beat up. He wasn’t-even a gay man, just looked like one to the jerks who attacked him because he wore an ear- ring. , In 1983 I was well entrenched in the Burljngton Lesbian community which wasiiquite sepa- ratist at that time. But separatism in a small town is different too. Earlier Burlington Action There were men who worked on Pride, many of whom I’d known since the early to mid- 70s when there had been only a les- bian rap group and a gay men’s groups to constitute a “movement.” The lesbians folded their energies into a lot of feminist organizing and activity and were in large part responsible for the start up of the anti-violence-against-women move- ment in Burlington. We formed Women Against Rape (WAR, now the Women’s Rape Crisis Center) along with a few straight women. Later WAR put out a call for women who were battered to contact the Rape hot line. Immediately over- whelmed by the magnitude of the response. the group _began to call for — and organize — a shelter for bat- tered women. The lines between the feminist and lesbian movement were not rigid. since lesbians felt oppressed both as lesbians and as women. I worked with Bill Lippeit and Howdy Russell. Bill and we did a fair amount of speaking in the high schools and at UVM; we were [lying under the radar of the Right which only began to go after our communi- ty as we became more visible. That was the double-edged sword of suc- cessfully meeting our goals to increase our visibility. In the 705 all there was. that I know of in Burlington, was a Gay Men’s Group and a Lesbian Rap Group. I belonged to a group of women who ran the Women’s Switchboard on the second floor above what is now Urban Stylz which was then Kelly’s Pharmacy. There was really no gay bar although the Hi I-lat, now Nectars, passed for one at the time. It was pretty closety. The only time I went there, I found a handful of men at a table in the back. We started having Gay Dances at the Switchboard space for men and women, and that was the beginning of any social life for gay folks in Burlington. By the 805 there were certain nights we were welcome at the B. Bad Lounge at Charlie B. Good’s (which is now the Daily Planet). Those were the Donna Summer days and I remember a lot of fun there. I think Pearls opened later in 1983 as a bar and restaurant; a truly beautiful place in its heyday. I think of the decade of the 80s as kind of a middle period in the gay liberation movement. We were‘ more visible than in the 70s. There was a smattering of gay and lesbian films in the culture. Women’s music was going strong and gays ruled the disco world. The early liberation struggles had sorted themselves out to some degree and yet we were struggling for the first laws to protect our rights. The City of Burlington Was an early leader in protecting against discrimination based on sexu- al orientation in housing after the election of Bernie Sanders as Mayor in 1981. Memories of Pride Day, 1983 e began the day at 2 pm with a rally. I remember that Michiyo Cornell (who later took the last name Fukaya, and was a bi-racial lesbian single mom and poet) and Howdy Russell spoke. I remember that one man told a story at open mike of coming out in his 60s and how happy he was for the community he’d found here. The poster for the event read “Water Won’t Run Straight and Neither Will 1.” Linda Wittenberg did the graphics, and the words came from a poem by Laurie Larsun. The poster for the second Pride, designed by Douglas Bassett, continued the nature theme with the slogan, “Out In the Mountains.” That obviously struck a chord as we now have Mountain Pride Media and this publi- cation. I was asked recently by some young chroniclers of our move- ment about difiiculties and problems we encountered setting up Pride cele- brations. I really don’t remember anything too problematic. I remem- ber the day as sunny and exhilarat- ing. I had a lot of fun with friends at the rally and march and later at “Dyke Rock” at Oakledge Park where we felt free enough, at that time, to swim au naturel. Afterward the organizers held yet another pot luck supper to assess the day and reward ourselves. From 300 people in 1983 Vermont’s Gay Pride has grown to 3000 in recent years. We passed an anti-dis- crimination bill in Vermont 5’:00}u-a Firamds V. A -’~1HH~4"-4‘ Pram .,.m..; 4“. Ma Legislature and most recently became the first state to grant Civil Unions. It’s a lot to be proud of— not that it has all been easy. We’ve had more than our share of harassment, gay bashing, and more subtle forms of discrimination. But as Alix Dobkin says, “We ain’t got it easy but we got it.” My wishes for the future would include continuing to keep our movement inclusive and diverse, continuing to understand we still have to struggle to insure our free- doms and still need to make this a better place especially for both the old and young in the rainbow spec- trum. I’d like to see a name for the day that is better than Vermont Pride, a too-generic title that doesn’t really get to the point, which is celebrating our queemess. Reflecting on 20 years of personal lesbian pride in Vermont, I’d most like to thank everyone who worked to make our community the dynamic and progressive place that it is. And I say let’s celebrate twenty years of not running straight or nin- ning scared and of being out in the mountains! V Peggy Luhrs is a long-time lesbian activist who lives in Burlington. -. Sim days gone by, don’t hide it, rame it! 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