50 years of proud history
LGBTQ exhibit comes out at San Jose History Park.
Participants in the 1992 Silicon Valley Pride raise the rainbow flag on their float. This photo is among those tracing the 46-year history of local Pride activities in an exhibition that documents the history of the South Bay’s LGBTQ community. “Coming Out: 50 Years of Queer Resistance and Resilience in Silicon Valley” is set to open at the Pacific Hotel in San Jose History Park on June 26.
A virtual exhibit that documents the history of the South Bay’s LGBTQ community, some of it largely unseen by the mainstream, is moving to a physical space.
“Coming Out: 50 Years of Queer Resistance and Resilience in Silicon Valley” is set to open at the Pacific Hotel in San Jose History Park on Saturday. On June 26 in 2013, the state of California upheld marriage equality; the nation followed suit two years later on the same date.
The exhibition, funded by a $60,000 grant from the county, went online last October as “Queer Silicon Valley.” Spearheaded by the BAYMEC Community Foundation and its executive director Ken Yeager — a former Santa Clara County Supervisor and first openly gay county official — the virtual exhibit is a collection of archival documents, personal stories, photographs and videos focused on the art, politics and culture of the local LGBTQ community.
Yeager says that this focus “provides a legacy far larger than the sum of its parts.”
“San Jose’s rich history informs the greater LGBTQ movement in the United States by taking the narrative out of already liberal metropolitan areas and putting it in the hands of everyday Americans,” Yeager says in an online statement.
These everyday Americans include Carla Blair, who in 1985 opened a salon on Race Street in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood to serve the trans
community.
“It was a combination tearoom, beauty salon, boutique and social center that became popular worldwide within the transgender community,” recalls Aejaie Franciscus, who in 2010 took over Carla’s Salon with her husband and changed the name to Carla’s Social Club. Carla’s now exists online for members of the trans community to socialize and support each other.
The exhibition also traces the 46-year history of Silicon Valley Pride events, the South Bay’s response to the AIDS epidemic and how high-tech and other professionals in the LGBTQ community made inroads in the workplace.
While the exhibit at History Park has physical limitations, Yeager says he
hopes the online version will continue to grow.
“Although we have strived to make our initial offering as complete as possible, no one group can completely tell the story of this diverse and special community,” Yeager’s statement reads. “Our hope is that this website will be ever expanding. Going forward, we need help from all corners of the community to make sure that we accurately tell as many stories as possible.”
“Coming Out: 50 Years of Queer Resistance and Resilience in Silicon Valley” can be viewed at the Pacific Hotel in San Jose History Park, 635 Phelan Ave. Gallery hours are SaturdaySunday, noon-4 p.m. Space is limited, and visitors will need to reserve timed tickets at https://www.historysanjose.org/wp/exhibits-activities/hotel-gallery.
To view the online exhibit, visit https://www. queersiliconvalley.org.