by Marie Kuda, Windy
City Times
Anita Bryant, Dr. Laura, & Harvey Milk
Excerpt:
As I prepare to fly to San Francisco to see the
exhibit of Romaine Brooks' paintings at UC Berkley, I can't help
but remember an earlier trip, also in November, 22 years ago. I
left Chicago to spend six months there, house-sitting for my
cousin, a professor of Anthropology who was leaving on sabbatical.
Arriving Nov. 7, 1978, I walked with my cousin up the hill in
DuBose park to his polling place as he voted against Proposition 6
on the ballot, the infamous Briggs initiative. Fifty-eight percent
of California's voters opted to reject Sen. John Briggs' anti-gay
gay proposition that would have made it illegal for homosexuals to
teach in California schools.
That night we walked over to the Castro to check
out the huge celebration that had poured out on the streets. Of
all the speeches, I only remember Sally Gearhart's&emdash;she
was a former Texas Homecoming Queen who wrote the lesbian sci-fi,
The Wanderground...
