...and there was DISCO!

Grab those bomber jackets and grow out thoose mustaches, because we are all going to rock the disco! Alan Pettit (Shane Blackburn) allows his audience to step onto the dance floor at the I-Beam, one of SF's top night clubs located in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. If we're all out on the dance floor then we better know how to shake that groove thang appropriately. Here are a few videos to open your eyes to what you might see heating up the disco. Burn, baby, burn!


Shock Theatre at Les Fern's Dance Studio



Ben Stiller in Starsky&Hutch


Saturday Night Fever: the MUSICAL!!!!!


Watch. Practice. Learn. Dominate the DISCO.

Proposition 6

Propostion 6 is more commonly referred to as the Briggs Initiative because it was the conservative state legislator John Briggs who passionately followed the lead of Florida's Anita Bryant; both Bryant and Briggs felt that homosexuals should be banned from working within the school system for fear that it was encourage children to "be gay". No on 6 was a campaign lead by Gwen Craig and Bill Krause who had been appointed by Milk (SF Supervisor) and Ammiano (teacher). Contrary to popular belief (based off the film Milk), Harvey Milk would assist in the campaigning against 6 and hold debates against Briggs, but he handed over the power to Craig and Krause. The best tool used by the campaign was the encouragement of gays and lesbians to come out to family and friends, which rippled outside of California and spread over the rest of the nation. The No on 6 slogan? "Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!" and that was exactly what happened. A poll had been taken at the beginning of September that year and 61% of the voters were for proposition 6 while only 31% were against; by the end of the month there was the largest shift of votes in the history of politics, morphing into 45% planning on voting YES, 43% voting NO, and 31% were now undecided. Support against the Briggs Initiative started pouring in from multiple politicians, including President Carter and Ronald Reagan, the former Govenor of California at the time who was just beginning his election process for President.

When the votes were finally placed and counted, 58.4% had voted NO while only 41.6% voted YES (all others were invalid).

...to be continued...

Character Research: Harvey Milk

Attention Actors: The following videos demonstrate Harvey Milk's vocal and/or gestural qualities. Please view these videos in order to channel your own Harvey in the show! And be sure to watch the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk.

Harvey being interviewed on TV


The Hope Speech


The Last Words of Harvey Milk

Character Research: Christine Kehoe

Christine Kehoe is a popular San Diego politician and a long time activist for civil rights. In 1980 she was San Diego County's chair for the campaign to defeat the Lyndon LaRouche AIDS discrimination initiative, and she was an early director of the AIDS Assistance Fund, which grew into the San Diego AIDS Foundation. In 1984 Kehoe became editor of the award-winning San Diego Gayzette newspaper. Kehoe became the first openly gay elected official in San Diego in 1993 when she was elected to represent the 3rd district in the city council. While on the City Council, Kehoe worked to strengthen public schools, improve safety in neighborhoods, and provide city employees with domestic partnership benefits. She left the City Council in 2000 when she was elected to the California State Assembly, representing district 76. Kehoe now serves on the California State Senate representing the 39th district, which includes: City Heights, Del Mar, Encanto, Hillcrest, La Jolla, Lemon Grove, Mira Mesa, Mission Beach, Mission Valley, Normal Heights, North Park, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and others. As a State Senetor, Kehoe champions civil rights and environmental concerns. She also serves on the California Legislative LGBT Caucus with Tom Ammiano, John Perez, and Mark Leno.

Kehoe talks about the San Diego Pride that almost wasn't


Kehoe speaks at a press conference


Kehoe speaks to protesters at Equality California's protest to proposed cuts by Governor Schwarzenegger to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs

SD LGBTQ History in 8 Minutes

This brief, eight-minute look at the history of the Pride movement in San Diego includes the Gay Liberation Front, Anita Bryant, John Briggs, Lambda Pride, and others.



For more on LGBTQ history, visit San Diego Lambda Archives.