Jim Andris, Facebook

Celebration of Lesbian, Gay Pride Is Successful Community-Builder

[Ed. Note: After researching the 1980 Pride Celebration for ten years now, I have concluded that possibly the best overview of the events was given in this article from the June, 1980 No Bad News. Susanne Goell, then editor of NBN, takes responsibility for the article. The issue also contains wonderful photos of the even, mainly taken by free-lance photographer Mike Bono, but Goell confirmed that she knew of no remaining copies. All we have are the newsprint photos published in the paper. And so rather than illustrate this article with inadequate copies of the originals, I am choosing to include illustrative photos from both the Will Wegener photos from the Missouri Historical Society collection, the Jim Pfaff photos from the St. Louis GLBT HIstory Project's files, and my own photos of the event.]

With the recent Celebration of Lesbian and Gay Pride, Lesbians and Gay Men in St. Louis organized their first successful large-scale local effort in recent years.

The Celebration, which was held Aprii 12-20, included a variety of activities in various parts of the city. Representatives of the Celebration Committee had no idea what to expect in terms of the success or failure of the activities. However, they were extremely pleased with the participation, saying that attendance at every activity either matched or exceeded expectations and projections.

The Celebration was put together by a coalition of organizations and individuals that included the Magnolia Committee, the Lesbian/Gay Organization for Acceptance and Liberation (LGOAL), the Metropolitan Community Church, Concerned Lesbian and Gay Students of Washington University (CLGS), Lutherans Concerned, Dignity, the Women’s Eye Bookstore, Tiamat Press, Club St. Louis (CBC), and Iris — — the St. Louis Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

The initial activity of the week was a dance sponsored by CLGS in Holmes Lounge at Washington University and attended by some 150 persons. Club St. Louis (CBC), with support from The Bowery and The Potpourri, sponsored a picnic in Forest Park the following day. Despite dropping temperatures which led to an evening snowfall of five inches, more than 200 persons turned out for the occasion.

Activities continued during the week with the showing of “Daughter Rite” and “In The Best Interest of the Children” under the auspices of women’s programming at Washington University. The films were seen by approximately 100 people.

At a potluck sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church, extra tables were needed to accommodate the 90 people who came to enjoy the food and an extensive after-dinner theatrical reading by three members of Lutherans Concerned.

On Friday, the Women’s Eye Bookstore gave an open house attended by over 50 women, and the CLGS sponsored their second event of the week—a showing of the film “A Very Natural Thing.” It was standing-room-only in the auditorium with almost 200 people.

Workshops were held all day Saturday. Seventy-five people attended, and topics ranged from custody and property rights to relationships to movement for social change. Several local artists displayed their works throughout the day.

The largest activity of the Celebration was the Sunday afternoon “Lesbians, Gays, and Friends Walk for Charity.” Over 500 individuals marched along the route from its start at Maryland Plaza in the Central West End, along the North edge of Forest Park, to the Quadrangle at Washington University. Balloons and a calliope provided a festive atmosphere for the marchers, who, in a spontaneous outburst, gathered on the stops leading to the Quadrangle for 15 minutes of cheering and applause.

At the rally after the walk, speakers and performers received an enthusiastic welcome. Speakers included Larry Davis, a local mental health professional; the Rev. Michael Allen, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral; Byron Davidson, host of the KADI radio show “Gay Rap”; and Ellen Sweets, head of the local Civil Rights Enforcement Agency. A letter of commendation from Mayor James Conway was read to the crowd. Singer Adrienne Rea provided musical entertainment.

The walk raised a total of $1,200 for designated charities, including the Abused Women’s Support Project, the Catholic Workers Community, the Women’s Self-Help Center, the Ad Hoc Committee to Save Homer G. Phillips Hospital, the Matrix, Inc., Life Crisis Services, and the GAU Hotline.

Complications about the final event, LGOAL’s “Color for the 80s Celebration,” temporarily caused some concern. Originally scheduled for Carnegie’s in the Soulard district, LGOAL was forced to move the gala to the Gateway Hotel. Although approval for the Sunday affair had been received from the city liquor commission, the state liquor board informed Carnegie’s three days before the event that it did not have proper permits.

The short notice, combined with the city’s prior approval, raised suspicions of harassment, but left no time for an appeal. The organizational problems, however, did not dampen the spirits of the 200 people who enjoyed good food and dancing as a gala finale for theCelebration.

Planning for these spring activities began early in the year with two separate and independent efforts. The Magnolia Committee organized itself around a walk for charity to be held some time in March. A second initiative came from LGOAL. Although less specific, the LGOAL initiative was broader in scope, with its suggestion of a Lesbian/Gay Pride Week or Weekend to be held some time near the traditional Stonewall Day of June 28.

At the suggestions of MCC pastor Roy Birchard, an open meeting of 35-40 people was held January 27 to discuss how to accommodate both activities. Afterdiscussion, it was decided to combine the events into one celebration. Magnolia members pushed for an early date so as to include area college and university students, although others in the meeting wanted a later date to allow for better planning and coordination. A compromise date of a week in late April was accepted. The Celebration Committee received a big financial boost with the very successful benefit by Sex Inc. at Martin’s VIP Lounge in March.

Despite the successes of the Celebration, the week was not without its problems. Many women expressed reservations about the male orientation, as well as the pricing of some of the events. Women were also disappointed in the lack of interest shown by men in activities sponsored by women’s groups, most notably the open house at the Women’s Eye Bookstore, which only two men reportedly attended.

Celebration Committee chairperson Jim Thomas spoke to these difficulties. “The problems we experienced were, 1 think, representative of the problems we had in organizing the week as a whole. All of them had to do with our inexperience at trying to work together in St. Louis, particularly on projects of this scope and size,” he said.

Organizers of the week identified three major problems in preparing for the Celebration. First was a hesitancy to trust and cooperate with one another. “This being the first time that many of us had worked together, it was only natural that people would be a little self-protective,” Thomas said.

With some anticipation of this problem, the LGOAL proposal had included a coalition structure with individual organizations actually sponsoring their own activities. This structure, which was adopted, allowed for organizations to maintain some autonomy while at the same time providing for centralized planning in the key areas of logistics, scheduling, publicity and fundraising.

A second problem area was a lack of effective and consistent communications. While the coalition structure helped some, there were still questions in the community at large as to the identify and credibility of the Celebration Committee. Although most were reassured by the Celebration itself, Thomas said that a full report on the Celebration’s finances and processes will be sent to all organizations in the St. Louis area, as well as to major donors.

A final problem was a simple lack of experience. While many of the organizers had previous experience, no one was certain of how the St. Louis Lesbian/Gay community would respond to the activities planned, since nothing of this proportion had ever been attempted in St. Louis. According to Thomas, “We did an awful lot of guessing” in preparing for the activities.

In spite of some problems, organizers were pleased with the results of their efforts. “I came into this with one thing in mind—building community,” said Thomas, “and I think we laid some important foundations. We had much work to do, particularly with women and minorities, but we can certainly be proud, given where we started and the success with which we ended.”

The Celebration Committee has decided to continue as a loose communications coalition and to initiate planning for next year’s Celebration of Lesbian and Gay Pride.

(Editor’s note: Another more personal account of the Celebration, written by Jim Andris, will appear in next month’s edition of No Bad News.)