Greetings! 

"It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."

--Audre Lourde

 

CSW Celebrates our Remarkable Lesbian Foremothers

 

41 years ago, after the world's very first Pride parade, Carole Shepherd, former president of the LA Chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, and Kelly Weiser of Homophile Effort for Legal Protection, sat at the corner of Hollywood and McCadden Place along side of Rev. Troy Perry and fasted-demanding that a Los Angeles government official come talk with them about gay rights.  They were later arrested but inspired those that followed.  In 1975, Christopher Street West incorporated and Sharon Cornelison became the board's first president.  Today, women make up half of the Board.    

Since the beginning, women have been a vital part of LA PRIDE-have sat on our board and our committees, have volunteered at our events, have led the way when tragedy struck, have inspired us to heal when we were wounded and have taught us to embrace our differences.  That is why we are kicking off PRIDE Weekend this year honoring all of the courageous and daring women that have contributed to CSW and the LGBT community's proud history.  The Purple Party - A Celebration of Women will follow the Annual WeHo Dyke March on Friday, June 10.

 

In Pride,

Sue Sexton

Sue Sexton,

Secretary,

on behalf of the Women of the Board of Directors, 

Christopher Street West / LA PRIDE

Just a few of the important early contributions our sisters have made to our movement!

 

 

*Above is just a small sample of the indelible contributions made by women - the shoulders of whom we proudly stand upon. There are countless others that we also acknowledge and greatly appreciate. 

A dedicated activist, Jeanne Cordova worked for numerous organizations to empower both women and the LGBT population. Her career in activism started after she left the Order of the Immaculate  Heart of Mary, where we had been a postulant - an experience that left her disappointed with the Catholic Church. She began her work through the Los Angeles chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, of which became president, and where she transformed the chapter newsletter into publication, The Lesbian Tide. She went on to serve as an organizer for the National Lesbian Feminist Organization Conference, and helped to form the Gay and Lesbian American Caucus within the Democratic National Committee. She has published several books, many essays and stories, and contributed to numerous anthologies. Cordova also created first LGBT business directory, the Community Yellow Pages (CYP), Now the nation's largest and most comprehensive LGBT directory.

Courtesy of One National Gay & Lesbian Archives 

This past Saturday at the Parade Decor Workshop, Christopher Street West Board Member, V.P. of Parade, Vallerie Wagner, awarded this year's Parade Grants.

West Coast Singers was awarded a complimentary float. Their vision for the 2011 Parade Float is sure to excite the crowd.

PFLAG was awarded a $500.00 grant toward their Parade Entry.

GLEH was awarded a $500.00 grant toward their Parade Entry.

Another way that CSW supports other community-based non-profit organizations.  

Alms 2011 is the third international conference on public, private, academic and grassroots archives collecting and preserving material of all types from LGBT communities to ensure our history survives unchanged.