Oct. 19, 2011
CONTACT
Gerard Koskovich
(415) 641-5364
gkoskovich@gmail.com
Exhibit to Mark 50th Anniversary of First
Openly Gay Candidate's Run for Office
San Francisco -- Fall 2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the earliest known run for elective office by an openly gay candidate: José Sarria made history in 1961 when he entered the race for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors -- 16 years before Harvey Milk was elected to the board. The GLBT History Museum in San Francisco will highlight Sarria's 1961 race with a special one-case exhibit opening Oct. 24 and running through Nov. 21.
A beloved drag performer at The Black Cat, a popular gay bar in the city's North Beach neighborhood, Sarria campaigned in gay bars throughout the city -- at a time when San Francisco police were routinely raiding such establishments. Although he didn't win the election, Sarria received some 5,600 votes, demonstrating for the first time anywhere the existence of a gay voting bloc.
As historian John D'Emilio has noted, Sarria's campaign played a vital role in prompting gay San Franciscans "to think about their identity, their sexual orientation, in political terms." Ultimately, Sarria's pioneering claim to full citizenship through political participation presaged the emergence of open GLBT candidates and elected officials across the United States and in other parts of the world.
The museum display will feature campaign memorabilia from Sarria's extensive personal papers, which he donated to the archives of the GLBT Historical Society and which are available for use by researchers. The exhibit also will include scarce documents and photographs of Sarria's career as a performer and as founder of the Imperial Court, an international gay charitable organization.
The GLBT History Museum is located at 4127 18th St. in San Francisco's Castro District. The exhibit will be open during regular museum hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.; Sunday - Monday, noon - 5:00 p.m. For more information, call (415) 621-1107 or visit the museum website at www.glbthistory.org/museum.
José Sarria will be an honored guest at the annual Unmasked Gala of the GLBT Historical Society and The GLBT History Museum, taking place the evening of Thursday, Oct. 27, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in San Francisco. For information and tickets, visit www.unmaskedgala.org.
ABOUT THE GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM
The GLBT History Museum opened in January 2011 as the first full-scale, stand-alone museum of its kind in the United States. Currently featured are two major exhibitions: "Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating San Francisco's GLBT History" and "Great Collections of the GLBT Historical Society Archives." The museum is a project of the GLBT Historical Society, a research center and archives founded in 1985 that houses one of the world's largest collections of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender historical materials.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: José Sarria will be available to the media for photographs and brief interviews at The GLBT History Museum on Monday, Oct. 24, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
John D'Emilio, professor of history and gender and women's studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of numerous books on GLBT American history, is available via e-mail or phone for interviews about the significance of Sarria's 1961 run for office: demilioj@aol.com or (312) 316-5286.
Photographs of José Sarria and of a postcard from his 1961 run for office are available for reproduction. Visit http://tinyurl.com/Sarria1961. For high-quality files, contact Gerard Koskovich at gkoskovich@gmail.com.
For more details about José Sarria, the online encyclopedia GLBTQ.com offers a brief biography: www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/sarria_j.html.
