Gay Day ’79 Part 1 — San Francisco started their Gay Freedom Day parades in 1971, and eight years later the parade had grown to “over 100,000.” In this clip they interview a child who says, “It’s nice. It’s funny,” and when asked what was the funniest thing, he says, naturally, “It’s men dressed as women.” (Thanks to NedSparks on Youtube.)
Gay Day ’79 part 2 — This was the first parade after the murder of SF Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1978, and this segment of coverage is a little darker, featuring an angry lesbian MC at the Pride fest, as well as an interview with a man named Mick Kowalski who is hovering at the periphery, perhaps about to go postal, because his wife left him for a woman and now he has to watch this parade.
Chicago Pride, ca. 1980 — In this stellar bit of footage shot by an anonymous amateur filmmaker, you’ll see a bunch of gays and trannies, stripped down in the summer heat of Chicago, and one guy getting some kind of crown put on his head who says, in a Chicago accent, “Go ask that drag queen for a bobby pin.” Also some scary teens throwing rocks and some dude in a White Power t-shirt! (Thanks to gayculturecentre on Youtube.)
Random French Stonewall Tribute — We think it was made by French lesbian anarchists, and oddly, it ends with an excerpt from South Park.
Gay Pride March and Rally at Washington Square Park, NYC — The year is unclear (late 70s?), and there’s an awkward, staged polemical part at the end, but some of the footage is cool, and at 4:05 or so there are some cute guys who start smoking pot a little while later.
The First March, as Told by Gay Seniors — This clip comes from a video/oral history project by the NYC LGBT Center, interviewing gay and lesbian seniors and using their photographs and personal Super-8 footage.
Gay Pride Parade on Polk Street, San Francisco, 1975 – And now this Zen-like bit of silent Super-8 footage from Gay Pride in the Polk in 1975, featuring a drag queen on an elephant.
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