The anti-LGBTQ forces our community are currently fighting — the torture of conversion therapy, the rising suicide and murder rates which disproportionately impact trans women of color, illegal detention of LGBTQ asylum seekers, attacks on our basic human rights guised in the language of “religious freedom”— all feel too big to overcome. Personally, I look to our history for inspiration. The depth and breadth of our peril and progress is devastating and inspirational, as our lives have always held the spectrum of these — as a community and as a movement, we are both traumatized and resilient.
This is why I’m so thrilled that two of our community partners, Lambda Archives of San Diego [link to archives] and the San Diego History Center, have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind exhibit in the center of Balboa Park. For the first time, a central Balboa Park institution is celebrating the history of San Diego’s LGBTQ community through an exhibit entitled LGBTQ+ SD: Stories of Struggles and Triumphs [link to exhibit]. Lambda Archives’ own Historian-in-Residence and renowned LGBTQ+ history scholar, Lillian Faderman, curated the exhibit, which features an overview of San Diego’s rich LGBTQ history from pre-colonial times through to today.
Pride is working with the History Center and other community partners to create additional programs throughout the run of the exhibit as we work collectively to highlight our stories in greater depth; diving deeply into transgender history, stories from the AIDS crisis, stories from the fight for marriage equality, and more. The first of these educational events was our annual Pride World Forum [link to video] held over Pride weekend in partnership with the Department of State and the San Diego Diplomacy Council. It showcased global LGBTQ struggles and jusitce efforts.
We often feel like we are fighting these battles for the first time or that we are alone in the journey towards justice, but if we look to our history we know that as we stand on the shoulders of giants, we are already made stronger. Our LGBTQ history holds strength and inspiration that we may learn from our queer ancestors — lessons of resilience and liberation. I hope you will visit this groundbreaking new exhibit to see how our past was an investment in our present, so that in our future we may Persist with Pride.
Fernando Lopez is the Executive Director of San Diego Pride. Lopez’s years of LGBT advocacy, nonprofit management, public education, diversity consulting, media relations, guest lectures, and organizing have made them a consistent presence ensuring the struggles of the LGBT community are ever visible.
