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 13, 1984: BAYMEC Founded by Ken Yeager and Wiggsy Sivertsen
AUGUST 29, 1984: HTG Files Federal Lawsuit High Tech Gays Vs. Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO)
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
JANUARY 11, 1993: San Jose-Evergreen Community College Board begins providing health coverage for same-sex 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
OCTOBER 12, 1998: Matthew Shepard, who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming on the night of October 6, dies
NOVEMBER 1998: Rich Gordon Elected to San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
1999: Governor Pete Wilson appoints Randy Rice to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, the first openly LGBTQ judge in the county
JANUARY 1999: Ken Yeager Publishes “Trailblazers: Profiles of America’s Gay and Lesbian Elected Officials” About the First Generation of Gay Politicians
JANUARY 2001: Governor Gray Davis appoints Jonathan Karesh to San Mateo County Superior Court
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
MAY 2006: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appoints Shawna Schwarz to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, the first open lesbian on the court
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
FEBRUARY 2010: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appoints Julie Emede to Santa Clara County Superior Court
OCTOBER 5, 2010: Jim Unland, a sergeant in the San Jose Police Department, comes out as a gay man in a Mercury News editorial to criticize San Jose Mayor Reed’s endorsement of anti-gay council candidate Larry Pegram
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
SEPTEMBER 14, 2012: Silicon Valley Marriage Equality, along with Alice Hoagland, whose gay son Mark Bingham died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, meet with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed are not successful in changing his position against same-sex marriage
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
NOVEMBER 4, 2014: Danied Yost elected to the Woodside City Council
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, with the police chief saying “I want your family to be part of the police family.”
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 16, 2018: Supervisor Yeager submits referral for Board approval to establish an
LGBTQ+ Health and Wellness Center, which becomes the Gender-Affirming Care Clinic
OCTOBER 2018: Governor Jerry Brown appoints Charles Adams to the Santa Clara County Superior Court
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
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: John Laird elected to State Senate
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Alex Lee elected to State Assembly
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Anthony Becker elected to the Santa Clara City Council
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Alysa Cisneros elected to the Sunnyvale City Council
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Beija Gonzales elected to the Oak Grove School District
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Ivan Rosales Montes elected to the Morgan Hill Unified School District
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Jesus Salazar elected to the Luther Burbank School District
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Carla Hernandez elected to the Oak Grove School District
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Lissette Espinoza-Garnica elected to the Redwood City Council
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: Michael Smith elected to the Redwood City Council
NOVEMBER 3, 2020: James Coleman elected to the South San Francisco City Council
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
APRIL 2021: Governor Gavin Newsom appoints Jessica Delgado to Santa Clara County Superior Court
APRIL 23, 2021: Natalia Smut Lopez, a transwoman and local San Jose drag artist, is killed by her boyfriend
JUNE 4, 2021: The Town Council of Los Gatos votes to add rainbow stripes to two crosswalks in front of Town Hall, leading to protests by hate groups
NOVEMBER 14, 2021: Chanting “Love, United,” thousands of people come together in Los Gatos for a Walk Against Hate to denounce hate speech by a group of MAGA disrupters
APRIL 19, 2022: Suwanna Kerdkaew is appointed Chief of the Santa Clara County Fire Department, making her the first female, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ chief in the department’s history
JUNE 13, 2022: Sera Fernando appointed manager of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs
OCTOBER 22, 2022: Billy DeFrank Center holds 40th Anniversary Dinner
NOVEMBER 8, 2022: Omar Torres elected to the San Jose City Council
NOVEMBER 8, 2022: J.R. Fruen elected to the Cupertino City Council
NOVEMBER 8, 2022: Richard Mehlinger elected to the Sunnyvale City Council
NOVEMBER 8, 2022: Chris Sturken elected to the Redwood City Council
NOVEMBER 8, 2022: Jaria Jaug elected to the Berryessa Union School District
NOVEMBER 19, 2022: Mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado
DECEMBER 13, 2022: President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, requires states to honor marriages from other states, and guarantees federal protection from same-sex and interraction couples
APRIL 16, 2023: BAYMEC resumes its annual fundraising brunch with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria as the guest speaker, with over 500 attendees
March 21, 2023: San Jose Councilman Torres invites WooWoo Monroe (aka George Downes) to give the invocation at a council meeting, a first ever to be done by a drag queen
November 7, 2023: Clay Hale elected to the San Jose/Evergreen Community College Board in a special election to replace Omar Torres

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
SEPTEMBER 30, 1998: September 30, 1998: SJSU Gay and Lesbian Faculty and Staff announces scholarship fund in honor of Wiggsy Sivertsen for LGBTQ students
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. San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia raises the Rainbow flag in front of the police headquarters, thought to be the first time any police chief has done so. Since becoming the Dallas chief of police, Garcia has kept up the tradition of raising the flag.
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
JANUARY 2020: The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department creates The Q Corner, a peer-run program offering wellness support, resource linkage, community events, and training.
JUNE 27, 2020: Black Trans Lives Matter Rally Held at Billy DeFrank Center
SEPTEMBER 10, 2020: San Jose’s LGBTQ+ District Qmunity Opens
JANUARY 2021: The Q Corner and Gender Health Center launch the Trans Care Coalition, a collaboration of County and community-based staff establishing best practice recommendations to improve services for the trans community
JUNE 14, 2021: LGBTQ history exhibit, Coming Out: 50 Years of
Queer Resistance and Resilience in Silicon Valley; opens for a year-long run at History San Jose
FEBRUARY 25, 2022: Documentary film “Queer Silicon Valley”
premiers at Hammer Theater in San Jose
OCTOBER 22, 2022: Billy DeFrank Center holds 40th Anniversary Dinner
NOVEMBER 2022 – Ben Geilhufe is hired to create the Specialty Mental Health Gender Affirming Care Clinic
MARCH 2023 – The Q Corner launches The Harm ReduQion Project, a program focused on connecting the LGBTQ+ community with substance overdose prevention and substance use prevention and treatment resources
MARCH 28, 2023: San Jose City Councilman Omar Torres invites drag queen WooWoo Monroe (aka George Downes) to open the council meeting, a first
APRIL 14 & 15, 2023: Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shephard is performed by the Choral Project and SJSU Choraliers at the Hammer Theater
APRIL 29, 2023: The Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center sponsors the Silicon Valley Trans Day of Visibility at the San Jose City Hall Rotunda
JUNE 3, 2023: LEAD Filipino holds its annual queer Summit at DeAnza College
JUNE 6, 2023: DeAnza Pride holds Queer and Now Conference with activist Honey Mahogany
JUNE 6-30: Queer Silicon Valley’s traveling museum exhibit is displayed at San Jose City Hall
JUNE 9-11, 2023: New Museum of Los Gatos hosts historian and author Richard D. Mohr for
lectures on Los Gatos artists and life partners Frank Ingerson and George Dennison.
JUNE 9-11, 2023: 5th Annual Queer Afro Latin Dance Festival is held in San Jose
JUNE 10, 2023: San Mateo County Pride holds its 11th annual festival which includes its first parade
JUNE 11, 2023: The Silicon Valley Gay Men’s Chorus celebrates its 40-year anniversary at the Hammer Theater in San Jose

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 recognize those who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment, and compassion in providing education, prevention, healthcare, or support services to Santa Clara County residents who are at risk for, affected by, or living with HIV/AIDS
- 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