A History of Chicago Pride Celebrations 1970-1975
St Sukie de la Croix
LGBTQ historian, St Sukie de la Croix interviews, author of Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall and the recently released, Chicago After Stonewall: A History of LGBTQ Chicago from Gay Lib to Gay Life, gives us this historical timeline of Chicago Pride Celebrations from 1970 to 1975.
1970
One year after the June 28, 1969, Stonewall Riots in New York City, Chicago lesbians and gay men declared June 21-28 Gay Pride Week with the first Gay Pride March taking place June 29, 1970. At noon that day, 150-200 people gathered in Bughouse Square with flags and signs and shouts of “Gay Power.”
The crowd included members of Gay Lib, the Women’s Caucus, Mattachine Midwest, and some out of towners from gay groups in Detroit and Minneapolis.
After listening to speeches, the group marched along the sidewalks, down Dearborn Street to Chicago Ave., then east to the Water Tower, then down Michigan Ave. to the Civic Center–where there were more speeches and some dancing.
1971
The second year was more of a parade than a march. The parade set out from Belmont harbor, along Diversey, then south on Clark to the Free Forum at LaSalle St. The Mattachine Midwest Newsletter suggested, “If you have a kazoo bring it along. Whoever heard of a parade without a marching band.
Gay Pride Week lasted from June 18-June 27, and during that time they had the first “film festival” at the Chicago Gay Alliance Community Center at 171 W. Elm. For a dollar you could see King Kong, Son of Kong, Phantom of the Opera and Lost World–well, there weren’t many gay films around in those days.
1972
During the afternoon of June 25, there was a Gay Pride picnic at Belmont Rocks, then about 5 p.m. the parade assembled in the Belmont Harbor parking lot. With balloons, banners and floats, the crowd headed west along Belmont, south on Broadway, then Clark, finally ending up at the Free Speech Forum in Lincoln Park.
The largest contingent in the parade was Chicago Lesbian Liberation, and the crowd swelled to 1,000 by the end of the march.
Along the route, there were one or two incidents of high school kids throwing rocks, but they were stopped by the police. One straight male onlooker was heard to say, “I’ve never seen so many fairies in all my life.”
Among the speakers were Murray Edelman of Gay Lib, Tony Johnson of the Transvestites Legal Committee, and Richard Chinn of the Fiery Flames Collective.
1973
According to the Mattachine Midwest Newsletter this was the biggest Pride Parade ever. On June 24, 1000 people marched along with floats and cars. Two thousand or more attended the rally at the end. One observer claims the two policemen leading the parade were holding hands, until someone pulled out a camera! Speakers at the Pride Rally included Rev. Bill Johnson from Houston, the first admitted homosexual to be ordained. He quoted from ˆThe Well of Loneliness … “We are coming, we are still coming on, and our name is legion, you dare not disown us. We have asked for bread, will you give us stone? You God, in whom we the outcast believe, give us also the right to our existence.”
1974
The parade June 30 was less political this year and more of a Mardi gras atmosphere. The Beckman House float was a huge mock Coca-Cola carton with people inside that announced, “Gay Love–It’s the Real Thing,” and the Man’s Country float handed out cold Pepsi-Colas from a bathtub.
A streaker on a bicycle made it three blocks before he was arrested, and the parade followed a lavender line that had been “mysteriously” painted overnight down the middle of the street from Belmont to Diversey. The parade formed at Belmont and Lake Shore Drive, and at 2 p.m. trailed west along Belmont, down Broadway, Clark, east to Fullerton, then Stockton Drive to 1800 N. in Lincoln Park.
1975
An estimated 6,000 people either watched or took part in the 1975 parade; the first year that prizes for “Best Float” were awarded. The first prize in the commercial category went to Man’s country, with honorable mention to the Snake pit entry. In the organization category, a $25 cash prize went to the Chicago Gay Crusader, with honorable mention to the Gay Horizons VD Clinic. Speakers at the rally included Mark Segal, founder of the Gay Raiders, Nancy Davis, co-author of the book Heterosexual, and Ken Martin, pastor of MCC/Good Shepherd Parish. The rally ended earlier than planned when an onlooker pushed a gay man into the lagoon. As the man couldn’t swim, an ambulance with a resuscitator was called to the scene, and the crowd was dispersed.