Look folks. The 80-year-old leather daddies that you see marching in our Pride parade in MPLS with a huge Leather Pride flag watched a ton of their friends die while our government and our society laughed at them. Their Leather families were sometimes their only families. 1/
People who are too young to remember AIDS need to take several steps back and learn some queer history. Those folks deserve our respect, and deserve our collective joy that they can be who they are now, and our collective grief that so many of them are gone.2/
Queers have been indicating to each other through various means since forever that they are queer whether it’s where they’re wearing their keys, or what color their bandana is, because they were afraid of getting killed by people If they were more overt, and rightfully so. 4/
Pride is the only time where we get to collectively publicly celebrate our queer elders who died so that we could stand here, and take advantage of the full freedom they fought for, such as it is. Erasing kink and especially Leather from Pride erases parts of our history. 5/
If you don’t like it, don’t go. If you don’t want to have conversations with your kids about our dead elders and why those leather daddies are dressed like that, don’t go. There are kid-friendly events all over the place. But corporate Pride is not our history. 6/
A lot of people want to enjoy the benefits that our elders fought and died for, without honoring the history, and frankly it’s fucking gross. And it’s gross that so many people are so loudly proclaiming their ignorance, and their lack of love for our elders. 7/
If you think Leather and kink don’t have a place at Pride, you are not my ally. Just say you want to have a big party with all of the free stuff, and a giant parade, without having to learn anything about our history, and leave.
Alice Walker is a fierce, bisexual, african american poet and author. You’ve almost certainly heard of her most popular works, but read more about what else she has done here:
Bi Definition formed in 1996 when two other bisexual support groups that met at the Counseling Center of Milwaukee merged, BiDesign (a women’s group), and an unnamed men’s group. Bi Definition sought to provide their members with a sense of belonging not always found in the gay or straight communities. The 2003 “Bi All Means” newsletter shown here outlines some of Bi Definition’s activism around bisexual visibility within the LGBTQ+ community. In response to declining attendance at business meetings and dwindling financial resources, Bi Definition voted to discontinue its print newsletter and regular meetings in 2004.
This issue of “Bi All Means” can be found in box 1 of the Bi Definition Records, call number UWM Manuscript Collection 219, at the UWM Archives.
The Milwaukee chapter of Black and White Men Together (BWMT) formed in November 1980, shortly after the formation of the original chapter in San Francisco. BWMT-Milwaukee provided a safe environment for gay males, interracial couples, and individuals interested in interracial dating. It also raised awareness about and combated racism within Milwaukee’s gay community and homophobia within its black community. BWMT-Milwaukee remained active throughout the 1980s, eventually changing its name to Men of All Colors Together in 1993, and to People of All Colors in 1995 before becoming inactive by 1997.
The July 1985 newsletter and undated photographs shown above can be found in boxes 1 and 2 of the Black and White Men Together-Milwaukee Records here at the UWM Archives.
While early LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations, protests, and marches were held in Milwaukee, WI as early as 1971, Milwaukee’s first Pride parade happened on June 17th, 1989. This article comes from a 1989 issue of The Advocate, a prominent LGBTQ magazine that began in Los Angeles, CA in 1967 and continues to represent an important public voice for the LGBTQ+ community today. The excerpt and photographs shown above highlight the preparation that went into Milwaukee’s first Pride parade and the importance it held for members of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community.
The full copy of “After the Parade Passed By” featured here can be found in the Miriam Ben-Shalom Papers, call number UWM Mss 237, here at the UWM Archives.
