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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
How San Francisco's Castro district became the capital of LGBT America
In 1965, Life magazine declared San Francisco the capital of gay America. And the Castro was its beating heart. Arguably the single most famous 'gayborhood' in the United States, some of the country's best known queer artists and activists settled there in the 20th century. It was where the first out gay male politician in the US was elected, where the Pride flag was born, and where many gay, trans and nonconforming people estranged from their biological families created new ones of their own. At the time, the Castro was known as Eureka Valley, or Little Scandinavia. Amid the tumultuous 1960s, which were marked by protests against US involvement in the Vietnam War and the dawn of the hippie movement, young people flocked to San Francisco. 'The Castro neighborhood has been made famous for its incredible welcoming of LGBTQ people. And I think that that built through word of mouth,' says Roberto Ordeñana, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. The San Francisco institution was founded in 1985, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Its goal was to collect as much memorabilia and ephemera as possible — today, its collection includes everything from back issues of queer zines to the original Pride flag. The man who became the most visible symbol of the LGBT rights movement in the US was Harvey Milk. Born in New York state, he moved to San Francisco in 1972 and opened a camera shop on Castro Street. The neighborhood gets its name from this street, which is its main artery. Milk became politically active, founding the Castro Village Association, one of the first predominantly LGBTQ-owned business groups in the country. His biographer, Randy Shilts, dubbed him the 'Mayor of Castro Street.' In 1977, Milk was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, making him the first openly gay male politician in the country. He was among the leaders who worked to quash Proposition 6, a bill that would have required schools to fire gay and lesbian teachers. '(Milk) crystallized the political hopes and dreams of a generation of out gay people in the aftermath of the gay liberation movement,' says Timothy Stewart-Winter, associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark, who specializes in LGBTQ history. Less than a year after being elected to office, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by a fellow city supervisor named Dan White. Following his murder, 'he became a martyr,' says Stewart-Winter. Like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr a decade before, the timing of Milk's assassination froze him in history against the political and social turmoil of the era. Since then, Milk's name has become synonymous with the LGBTQ community. In 2019, the US Navy named a ship after him, a full circle moment considering that Milk — who served in the Korean War — was forced to resign from the Navy due to his sexuality. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has also named a terminal in honor of Milk. However, Ordeñana cautions against allowing Milk to be the sole representative of a large, diverse community. 'It's important for us to celebrate Harvey Milk and all of these other individuals that have done such incredible work for our community. But yet, there are stories like Sally Gearhart, who was a contemporary of Harvey Milk, who worked with him on the Proposition 6 campaign, whose story has been relegated out of mainstream narratives,' says Ordeñana. Gearhart was a writer, teacher and activist who founded one of the first women's studies university programs at San Francisco State University. 'We want to make sure that we are lifting up the histories of people that have been most vulnerable in our community,' adds Ordeñana. 'That includes seniors, that includes young people, that includes women and trans people in particular.' It has been 50 years since Harvey Milk set up shop in the Castro, and some could argue that the area has become a victim of its own success. 'The Castro on the one hand, it is paradigmatic, it's a place people associate with gayness. It's a place where people go to be gay, but it's also a place that is incredibly expensive, and where the contradictions of late capitalism are played out. The larger housing affordability crisis all over the country has been really bad in San Francisco,' says Stewart-Winter. 'The tech industry has transformed San Francisco,' he adds, pointing out that this neighborhood gentrification is not a recent phenomenon. The Italian clothing brand Diesel opened a shop on the Castro's main thoroughfare in the 1990s. These days, Apple and Starbucks hold court alongside locally owned taquerias and art galleries. Harvey Milk's camera store is still there at 575 Castro Street, an official city of San Francisco landmark with a plaque in front and a mural of Milk on the wall. In a rapidly growing and gentrifying San Francisco, Ordeñana says that the Historical Society also wants to keep the Castro's gay history in the present tense. The organization was able to raise enough money to buy a permanent home in the neighborhood. 'Obviously LGBTQ people live everywhere. We are part of every community. We are part of every neighborhood. The Castro continues to be a destination for people coming in from all over the world, which is why it was important for us to open this museum in the Castro that's available for global tourism and city residents alike.' 'I was born and raised in San Francisco,' Ordeñana says. 'I never left. I love traveling the world, but this is home.'
CNN
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- CNN
How San Francisco's Castro district became the capital of LGBT America
In 1965, Life magazine declared San Francisco the capital of gay America. And the Castro was its beating heart. Arguably the single most famous 'gayborhood' in the United States, some of the country's best known queer artists and activists settled there in the 20th century. It was where the first out gay male politician in the US was elected, where the Pride flag was born, and where many gay, trans and nonconforming people estranged from their biological families created new ones of their own. At the time, the Castro was known as Eureka Valley, or Little Scandinavia. Amid the tumultuous 1960s, which were marked by protests against US involvement in the Vietnam War and the dawn of the hippie movement, young people flocked to San Francisco. 'The Castro neighborhood has been made famous for its incredible welcoming of LGBTQ people. And I think that that built through word of mouth,' says Roberto Ordeñana, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. The San Francisco institution was founded in 1985, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Its goal was to collect as much memorabilia and ephemera as possible — today, its collection includes everything from back issues of queer zines to the original Pride flag. The man who became the most visible symbol of the LGBT rights movement in the US was Harvey Milk. Born in New York state, he moved to San Francisco in 1972 and opened a camera shop on Castro Street. The neighborhood gets its name from this street, which is its main artery. Milk became politically active, founding the Castro Village Association, one of the first predominantly LGBTQ-owned business groups in the country. His biographer, Randy Shilts, dubbed him the 'Mayor of Castro Street.' In 1977, Milk was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, making him the first openly gay male politician in the country. He was among the leaders who worked to quash Proposition 6, a bill that would have required schools to fire gay and lesbian teachers. '(Milk) crystallized the political hopes and dreams of a generation of out gay people in the aftermath of the gay liberation movement,' says Timothy Stewart-Winter, associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark, who specializes in LGBTQ history. Less than a year after being elected to office, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by a fellow city supervisor named Dan White. Following his murder, 'he became a martyr,' says Stewart-Winter. Like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr a decade before, the timing of Milk's assassination froze him in history against the political and social turmoil of the era. Since then, Milk's name has become synonymous with the LGBTQ community. In 2019, the US Navy named a ship after him, a full circle moment considering that Milk — who served in the Korean War — was forced to resign from the Navy due to his sexuality. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has also named a terminal in honor of Milk. However, Ordeñana cautions against allowing Milk to be the sole representative of a large, diverse community. 'It's important for us to celebrate Harvey Milk and all of these other individuals that have done such incredible work for our community. But yet, there are stories like Sally Gearhart, who was a contemporary of Harvey Milk, who worked with him on the Proposition 6 campaign, whose story has been relegated out of mainstream narratives,' says Ordeñana. Gearhart was a writer, teacher and activist who founded one of the first women's studies university programs at San Francisco State University. 'We want to make sure that we are lifting up the histories of people that have been most vulnerable in our community,' adds Ordeñana. 'That includes seniors, that includes young people, that includes women and trans people in particular.' It has been 50 years since Harvey Milk set up shop in the Castro, and some could argue that the area has become a victim of its own success. 'The Castro on the one hand, it is paradigmatic, it's a place people associate with gayness. It's a place where people go to be gay, but it's also a place that is incredibly expensive, and where the contradictions of late capitalism are played out. The larger housing affordability crisis all over the country has been really bad in San Francisco,' says Stewart-Winter. 'The tech industry has transformed San Francisco,' he adds, pointing out that this neighborhood gentrification is not a recent phenomenon. The Italian clothing brand Diesel opened a shop on the Castro's main thoroughfare in the 1990s. These days, Apple and Starbucks hold court alongside locally owned taquerias and art galleries. Harvey Milk's camera store is still there at 575 Castro Street, an official city of San Francisco landmark with a plaque in front and a mural of Milk on the wall. In a rapidly growing and gentrifying San Francisco, Ordeñana says that the Historical Society also wants to keep the Castro's gay history in the present tense. The organization was able to raise enough money to buy a permanent home in the neighborhood. 'Obviously LGBTQ people live everywhere. We are part of every community. We are part of every neighborhood. The Castro continues to be a destination for people coming in from all over the world, which is why it was important for us to open this museum in the Castro that's available for global tourism and city residents alike.' 'I was born and raised in San Francisco,' Ordeñana says. 'I never left. I love traveling the world, but this is home.'
CNN
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- CNN
How San Francisco's Castro district became the capital of LGBT America
In 1965, Life magazine declared San Francisco the capital of gay America. And the Castro was its beating heart. Arguably the single most famous 'gayborhood' in the United States, some of the country's best known queer artists and activists settled there in the 20th century. It was where the first out gay male politician in the US was elected, where the Pride flag was born, and where many gay, trans and nonconforming people estranged from their biological families created new ones of their own. At the time, the Castro was known as Eureka Valley, or Little Scandinavia. Amid the tumultuous 1960s, which were marked by protests against US involvement in the Vietnam War and the dawn of the hippie movement, young people flocked to San Francisco. 'The Castro neighborhood has been made famous for its incredible welcoming of LGBTQ people. And I think that that built through word of mouth,' says Roberto Ordeñana, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. The San Francisco institution was founded in 1985, at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Its goal was to collect as much memorabilia and ephemera as possible — today, its collection includes everything from back issues of queer zines to the original Pride flag. The man who became the most visible symbol of the LGBT rights movement in the US was Harvey Milk. Born in New York state, he moved to San Francisco in 1972 and opened a camera shop on Castro Street. The neighborhood gets its name from this street, which is its main artery. Milk became politically active, founding the Castro Village Association, one of the first predominantly LGBTQ-owned business groups in the country. His biographer, Randy Shilts, dubbed him the 'Mayor of Castro Street.' In 1977, Milk was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, making him the first openly gay male politician in the country. He was among the leaders who worked to quash Proposition 6, a bill that would have required schools to fire gay and lesbian teachers. '(Milk) crystallized the political hopes and dreams of a generation of out gay people in the aftermath of the gay liberation movement,' says Timothy Stewart-Winter, associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Newark, who specializes in LGBTQ history. Less than a year after being elected to office, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by a fellow city supervisor named Dan White. Following his murder, 'he became a martyr,' says Stewart-Winter. Like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr a decade before, the timing of Milk's assassination froze him in history against the political and social turmoil of the era. Since then, Milk's name has become synonymous with the LGBTQ community. In 2019, the US Navy named a ship after him, a full circle moment considering that Milk — who served in the Korean War — was forced to resign from the Navy due to his sexuality. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has also named a terminal in honor of Milk. However, Ordeñana cautions against allowing Milk to be the sole representative of a large, diverse community. 'It's important for us to celebrate Harvey Milk and all of these other individuals that have done such incredible work for our community. But yet, there are stories like Sally Gearhart, who was a contemporary of Harvey Milk, who worked with him on the Proposition 6 campaign, whose story has been relegated out of mainstream narratives,' says Ordeñana. Gearhart was a writer, teacher and activist who founded one of the first women's studies university programs at San Francisco State University. 'We want to make sure that we are lifting up the histories of people that have been most vulnerable in our community,' adds Ordeñana. 'That includes seniors, that includes young people, that includes women and trans people in particular.' It has been 50 years since Harvey Milk set up shop in the Castro, and some could argue that the area has become a victim of its own success. 'The Castro on the one hand, it is paradigmatic, it's a place people associate with gayness. It's a place where people go to be gay, but it's also a place that is incredibly expensive, and where the contradictions of late capitalism are played out. The larger housing affordability crisis all over the country has been really bad in San Francisco,' says Stewart-Winter. 'The tech industry has transformed San Francisco,' he adds, pointing out that this neighborhood gentrification is not a recent phenomenon. The Italian clothing brand Diesel opened a shop on the Castro's main thoroughfare in the 1990s. These days, Apple and Starbucks hold court alongside locally owned taquerias and art galleries. Harvey Milk's camera store is still there at 575 Castro Street, an official city of San Francisco landmark with a plaque in front and a mural of Milk on the wall. In a rapidly growing and gentrifying San Francisco, Ordeñana says that the Historical Society also wants to keep the Castro's gay history in the present tense. The organization was able to raise enough money to buy a permanent home in the neighborhood. 'Obviously LGBTQ people live everywhere. We are part of every community. We are part of every neighborhood. The Castro continues to be a destination for people coming in from all over the world, which is why it was important for us to open this museum in the Castro that's available for global tourism and city residents alike.' 'I was born and raised in San Francisco,' Ordeñana says. 'I never left. I love traveling the world, but this is home.'
Axios
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
SF community groups sue Trump over anti-trans executive orders
Local LGBTQ-serving community organizations are among nine nonprofits that sued the Trump administration Friday over executive orders targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Why it matters: President Trump ran his campaign on an incendiary anti-trans platform that promoted false claims about the community, which make up 1.3% of U.S. adults. State of play: One of his first actions in office was to direct the federal government to only recognize two sexes, male and female. He has since ordered federal agencies to limit gender-affirming care for youth, restrict information about trans issues and bar trans women and girls in federally-funded schools from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Driving the news: Filed by Lambda Legal, the lawsuit alleges Trump's actions "pose an existential threat to transgender people and the organizations that ... provide them with life-saving services." The plaintiffs, which include San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), GLBT Historical Society and San Francisco Community Health Center, are asking the district court to declare the orders unconstitutional and block their implementation. The lawsuit also accuses the Trump administration of expressing "a disparaging, demeaning, idiosyncratic, and unscientific viewpoint about transgender people and gender identity." That exponentially increases harm against trans people — who are already four times more likely to be victims of violent crime — and other marginalized populations, plaintiffs argue. What they're saying: "These executive orders attempt to erase an entire community and enshrines blatant discrimination as national policy" while threatening to withdraw funds from organizations "simply because they acknowledge the reality of the people they serve," Lambda Legal's Jose Abrigo, the lead lawyer in the case, said in a press call Friday. "Moreover, if these executive orders stand, they set a dangerous precedent where the government can dictate what private organizations, researchers and service providers can say and do, even when it contradicts established medical, legal and historical fact." Zoom in: The legal challenge comes after federal agencies sent notices terminating federal funding to organizations that serve trans people and other underserved communities, according to Lambda Legal. "We will not sit by and let this happen without a fight," SF Community Health Center CEO Lance Toma said in the press call. Between the lines: Both SF Community Health Center and SFAF receive millions of federal dollars annually to provide its services. That includes free HIV testing and prevention work, mpox interventions, culturally competent care and programs that address disparities in health outcomes. Taking away that funding would force them to reduce services and turn away clients, the lawsuit argues. SFAF alone serves roughly 27,000 clients per year. The GLBT Historical Society, whose founding members included trans people, has similarly relied on federal funding to preserve materials related to LGBTQ+ communities for nearly 20 years. Trump's orders would force potential cuts to staff and operations, leading to a loss of access to priceless archives that reflect "accurate representations of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people throughout time," the lawsuit alleges. Other nonprofits involved in the lawsuit include Prisma Community Care in Arizona, the NYC LGBT Community Center, Bradbury-Sullivan Community Center in Pennsylvania, Baltimore Safe Haven and FORGE in Wisconsin. The other side: Trump has said his executive orders are an effort to defend women from "gender ideology extremism" and restore "biological truth." On the campaign trail last year, he frequently lambasted what he called " transgender craziness" and falsely claimed that gender-affirming operations are being conducted in schools without parents' knowledge. The White House did not immediately return our request for comment. Go deeper: One month of fear for groups targeted by Trump's executive orders
