Gay progress in Louisville - by Sam Dorr

[BridgeTheGap]

In reading the June 19 "Lunch With ... David Williams" interview in The Courier Journal, in which he described the "Sam Dorr case" as Louisville's "Stonewall," I was caught up by the fact that it had happened almost 30 years ago. Although it was "my" case, I rarely think about it now. That was a long time ago. The LGBT community, both in Louisville and nationally, was in a very different place than it is today.

The contrast between then and now was brought home even more clearly to me when I spent the following afternoon volunteering at the Pandora Productions booth for Kentuckiana's 2009 Pride Celebration. There I was, in one of Louisville's most public places with men and women listening to music and having a good time walking around an area filled with rainbow colors and booths that represented the full spectrum of the LGBT community. It was an open and fun place to be on a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon, and nobody seemed to be trying to hide who they were or where they were.

What a difference that was from the first public celebration of gay pride 27 years ago, when we picnicked on another warm sunny afternoon, but in Otter Creek Park 30 miles outside of Louisville. Notified by an invitation published in The Courier-Journal , the news media showed up, but those of us who organized the event were the only ones to be interviewed. The remote location had been intentionally chosen to conceal the identities of those attending, out of a fear of retribution from families, friends or employers if their attendance at such an event became public knowledge.

There were a few speeches, but no booths, and very few rainbow colors were to be seen. Gradually, as more and more people came to express their support for LGBT individuals and as more and more of us were willing to state publicly who we are, the picnic was moved into Louisville and a parade called a March for Justice was added along with a church service and other events. Pride "week" celebrations in Kentuckiana came to mirror what was happening in cities both large and small all across the nation.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090630/OPINION04/906300311/1054/OPINION/Gay+progress+in+Louisville

[imdjh]

1. good work - even with supportive laws and court decisions the work will go on