You might have seen the “No going back” slogan around town and wondered where it came from. Well, as Santa Cruz Pride “rides the wave of progress” toward its 50th anniversary, organizers have adopted a no going back attitude in response to recent political pushback.
This year’s Santa Cruz Pride Parade kicks off at 11am on June 1 in downtown Santa Cruz, starting at the intersection of Cathcart Street and Pacific Avenue. The celebration continues with a festival spread across Cooper Street, Pacific Avenue, Front Street, Abbott Square and inside the Museum of Art and History. And here’s a bonus: Everyone gets free admission to the MAH that day.
Festivities will wrap up at 4pm.
The Santa Cruz Pride parade and festival celebrates the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning Plus) community in Santa Cruz County. This event is a safe and inclusive space for the queer community and their allies.
Santa Cruz County has been home to LGBTQ+ people for as long as it’s existed, long before pride flags on Pacific Avenue and before these celebrations were normalized.
In 1975, locals gathered in San Lorenzo Park in what is considered the county’s first Pride event. The first parade down Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz occurred two years later, even while LGBTQ+ people were still being arrested in public. By 1984, the city banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, years before state law did the same.
But queer life here didn’t start in the ’70s. In the late 1800s, a Chinese drag performer named Jim Toy performed in Soquel. In the 1910s, Earl Lind from Watsonville, a trans man also known as Ralph Werther, wrote a memoir about navigating gender. In the 1950s, Weldon Caldwell was sentenced to Atascadero State Hospital for being gay.
This history isn’t just about oppression, it’s also about joy, creativity, and community. In the 1970s, Sandy Stone lived in the Santa Cruz mountains, shaping feminist and trans theory. In the 2000s, queer UCSC students built spaces like Queers of Color United for Revolutionary Empowerment. And in 2018, Adam Spickler became the first openly trans man appointed to public office in California.
This is just a piece of the long and colorful history Santa Cruz County has to offer. By knowing that past, we can bring that with us to celebrate the future.
Even today, traces of this long history are everywhere: in the way local schools celebrate Pride Month, in organizing queer youth events, and in the very existence of Santa Cruz as a place that has long made room for people living outside the norm.
So why is Pride important? Why do we celebrate it? Here are some people’s thoughts.
Sam R. believes Pride is important because it honors our ancestors, heritage, and the chosen family bond between queer people. That many queer individuals in the past lived through unimaginable hardship, but still had the strength to fight for a future where others could live freely. “The people before us lived harsher lives beyond our imagination…they lived for their lives and fought for their right to live beautifully, and we have the privilege to stand where we are today,” he says. Although he hasn’t had the chance to attend a Pride Parade yet, he’s looking forward to experiencing one in the near future.
Gisel Florentino has a similar view on the importance of Pride. She sees it as a celebration of love, acceptance and building a strong community that can carry on into future generations. Florentino herself has attended a handful of Pride events and parades and all were fun experiences where she got to learn new things and meet new people. “Everyone is happy, it’s a space where you can dress and look however you want to,” she says.
Rolen Spears views Pride as a safe space for connection, celebration and a shared understanding within the LGBTQ+ community. “It allows us to come together as one large community to celebrate each other’s differences…and share the history of our community through these public events,” he says. Pride isn’t just about festivities, it’s also about the sense of community that can’t be replicated anywhere else. Spears hasn’t attended a Pride parade but has attended smaller queer events that offer the same meaningfulness, feeling of celebration, acceptance and honoring one’s self.
Maria Paz sees Pride as important because it fosters visibility, acceptance and safety for the LGBTQ+ community. “I feel safe when I see Pride Flags in places because I feel like spaces with pride inclusivity feel really safe to me!” she exclaims. While she hasn’t had the chance to attend a Pride event yet, her excitement shows how powerful and unifying these celebrations can be.
The ability to celebrate Pride is important, so come on out and join Santa Cruz Pride and have a grand time in a place all are welcome. For more information, visit santacruzpride.org.
Kyara Rodriguez is a student at Cabrillo College doing a journalism internship with Santa Cruz Pride. Rodriguez enjoys “sewing, baking, playing with my dogs, watching anime and spending time with my girlfriend.”
READ ALL THE STORIES IN OUR PRIDE ANNIVERSARY COVERAGE
Out of the Closet and Into the Streets
by Rob Darrow
Showing Pride
by Kyara Rodriguez
Public Works
by Rob Darrow
Loud and Proud
by Kyara Rodriguez
