“For the first time in my life, I felt like I was normal and I’ve never felt that,” Mazar said. Nicole Mazar, a Department of Homeland Security employee who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains, said she now “walks 10 feet tall.” Mazar, 59, cried all day Friday after the 5-4 ruling that means California’s equal marriage law is now matched by all 50 states.īut this weekend, she emerged to celebrate. The once-in-a-lifetime significance of this march, on this day, in this city, swelled the crowds and the hearts united in a chant of “Love Wins!” Supreme Court ruling that brought along a jubilance most could have never imagined. The crowd at the 45th annual SF Pride Celebration and Parade was notably young, confident and still a bit stunned about Friday’s momentous U.S. Rainbow flags have become a staple of not just June, but everyday life in SF as you can now see them flying everywhere from city hall to churches.SAN FRANCISCO - On the steps of the same city hall where California’s first openly gay politician was once gunned down, an estimated million-strong gathering rocked to red-robed gospel singers belting out “Oh Happy Day” in the now legendary birthplace of the LGBT marriage movement, celebrating the miraculous march of history. Millions of travelers from across the world now visit San Francisco in June to be a part of this festival. As gay marriage finally passed in California and then nationwide, the celebrations grew even more extensive.
The month of June in San Francisco has now become one of the most beautiful times of the year, with the abundance of color and acceptance that shines across the city. The celebration now included a range of events across the city and truly became an international tourist destination that included world-class performances. Ending at the corner of Market and 8th near the Civic Center, Trinity Place’s new 1188 Mission, 1190 Mission, and 33 8th apartments are located right in the middle of the Pride action each June 2010’s Protests faded throughout the decade, and June was declared LGBT month by President Barack Obama in 2009. Furthermore, new groups began joining the parade, and the new LGBTQ movement now experienced massive strength in numbers. With June now declared as Pride month, the festivities were no longer limited to one day, and celebrations grew vastly. San Francisco’s Pride Parade officially hit the 1 million attendee mark in 2007 when Market Street was packed for the “Pride, Not Prejudice” celebration. Despite these protests, hundreds of thousands of attendees began to attend each year, and the parade became one of the most well-known in the world. Although acceptance for the movement was growing with Bill Clinton officially claiming June as Pride Month in 1999, parade-goers still experienced protests through much of the decade. 1990’sĪs Pride continued into the 1990s, the movement dropped the “Freedom Day” name and officially became the SF Pride Parade in 1994. Other major cities besides SF, New York, and LA also caught on to the tradition, and Gay Pride celebrations began much more widespread. This resulted in more groups becoming involved, and festivities with song and dance became part of the tradition. Despite the obstacles the community faced, Pride continued to grow, and the parade became officially known as the “International Lesbian & Gay Freedom Day Parade.” The 80s also showed a shift in the movement that was much less radical and encouraged participants to be proud of their identity.
Pride took on new importance throughout the 1980s as the AIDS epidemic took its toll on SF. A theme also was attributed to each year’s celebration and 1979’s “Our Time Has Come” festival boasted over 200,000 in attendance. The celebration eventually became known as “Gay Freedom Day,” and participants and attendees increased throughout the decade. The following year saw the first actual parade dubbed “Age of Aquarius Parade” down Folsom Street with floats from various groups.
The day following the march, hundreds attended a “gay-in” at Speedway Meadows in Golden Gate Park. Prior to The Castro, the neighborhood now known as “ Polk Gulch” was one of the city’s first gay neighborhoods. Pride month began in SF when the San Francisco Gay Liberation marched down Polk Street on June 27th, 1970. Pride Month is an extraordinary time in our city, so we’ve decided to look back through the last 50 years at the monumental events that have occurred during this month. Have you noticed our new signs celebrating the 50th year of #PrideMonth in #SF? You can find these colorful new designs proudly displayed in front of Trinity residential properties across #SanFrancisco! ❤️?Ī post shared by Trinity SF on at 1:42pm PDT