When we first became a city, it was pretty dead.” “Hotels are booming and the range of entertainment is expanding,” Heilman said as he wheeled down the Sunset Strip. On a nighttime drive through the heart of his municipality, Mayor John Heilman took note of the winds of prosperity that have swept over West Hollywood since its dramatic birth in 1984. In 1999, The Times looked at how West Hollywood - known as America’s first “gay city” - was doing 15 years after cityhood. “Shame on you for what you do,” they chanted. Not everyone at the parade shared that view.Ī knot of Christian fundamentalist protesters, largely ignored by the crowd, stood to one side. “The parade is a very positive thing - I think more parents should support their children.” “I don’t believe gays belong pushed in the closet,” Wright said. Pounds’ mother, JoAnne Wright, was equally enthusiastic. “This is our day to be free,” said Steve Pounds, 29, who had been attending the parade with his mother for 10 years. Not far behind were the West Hollywood High Cheerleaders, a group of female impersonators sporting pompoms, false breasts, wigs and mustaches. Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), the parade’s grand marshal, and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley received warm ovations as they rode in vintage Cadillacs.Ī character called “Kaptain Condom,” dressed in a red-white-and-blue superhero suit, also was cheered as he cruised by the grandstand on an old military tank decorated with balloons and streamers. The 10,000 marchers, ranging from the elegant to the extraordinary, waved and shouted to those who jammed the sidewalks.
The parade was sponsored by Christopher Street West/Los Angeles, a nonprofit group that provides grants to the gay and lesbian community.
Veteran CARES, a group of gay veterans representing all branches of the military, led 257 floats and marching groups in the pageant. “To me, the parade is a celebration of pride, a day I don’t have to worry about AIDS.” “I think it’s a great day, I feel good I am still here,” said Paul Duncan, who was undergoing treatment for AIDS.
The event is regarded in the homosexual community as the turning point in the modern gay and lesbian rights movement. The theme of the celebration, which capped a two-day street festival, was “Stonewall 20: A Generation of Pride.” The festival marked the 20th anniversary of the 1969 rebellion at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar on Christopher Street in New York. “When this generation started, it was not gay to be gay. An estimated 200,000 attended the 1989 parade, which took place during the height of the AIDS epidemic and included counterprotesters from a Christian fundamentalist group.