POLITICAL ACTIVISM, VOTER REGISTRATION AT 1988 PRIDE

Thirty-five years ago, a crowd of about 15,000 spectators lined Sixth Avenue for San Diego’s 14th annual Pride parade on June 10, 1988.

From The San Diego Union, Sunday, June 12, 1988: 15,000 WATCH 14TH GAY, LESBIAN PRIDE PARADE AND EVENTS

SPEAKER DENOUNCES BUSH AND DUKAKIS AS HOMOPHOBES

By Pauline Repard, Staff Writer

A good-humored crowd estimated at 15,000 lined Sixth Avenue yesterday, cheering female impersonators in feathers, macho men in studded leather and a women’s percussion band in the 14th Annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade.

About 90 parade entries wound north into Hillcrest, then back to Balboa Park where more than 3,000 gathered for rallying speeches at the Organ Pavilion.

“Today, we’re at the crossroads in the lesbian and gay movement,” activist Robin Tyler told the crowd. “We have a choice between George Bush, a homophobe, and Michael Dukakis, who thinks we don’t make fit parents, so he is also a homophobe.”

Albert Bell, founder of a local chapter of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, criticized city leaders for not doing more to fight acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

“We have people with AIDS living in the park selling their bodies to live,” Bell said. “The mayor says it’s not a city problem, it’s a county problem, and if we don’t speak up about it, we’re boxing ourselves into a corner.”

Mayor Maureen O’connor was not present at yesterday’s events, but marched in last year’s parade to fulfill a campaign promise.

Nicole Ramirez Murray, a San Diego gay activist and president of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, said a theme of yesterday’s rally was political activism and voter registration.

He said every local political candidate was invited to participate in the events, but only two rode in the parade: Byron Wear, a Republican running against Democrat incumbent Lucy Killea for the 78th Assembly District seat, and Rob Butterfield, a Republican

candidate for the 44th Congressional District, going against Democratic Rep. Jim Bates.

The parade, which began at noon and lasted nearly two hours, drew an estimated 15,000 onlookers, according to San Diego Police Sgt. Keith Grote. He said the event went along “magnificently” with only a few alcohol-related incidents of people running into the street.

The only sour notes came as marchers moved past a small cluster of fundamentalist Christians positioned near Fifth and Pennsylvania avenues. A dozen men and women holding banners taunted paradewatchers across the street, who returned the insults boisterously and sang, “Jesus Loves Me.”

The groups were separated by a half-dozen police officers, including two on horseback, parade volunteers and a buffer zone — one traffic lane wide, cordoned off by yellow tape.

Additional events scheduled for today include concerts from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the old Navy Hospital grounds, highlighted by pop singer Helen Reddy.