One of the first pride founders, Fred Sargeant.
I love this dude. He has zero chill.
Of course you need someone like this to start the first Pride. You need this type of person to help start a positive uplifting revolutionary parade in response to homophobic state violence. TRAs absolutely hate him because he's alive and they can't erase the history of a living man. They can't infantilize him or change his identity posthumously like they do with dead lesbians and gays. They have to deal with a real activist who is feisty, witty, and leaves no stone unturned. That's the kind of attitude that was very useful in 1969 and 1970. And it's honestly reassuring to see that he's not another gay doormat. He's not telling us to "just be kind" to a rising wave of homophobia. He's leading with his conviction that homophobia is unacceptable everywhere in every form. And he won't compromise on that. And he's held this stance for decades. He's never wavered.
People might try to tell you "you're too focused on the trans issue! You're not actually helping any gay people!" If they try to say that, remember Fred. He's absolutely not taking his eye off the trans movement because it has rapidly unraveled a movement he helped build. So if he's not taking his eye off it, we shouldn't either.
