Timelines – Queer Silicon Valley

Politics & Activism Timeline

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JUNE 28, 1969: Stonewall Riots Begin in New York City
1970: San Jose State Gives Organizational Status to Gay Liberation Front
DECEMBER 15, 1973: The American Psychiatric Association’s Board of Trustees Votes to Remove Homosexuality From List of Psychiatric Disorders
1976: LAMBDA Association Forms; First Edition of Lambda News Published
APRIL 7, 1977: San Jose Municipal Court Finds Entrapment Victim Innocent; Lambda Association Sues City of San Jose and SJPD for Intimidation
JANUARY 8, 1978: Harvey Milk Takes Office
FEBRUARY 1978: San Jose City Council Passes, Then Rescinds, Gay Pride Week Resolution
APRIL 19, 1978: Johnie Staggs and Sal Accardi Begin Unsuccessful Write-in Campaign for Mayor and City Council
JANUARY 1979: Susan B. Anthony Democratic Club Forms
AUGUST 6, 1979: Santa Clara County Approves LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
AUGUST 28, 1979: Following the County, San Jose City Council Votes For LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
NOVEMBER 8, 1979: Proposition 6, a.k.a. the Briggs Initiative, Fails
JUNE 3, 1980: City and County Non-Discrimination Measures A and B Go Down in Overwhelming Defeat
JANUARY 1981: Johnie Staggs Becomes First Open Lesbian Elected to State Executive Committee of the California Democratic Party
MAY 1981: SJPD Charged With Harassment of Boot Rack, Interlude, and Toyon
NOVEMBER 1981: John Laird Elected to Santa Cruz City Council
JANUARY 1983: Gay PAC Formed by Roger Lee
MARCH 15, 1983: High Tech Gays (HTG) Founded by Rick Rudy, Denny Carroll, Eric Lipanovich
AUGUST 29, 1984: HTG Files Federal Lawsuit High Tech Gays Vs. Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO)
JUNE 1984: BAYMEC Founded by Ken Yeager and Wiggsy Sivertsen
NOVEMBER 1984: Tom Nolan Elected to San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
1985: San Jose/Peninsula chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Established in Palo Alto
MAY 4, 1985: San Jose Police Officer Kills Black Teen Melvin Truss
JANUARY 17, 1986: Wiggsy Sivertsen Conducts Sensitivity Training for San Jose Police Department
JULY 13, 1986: San Jose Fire Department Chief Robert Osby Makes Anti-Gay Remarks; Regrets It
NOVEMBER 4, 1986: Lyndon LaRouche’s Proposition 64 Fails at the Ballot Box
NOVEMBER 21, 1986: BAYMEC Dinner Celebrates Successful Anti-Prop 64 Campaign
JUNE 1987: After months of lobbying by BAYMEC, San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery issues a proclamation designating June 20 as Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Day, first such mayoral proclamation since 1979
JULY 28, 1987: Rich Nichols Appointed to County Human Relations Commission by County Supervisor Ron Gonzales
AUGUST 19, 1987: Federal Judge Henderson Rules in Favor of HTG in HTG Vs. DISCO Lawsuit
APRIL 4, 1988: San Jose Fire Department Begins BAYMEC-Sponsored Training on Gay and Lesbian Issues
MAY 21, 1988: BAYMEC Holds Its First Annual Dinner at the San Jose Hyatt
JUNE 28, 1988: At the urging of BAYMEC and Human Relations Committee the San Jose City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against people with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition
JULY 10, 1988: San Jose Police Chief Robert McNamara Speaks at HTG Monthly Meeting
NOVEMBER 22, 1988: At the urging of BAYMEC and the County Task Force on AIDS, the County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against people with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition
1990: Silicon Valley Chapter of Log Cabin Republicans Formed by Mark Patrosso
FEBURARY 2, 1990: Ninth Circuit Court Reverses HTG Vs. DISCO Ruling
JUNE 11, 1991: William Kiley, a Gay Man Living in San Jose, Attacked by 17-Year-Old Neighbor
OCTOBER 10, 1991: Alum Rock School District Severs Contract With Boy Scouts of America as a Result of Gay Ban Policy
JANUARY 15, 1992: Digital Queers Forms, Bringing LGBTQ+ Rights Movement to Tech Companies
NOVEMBER 3, 1992: Ken Yeager Elected to San Jose/Evergreen Valley Community College Board
1993: San Jose City Council Supports Boycott of Official Travel to Colorado Due to Anti-Gay Amendment 2
1993: BAYMEC Convinces San Jose City Council to Offer Bereavement Leave for Domestic Partners
FEBRUARY 23, 1993: San Jose-Evergreen Community College Board Divests from Bank of America Due to Their Contributions to Boy Scouts
APRIL 23, 1993: Tonya King Leads South Bay Delegation to the March on Washington
JUNE 1993: Supervisor Ron Gonzales Issues Lesbian and Gay Pride Week Proclamation
APRIL 12, 1994: San Jose City Council Member Kathy Cole Recalled Due to Homophobic & Racist Comments
SEPTEMBER 12, 1994: SJSU Removes ROTC From Campus Due to Anti-Gay Concerns After 13 Years of Lobbying
AUGUST 2, 1995: President Bill Clinton Issues Executive Order Prohibiting Discrimination “On the Basis of Sexual Orientation,” Reversing the Ruling in HTG Vs. DISCO to Favor HTG Again
DECEMBER 1995: Santa Clara University Bars Gay Alumni Group Formation
NOVEMBER 1998: Rich Gordon Elected to San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
JANUARY 1999: Ken Yeager Publishes “Trailblazers: Profiles of America’s Gay and Lesbian Elected Officials” About the First Generation of Gay Politicians
MARCH 7, 2000: Prop 22, Defense of Marriage Act, Passes With 61% of the Vote
NOVEMBER 7, 2000: Ken Yeager Becomes First Openly Gay Man Elected to San Jose City Council
OCTOBER 16, 2001: Councilmember Yeager Helps Secure $1.8 Million From City of San Jose to Remodel Billy DeFrank Center
APRIL 23, 2002: San Jose City Council votes to amend its harassment policy to include protections for gender identity
OCTOBER 3, 2002: Teenage Gwen Araujo Killed by Four Men After They Learned She Was Transgender
NOVEMBER 5, 2002: Jamie McLeod Wins Seat on City of Santa Clara Council, First Lesbian in the County Elected to Public Office
FEBRUARY 12, 2004: San Francisco Begins to Issue Marriage Licenses (Later Invalidated)
MARCH 4, 2004: San Jose Mayor Gonzales and Councilmember Yeager Propose Ordinance to Recognize All Marriages From Other Jurisdictions
NOVEMBER 2, 2004: John Linder Elected to the Franklin-McKinley School Board
March 30, 2006: Danielle R. Castro is honored at the Santa Clara County Human Relations Awards Breakfast for her advocacy and work with the County’s transgender residents
NOVEMBER 7, 2006: Ken Yeager Elected to Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
NOVEMBER 7, 2006: Evan Low Elected to Campbell City Council
MAY 15, 2008: California Supreme Court Strikes Down Prop 22
NOVEMBER 4, 2008: California Passes Prop 8, Enshrining “One-Man, One-Woman” Doctrine into California Constitution
NOVEMBER 2008: Marriage Equality Silicon Valley Founded After Prop 8 Passes
JANUARY 10, 2009: Rally to Protest the Defense of Marriage Act Organized by Marriage Equality Silicon Valley
JANUARY 12, 2010: Supervisor Ken Yeager Elected as First Openly Gay President of the County Board of Supervisors
NOVEMBER 2, 2010: Rich Waterman Elected to Campbell City Council
APRIL 2011: San Jose Native Judy Rickard Writes “Torn Apart” About Same-Sex Couples & U.S. Immigration Discrimination
AUGUST 24, 2011: Tim Cook Named CEO of Apple, Becoming the Top Openly Gay CEO in the Nation
JULY 2012: Molly O’Neal Appointed by Board of Supervisors to Lead the Public Defender’s Office, the First Openly Gay Person to Do So
JULY 14, 2012: FAIR Education Act of 2012 Signed Into Law, Ensuring LGBTQ+ Contributions Included in School Curriculums
NOVEMBER 6, 2012: Chris Clark Elected to Mountain View City Council
NOVEMBER 6, 2012: Dennis Chiu Elected to the El Camino Hospital Board
JANUARY 29, 2013: President of the County Board Ken Yeager Calls for County Health Assessment of LGBTQ+ Community, First of Its Kind in the County
JUNE 28, 2013: Prop 8 Overturned by U.S. Supreme Court; Same-Sex Marriage Returns Only in California
DECEMBER 20, 2013: LGBTQ Health Assessment Completed, Leading to Increased Funding for Health Programs and Services for the LGBTQ+ Community and Paving the Way for the Creation of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs
NOVEMBER 4, 2014: Omar Torres Elected to Franklin-McKinley School Board
MARCH 24, 2015: Supervisor Ken Yeager Proposes Creating an Office of LGBTQ Affairs, the First for Any County in the U.S.
JUNE 26, 2015: U.S. Supreme Court Allows Nationwide Same-Sex Marriages to Proceed
JANUARY 2016: Office of LGBTQ Affairs Officially Opens With Maribel Martinez Director
2016: Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Includes LGBTQ-Owned Businesses as Subcontractors as a Factor in Approving Contracts
MARCH 22, 2016: Transgender Pride Flag Flies at County Government Center on 6th Annual Transgender Day of Visibility
JUNE 12, 2016: Mass Shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida
NOVEMBER 8, 2016: Rene Spring Elected to Morgan Hill City Council
MARCH 14, 2017: County Approves Policy to Convert Restroom Signage at All 430 Single-User Restrooms in County Facilities
JUNE 2017: Stonewall Democratic Club of Santa Clara County Formed
JUNE 16, 2017: County Funds Classes in LGBTQ+ Self-Defense, Led by Longtime Lesbian Activist Rebecca Obryan
AUGUST 8, 2017: Supervisor Yeager Proposes Expanding Trans Community Services, Hiring Transgender Services Program Panager
AUGUST 2017: SJPD Becomes First Police Department in the Nation to Launch a Recruiting Campaign Featuring Actual SJPD Gay and Lesbian Couples
SEPTEMBER 21, 2017: Bisexual Pride Flag Flies at County Government Center for Bi Visibility Week
OCTOBER 30, 2017: County Is Lead Author of a Brief Filed With U.S. Supreme Court in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case
DECEMBER 2017: Shay Franco-Clausen Appointed to Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
2018: HRC Hosts Monthly LGBTQ+ Events for Political Action and Community Engagement
SEPTEMBER 30, 2018: Assemblymember Evan Low Works With SJPD to Pass First-in-the-Nation LGBTQ+ Training Law AB2504
OCTOBER 28, 2018: #WontBeErased Rally at San Jose City Hall in Protest of Trump Administration Anti-Transgender Agenda
NOVEMBER 6, 2018: Jorge Pacheco, Jr. Elected to Oak Grove School District Board
APRIL 9, 2019: BAYMEC Successfully Lobbies City of San Jose to Display Rainbow Pride and Transgender Pride Flags at San Jose Airport in Response to Opening a Chick-fil-A
JUNE 3, 2019: First County Homeless Shelter for LGBTQ+ Adults Opens in San Jose
JUNE 21, 2019: Office of LGBTQ Affairs Holds First-Ever LGBTQ Summit
JUNE 15, 2020: U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Gay and Transgender Workers Are Protected From Discrimination Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Law of 1964
JUNE 29, 2020: Justin Lardinois is Appointed as the First Openly LGBTQ Member of the San Jose Planning Commission
AUGUST 27, 2020: SJPD Unveils Rainbow Patch in Support of LGBTQ+ Community
DECEMBER 15, 2020: Laura Parmer-Lohan becomes the first out lesbian to serve as mayor of any city in San Mateo or Santa Clara counties.
FEBRUARY 25, 2021: Equality Act passes in the US House of Representatives

Culture & Community Timeline

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JULY 1975: Ms. Atlas Press Founded by Johnie Staggs and Rosalie “Nikki” Nichols
OCTOBER 3, 1975: First Pride Event Held at SJSU
1976: Casa de San Jose, First Imperial Court in the South Bay, Founded by Ray Aguilar
1976: DIGNITY/San Jose Chapter Forms
JUNE 26, 1976: First Gay Freedom Day Rally
MARCH 1, 1981: The First Billy DeFrank Gay Community Center Opens at 86 Keyes
JUNE 1983: Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus Forms
FEBRUARY 1984: Gay Liberation Monument at Stanford University is Vandalized
MAY 25, 1984: Sisterspirit Founded by Amy Caffrey, Mary Jeffrey, Marilyn Cook, and Karen Hester
MARCH 1986: “Pastoral Guidelines for Ministry to Homosexuals in the Diocese of San Jose” is issued to help clergy assist Gay and Lesbian Catholics
JUNE 21, 1986: Billy DeFrank Center Moves to 1040 Park Avenue
DECEMBER 1987: Outlook TV Established at KMVT Studio in Mountain View
JULY 1988: Documentarian Pam Walton releases “Out in Suburbia,” a 30-minute short film about the lives of 11 lesbian women – aged 25 to 67 – living in the South Bay
1989: Imperial Royal Lion Monarchy Court Founded in San Jose
NOVEMBER 4, 1990: Billy DeFrank Center Moves to 175 Stockton Avenue
1991: BayLands Chapter of FrontRunners Formed by Jay Davidson and Linda Johnson
APRIL 1991: Loma Prieta Gay and Lesbian Sierrans Founded by Mike Zampiceni and Paul Schoemaker
AUGUST 17, 1991: Queer Day at Great America
FEBRUARY 1992: ProLatino Founded With Jamie Alejandro Campos as President and Omar Nunez as Vice President
FEBRUARY 19, 1992: South Bay Queer & Asian Forms
NOVEMBER 7, 1992: First Gay Commitment Ceremony is published on the wedding section in the San Jose Mercury News after initial rejection
SEPTEMBER 1994: First LGBTQ+ Vietnamese Cultural Conference in Northern California Held at Billy DeFrank Center
JULY 8, 1995: First BayLands FrontRunners Pride Run/Walk Held at Palo Alto Baylands Preserve
JANUARY 20, 1996: San Jose Native and Publicly “Out” Figure Skater Rudy Galindo Wins National Championship
1996: Rainbow Women’s Chorus Forms
1997: Outlet Opens for LGBTQ Youth and Young Adults in Mid-Peninsula Area
AUGUST 23, 1998: First BayLands FrontRunners Run for the Community Held
1999: Rainbow Chamber Silicon Valley Established
DECEMBER 12, 1999: Billy DeFrank Center Moves to 938 The Alameda
JUNE 5, 2001: First Time the Rainbow Flag Flown Over City Hall by Mayor Ron Gonzales and Councilmember Yeager
2007: Rodrigo García Creates De Ambiente at Outlet, the First Leadership Program for Spanish-Speaking LGBTQ+ Youth in Silicon Valley.
JUNE 5, 2007: Supervisor Yeager Raises Rainbow Flag Over the County Government Center
2008: Latinos de Ambiente del Area de la Bahía Founded as a Coaltion of LGBTQ+ Latinx Organizations Around the Bay Area
2008: Silicon Valley Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Holds Its First Fundraising Dinner
2009: LGBTQ Youth Space, a Safe Place for Youth Ages 13-25, Opens at Billy DeFrank Center
AUGUST 1, 2011: Colectivo Acción Latina de Ambiente, or Colectivo ALA, Founded by Rodrigo García, Omar Núñez, and Hugo Badillo
FEBRUARY 18, 2014: County Ensures Billy DeFrank Center Can Maintain Its Lease
2015: Teatro Alebrijes Founded, the First LGBTQ+ Latinx Theater Ensemble
JUNE 2015: Former San Jose Earthquakes Player Matt Hatzke Comes Out as Gay
MARCH 2016: Rainbow Crosswalk Installed Near Entrance of Billy DeFrank Center on the Alameda
MARCH 22, 2016: County Raises Transgender Pride Flag for the First Time at County Administrative Building
JUNE 2016: Sunnyvale Raises Pride Flag for First Time
JUNE 2017: Rainbow Flag Flies Over City of Santa Clara, Led by Mayor Lisa Gillmor
JUNE 2017: Rainbow Flag Flies Over Morgan Hill at Request of Councilmember Spring
JULY 30, 2017: Drag Brunch Revived at SoFa Market
SEPTEMBER 21, 2017: County Celebrates Bisexuality Visibility Week and Flies Bisexual Pride Flag
JUNE 1, 2018: City of Milpitas Holds Its First Pride Celebration
JUNE 2018: Rainbow Flag Flies Over Saratoga City Hall, Led by Mayor Manny Cappello
JUNE 2018: City of Campbell Lights Up Water Tower in Rainbow Colors
AUGUST 2018: County Hires Program Manager for Transgender Services
AUGUST 2018: Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Wraps a Bus in Rainbow Pride
AUGUST 2, 2018: Santa Clara County Fair Hosts “Out at the Fair,” the First LGBTQ+ Inclusive Event at the Fair
AUGUST 25, 2018: Silicon Valley Pride Hosts Trans & Friends Rally
AUGUST 26, 2018: Silicon Valley Pride Hosts First Hey Girl
AUGUST 23, 2019: Pride Flag Flies Outside San Jose Police Department Headquarters
MARCH 30, 2019: Billy DeFrank Center Hosts Transgender Day of Visibility at San Jose City Hall Rotunda
APRIL 6, 2019: County Transgender Health Clinic Grand Opening in San Jose
JUNE 27, 2019: Silicon Valley Pride Holds Stonewall Rally at San Jose City Hall
OCTOBER 23, 2019: Rotary Club Silicon Valley Rainbow Chartered
JUNE 27, 2020: Black Trans Lives Matter Rally Held at Billy DeFrank Center
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020: San Jose’s LGBTQ+ District Qmunity Opens

HIV/AIDS Timeline

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- APRIL 1983: Public Health Department Reports First Confirmed AIDS Cases
- JUNE 1983: Imperial AIDS Foundation Founded in San Jose
- 1983: County AIDS/KS Foundation Forms
- 1985: ARIS Project Founded in Living Room of Bob Clayton
- 1985: Necessities and More Founded, an HIV/AIDS Support Group and Fundraiser
- OCTOBER 2, 1985: Actor Rock Hudson Dies of AIDS
- JANUARY 1986: Supervisors Create County AIDS Task Force and Appoint Ken Yeager as Chair
- FEBRUARY 4, 1986: County Allots $60,000 to ARIS After BAYMEC Lobbies Board of Supervisors for AIDS Funding
- NOVEMBER 4, 1986: Lyndon LaRouche’s Prop 64 AIDS Quarantine Initiative Defeated
- 1987: Dr. Marty Fenstersheib Starts HIV Early Intervention Clinical Program
- March 1987: Larry Kramer Founds ACT UP: AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
- MARCH 17, 1987: County AIDS Task Force Issues First Report
- MARCH 19, 1987: FDA Approves AZT, the First Drug to Treat AIDS
- MAY 31, 1987: President Ronald Reagan Mentions AIDS for the First Time
- MARCH 1988: San Jose City Council and County Board of Supervisors Pass Ordinances Prohibiting Discrimination Against People with HIV/AIDS
- JUNE 7, 1988: Lyndon LaRouche’s Second AIDS Quarantine Initiative, Prop 69, Defeated
- NOVEMBER 8, 1988: William Dannemeyer’s AIDS/HIV Mandatory Reporting Initiative, Prop 102, Defeated
- MAY 1989: AIDS Memorial Quilt Displayed in San Jose
- APRIL 8, 1990: Ryan White, an 18-year-old Hemophiliac Who Contracted AIDS From a Blood Transfusion, Dies
- AUGUST 18, 1990: Congress Passes Ryan White CARE Act
- SEPTEMBER 16, 1990: First Walk For AIDS in South Bay
- JANUARY 1991: The Leslie David Burgess Lifetime Achievement Award is created to rec
- JULY 1994: Bob Sorenson Steps Down as Executive Director of ARIS; Norm Robinson Hired
- 1993-1994: Highest Annual AIDS Death Rates
- 1995: Partners for AIDS Care and Education (PACE) Clinic Opens
- DECEMBER 5, 1995: Major Medical Breakthrough With Development of First Protease Inhibitor
- SEPTEMBER 30, 1995: AIDS Grove Dedicated Near Children’s Discovery Museum by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos
- NOVEMBER 7, 2014: The Health Trust Renames and Dedicates the Jerry Larson FOODBasket
- JUNE 2016: County Allocates $6 Million Spread Over Four Years for the Getting to Zero Campaign