Cleveland’s second unofficial gay pride celebration was held on June 22, 1975. The second annual Gay Pride Celebration featured no march or parade, but did include a “very successful Friday night coffeehouse and a Gay Pride Picnic” held at Edgewater Park. The 1975 gay pride celebration was sponsored by the GEAR Foundation.
Coordinators of Cleveland’s second annual Gay Pride Celebration initially faced difficulty promoting the event, noting that there was “little cooperation [from] the local community” in promoting the celebration’s events. Seminars originally scheduled at Cleveland State University as part of the celebration were canceled abruptly due to “last minute withdrawals by the guest speakers.” Nevertheless, the second annual Gay Pride Celebration began with a “Friday night coffeehouse” sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church‘s Alternative Coffeehouse. Coffeehouse attendees enjoyed company, refreshments, and free live entertainment provided by a musician from Miami, Ohio.
The Friday night coffeehouse at was followed by a Sunday afternoon Gay Pride Picnic held at the Edgewater Park Pavilion. Approximately 100 people attended the Gay Pride Picnic, the majority of which were members of the Cleveland and Akron MCC. The Gay Pride Picnic ended with afternoon worship services led by Stan Roberts of the Akron MCC and Art MacDonald of the Cleveland MCC. MCC services at the Gay Pride Picnic concluded with a “communion service and a loud group rendition of We Shall Overcome.” The following year, Cleveland’s second unofficial gay pride march took place on July 10, 1976.
Additional information coming soon.
Resources
- “John Nosek and Leon Stevens Interview, 15 August 2023.” Cleveland Voices.
- MacDonald, Art. “Gay Pride Synopsis.” High Gear. July 1975. Page 4.
- Negron, Sidney. “Pride in Cleveland.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
- Nosek, John, and Leon Stevens. “Gay Community 1970s.” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
- Schneck, Ken. LGBTQ Cleveland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2018. Page 54.