Housing, Immigration, Trans Rights Take Center Stage At Pride Press Preview

Housing, Immigration, Trans Rights Take Center Stage At Pride Press PreviewPhotos: Jetta Rae/Hoodline
Jetta Rae
Published on June 24, 2017

SF Pride hosted a press event yesterday hosted by Donna Sachet and SF Pride's President Michelle Meow, to preview the weekend's upcoming activities and honor the year's Grand Marshals, staff, and honorees.

This year, the theme of the celebration, expected to draw as many as one million people to San Francisco, is resistance. Tomorrow's parade will be led by protesters representing several progressive organizations.

George F. Ridley Jr., the event's Executive Director, noted the necessity of "eschewing tradition," as "2016 was one of the deadliest years on record for the LGBTQIAA community."

Although Pride 2017 will be "informed by current events," Ridley said resistance reflects the spirit of the Compton's Cafeteria and Stonewall uprisings that kicked off the ongoing battle for civil rights and equality.

State Senator Scott Wiener, Executive Director George F. Ridgely Jr., Pride President Michelle Meow.

"California is the heart of the resistance against this nightmare administration. We legislators take that responsibility very seriously," said State Senator Scott Wiener, noting the Trump administration's removal of LGBTQIAA people from the census and support of laws barring trans people from public bathrooms.

Pride 2017 honorees include El/La Para Trans Latinas and Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits, which organizes to educate and preserve the sacred role of two-spirit people within First Nations cultures.

Displacement was a recurring theme; Dr. Marcy Adelman, a pioneer in the study of LGBTQIAA seniors, said a lack of housing options in the past forced many back into the closet because senior living providers weren't able to guarantee their safety.

Roma Guy, Emily Skeggs, Pride President Michelle Meow and Donna Sachet.

Emily Skeggs, who portrays lesbian activist Roma Guy (who was also in attendance) in When We Rise, highlighted the generational struggle for LGBT equality.

"I feel I was born into these rights, and I've always just accepted they would be there, and now for the first time they're being threatened," she said.

"You can't have queer, Latina folks in San Francisco if there's nowhere for them to live," said Maria Zamudio, recipient of the Teddy Witherington Award, given to those with a long-standing body of work with the LGBTQIAA people.

Pride 2017 Awards.

"San Francisco is becoming a city for the very rich, very white folks," said Zamudio. "We can continue to do things for profit, and we can continue to drive our city into the ground," she said.

"No city government has ever said to me, 'please stay,'" said Alex U. Inn, a Grand Marshal and founder of the drag king troupe Momma's Boyz. 

"We used to have a barter system in San Francisco. If you couldn't pay for your groceries, your grocer would keep a tab with your name on it, and you'd pay it off when you could," Inn said.

"If you were poor, your landlord would say 'okay, you pay this much'. But we don't have that anymore. It's all Ellis Act to hell now. Landlords want to get you out to charge the next person 15 times what you could," they added.

Chris Carnes, an organizer with the fight for marriage equality, challenged the crowd to "get off the couches, out of the bars. We have to be proactive. If I have to come to your house and preach to you, I will."