A Rundown Of Phoenix's
LGBTQ+ History

LGBTQ+ History Protest
By Cheyenne Soards

This October, it will be the 27th annual Lgbtq history month since it was first recognized in 1994 by a multitude of education organizations. Activities during the month will be recognizing the history and achievements of everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community. This month includes Coming Out day on October 11, and a remembrance of the march on Washington for lesbian and gay rights in 1979.

But as this month approaches, something has come to me that never really has as a Phoenician. While I’ve seen small moments of LGBT+ representation in the media, through a small amount of TV shows, a bunch of TikToks, and have learned the basics of LGBTQ+ history with Stonewall, I don’t know anything about my local history. And from what little information I found, I have a feeling a lot can say the same, which is actually sadly believable since the LGBT+ community is the only community worldwide that has a history not taught in schools. But, what I did find throughout my extensive 7 hour internet quest is a broken-up story of bravery, perseverance, sense of community, and kicking homophobic butt with a big ol’ “I don’t give a...darn.”

One big mark in the LGBT+ history in Phoenix is the stigmatization of gay bars and the changes of that stigmatization after the events of Stonewall. Because even though gay history around the world was made in 1969, local Phoenix residents still faced many challenges. For one, police harassment was always a given, where the police department raided gay and lesbian bars and would arrest people for “lewd acts.” In fact, in 1964 there was a police raid of the 8th Day Coffee House, in which twenty-three individuals were arrested for drunken disorderly conduct or “lewd and lascivious acts.” And around that time, the mayor of Phoenix thanked the chief of police for assisting in ridding the city of such behavior. Because of the police harassment and the raids that followed, many of those in the LGBT community and the bars that welcomed them had to stay in secrecy, in order to protect their jobs and protect themselves from judgment from their families and friends. In fact, the only way that you could really find out about any of these bars is if you had been lucky enough to get a whisper from fellow gay friends or happen to go to one of the three LGBTQ bars that “you should never go too,” that your bar-hopping friend would recommend. But, when police raids escalated, you would have to get a friend’s pass to a secret house party. And for underage young men, there was even a place called Act III where you could still club with younger queer peers, no alcohol included. But due to police raids and discrimination, many feared for their lives, with people near the Connection getting out of trunks after being mugged, getting hateful insults thrown at them, and even faced deadly, brutal assault. And aside from all that, many more lives in the community (especially POC within the community) were hit terribly during the AIDS epidemic, all over the United States.

However, despite all of these challenges, the Stonewall uprisings that took place in New York still made an effect on the attitudes of local Phoenicians. This could partially be because of the huge expansion of spots opening such as the Connection, Happy Gardens, Nu-Towne Saloon, the 307 on Roosevelt, and many more. It could just possibly be because the news of Stonewall itself, according to Phoenix New Times, caused an absolute outrage. One person that Phoenix New Times interviewed, Ron Wilcox said, “I think once we knew it happened, it showed that there is hope if we stay strong, there’s hope if we move forward.... If we got on our hind legs like they did, there’s a chance that we might get accepted as human beings.” Wilcox and other interviewees said they, without question, fought back with making more than one “gay publication” and standing up and clapping back at ride by homophobes, whether on the streets, in court, or in ridiculous disputes about cars.

However, not every confrontation or confident display was successful. Another huge uproar erupted in the LGBTQ community after the brutal death of Richard Heakin at the hands of four teenagers outside of the Stonewall Tavern in Tucson. It was brutal, but the teens only got a light sentence of probation. As terrible as the death was (and the fact that it took that much to see change), one of the first anti-discrimination law protecting the LGBTQ community in the country was passed in Tuscon in 1999. Shortly before that, in June 1981, Phoenix Pride debuted with a march of hundreds from Patriots Square Park to the Arizona Capitol.

Since that eventful day in 1981, Phoenix has become happier and more colorful. According to azcentral, the Municipal Equality Index gave Phoenix, along with Tempe and Tuscon, a perfect score of 100 points of the cities with the amount of friendliness to the LGBTQ+ community. In 1993, University of Arizona students and assistant professors started a committee that would later become the LGBT Studies Institute in 2007. Around the time that Tuscon made history in 1999, Monica Helms from 3rd Ave and Indian School designed the official transgender pride flag. And in place since 2018, Phoenix Pride and other LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations created the gorgeous Rainbow Crosswalk, Phoenix’s first and, I quote, “gayborhood” that is home to several LGBTQ+ friendly organizations on Central and Portland Streets.

And as for nightclubs, some buildings that held gay bars and were open before Stonewall and its aftermath are still standing today in remembrance, such as the empty lot of the Eighth Day Coffee House and The Fruit Loop.

Phoenix Pride, however, has stayed loud and proud since 1981. The Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club sponsor David Kohl mentions that we are approaching the 40th Phoenix Pride event, with a parade on 3rd Street in Central Phoenix, and a two day festival at the Steele Indian School Park. The festival brings LGBTQ+ and allied communities together to celebrate LGBTQ+’s history and educate everyone about the continual battle facing the community.

Today, Arizona’s LGBTQ+ community continues to face challenges. For one, the building that held the 307 Lounge, one of the first nightclubs and an establishment that is very important in Arizona’s LGBTQ+ history, was torn down in 2015 to make room for condos. This convinced many to try to preserve the LGBTQ history and experiences in Arizona. And while the Arizona Queer Archives have managed to gather little pieces of LGBT history - such as sparse flyers and photos from Tuscon’s Transgender Awareness Week - even in 2021 there’s rarely anything in the archives or anywhere else on the internet that can give extensive information on the LGBTQ+ history in the Phoenix area, or anywhere in Arizona outside of Tuscon for that matter. So, every piece the Queer Archives can grab counts. Z Nicolazzo, a teacher in the College of Education at the University of Arizona, tells the Wildcat Arizona article in 2020 that the LGBT Studies Institute is, “highly underfunded, which means that there’s a lack of ability for the institute to do what they could be doing.” Therefore, every single interested student of LGBT studies counts.

Even in our very own school, the amount of coverage of LGBTQ+ discussions and news in our newspaper is limited to just two articles, one in 2018, and one in May 2019 (not to shade either, both were amazingly written, by the way).

“The LGBT community continues to fight for equal rights,” Kohl says. “Last summer, the federal government passed employment protection, but until last summer people could get fired for being gay, people could be evicted from their home, they could be openly discriminated against. In some states, LGBT are not able to adopt or be foster parents.” So every voice counts.

Why do I say all of this? Why should you care about our current challenges or the challenges that Phoenicians faced before 2013? Before June 2020 or June 1981? Because it the issues we face, and the issues that have been faced in the past, that are highly relevant today, despite the fact that it’s so hard to come across the stories of those who have faced discrimination and violence that the Phoenix LGBTQ+ community faced. It’s a part of who we are as a community now.

Sure, we may know about Stonewall, and there are plenty in the community spreading information and awareness all over the country and other parts of the world through the internet and media. This is, of course, quite refreshing, helpful and lovely to see. But personally, knowing more about what happened, and what is going on currently in this community, learning about experiences and achievements (even if it was technically still on the internet) from people born in my city, from my community, hits differently. It feels so much more real, and much more realistic; we are not so isolated. It’s one thing to see LGBTQ+ representation as a whole, and know what’s going on in the rest of the country and the world, but it’s a whole other thing to see such a beautiful thing close to home.

And in our very school, where there are likely plenty students in the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important that we educate and include them in history, and in the present, so that everyone gets the proper visibility, sense of community, and support that’s needed.

Kohl says that the GSA club hopes to promote education that, “LGBT people should not be ostracized, and that they’re just like anybody else who wants a safe place here.... It’s important that students have a safe place to be themselves and be able to get support.”

It’s important that we spread more awareness of our past to all students in our community, and give support to our students in the present, to help shape the bright future awaiting our generation. And hopefully, when all of the voices of the community from all points of time grow louder, everyone will know how far we’ve come and how we can go even farther.

( By the way, you should totally join the GSA:))