2005). "SF Pride 2005". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2006). "SF Pride 2006". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2007). "SF Pride 2007". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 15, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2008). "SF Pride 2008". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 15, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2009). "SF Pride 2009". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 15, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2010). "SF Pride 2010". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 28, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ abSan Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2011). "SF Pride 2011". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 17, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2012). "SF Pride 2012". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 17, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2013). "SF Pride 2013". SF Pride Committee website. Retrieved June 30, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee (2014). "San Francisco Pride". San Francisco Pride website. Retrieved August 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
