Welcome from the Executive Director

Welcome to the 50th Annual San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration

Welcome to the 2020 edition of San Francisco Pride! It’s difficult to overstate how unexpected this year has been. Almost every aspect of our lives seems fundamentally changed from the before times of 2019. As part of a global community, we have faced a challenge seen once every few generations. The coronavirus has called on us to support our most vulnerable, and has asked us to redefine whom we call heroes. As you know, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of SF Pride. To mark the occasion, we were planning some new and spectacular ways for the Bay Area’s LGBTQ+ communities to come together. Along with everyone else, we watched the news closely in the spring, and communicated regularly with our partners at City Hall. The decision-making process over whether or not to cancel the inperson Parade and Celebration was very difficult. We understand how important SF Pride is – not only for queer visibility, but for the well-being of the entire city – and this year’s historic anniversary only added to our consideration. When we decided that it was in everyone’s best interest to cancel, the word that kept surfacing was “heartbreak.” For the SF Pride team in particular, that heartbreak was sincere. I have been so fortunate to count some of the most compassionate, thoughtful, and dedicated people I have ever met on this team. Your hard work is appreciated! But of course, the heartbreak is shared by the many community members who have made Pride a piece of their soul, year after year. We thank you for being a part of our family. This year is the culmination of a three-year theme: Generations of Strength, Resistance, and – for 2020 – Hope. Hope is central to everything we do. We rally around the urgency in Harvey Milk’s voice, “You gotta give ‘em hope.” We rely on hope in the face of a socially distant future, at least for the short term. We’ve created ways for our communities to engage online for now. We seek hope in the eyes and fresh perspectives of young activists, who hold dear a vision of a world changed for the better. Whether young or seasoned, activists are at this moment leading us toward a time of renewal. Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets of this and many other cities, raising their voices and demanding respect, equity, and change. It’s clear that gathering to demonstrate the strengths of one’s convictions is important. The articulation that Black Lives Matter is worthy and necessary. It’s also clear that our cultural institutions are worth challenging, to ensure that systemic change is accomplished. I don’t know exactly what the future will bring. The work continues. San Francisco Pride will gladly shift in order to meet what approaches us. We will need to listen to one another, support one another. Together, we will rise to this and many more challenges. I hope you enjoy what we have developed to commemorate Pride 50 in the absence of in-person gatherings. And we hope you bring your energy and love to the streets of San Francisco the next time we are able to gather for a Pride celebration. Because, as it’s been said, “51 is the new 50.” Until then, please be well, and Happy Pride.

Fred Lopez

executive director

After more than 40 years of tackling the toughest medical challenges, we know that approaching any problem from a single point of view is setting a course for failure.

Success depends upon welcoming diverse approaches, challenging the status quo and exploring hypotheses from all angles. Science demands diversity and so do we.